We created this nonprofit to give comfort to those in mental health facilities or the ER for mental health emergencies. Audrey's personal mental health battle put her in the ER overnight. As we talked about her experience she shared how uncomfortable she felt while in the ER. There were no items of comfort to help with the scary situation. She also wished there was some kind of distraction to take her mind off her physical and mental pain. We thought that if Audrey felt that way during her stay then other patients probably felt the same way. So we put together 14 tote bags and delivered half of them to the ER that Audrey stayed at: Lutheran Hospital, and the other half to Parkview Behavioral Health Institute; a facility that gives inpatient and outpatient care. The feedback we received was that the patients who received the tote bags not only loved them but for some was the first gift any of them had received in years. This confirmed to us how important it is for someone struggling with mental health to have some items of comfort given to them at such a crucial moment in their life. We decided we wanted to start giving these tote bags on a regular basis and allow others to help us in accomplishing that goal.
Each tote bag has the following items: a hand tied fleece blanket, a fidget toy, socks, coloring book and pencils, a small journal and playing cards. Each tote bag with all those items costs $20. We buy the fabric at local stores and the other things either from amazon or other local stores.
We hope that as we grow as a nonprofit and gather donations we can add more items to the tote bags.
Founders: Audrey and Emily Thomas
Co Founders: Lori Thomas and Peggy Hefner
*Thank you to Vanira Travel for being a sponsor. *
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