This month’s guest speaker is Mr. Jon Fitzgerald from the Hug Me Hug You! Initiative. His message tells of a powerful new partnership in Carver County for young children in foster care. I’ve included an excerpt from their website to help you understand their mission and what they plan to do.

“The Hug Me Hug YOU! Initiative is a Minnesota Non-Profit 317A Corporation with a mission to research, develop, manufacture, and freely distribute therapeutic companions to children in need in order to provide them with emotional support, to contribute to their overall sense of well-being, and to help each child stay connected to their support community.

Every child needs to connect to those that matter most, to communicate, to play. We know that today’s world is more inter-connected and interactive then at any other point in human history thanks to advancements in smartphone, gaming, and mobile technology, yet children suffering from long-term disability, illness, or those under the protection of child services may not have access to such devices when separated from their family, loved ones, and others in their support community. We at the Hug Me Hug YOU! Initiative are developing socially-connected plush toys in order to provide children with a way to have fun while staying in touch with their support community!

Abused children and children in foster care interact with a plush toy-like therapeutic companion that sends and receives messages. A support community or safety network made up of family, friends, and social workers interact with a web or mobile interface to invite and register community members, receive updates on the child’s status, preview and send messages to the child, and view analytics to better understand and work with both the child and the community.” Tune in to Jon’s message HERE. (On next page, click on his name) Be sure to come back and visit this blog tomorrow (Wed.) because our guest speakers this month are hosting an awesome giveaway- $50 in children’s books!!