Our donors and supporters never cease to amaze us. They are filled with so much creativity and kindness and that is especially true for Jen Dean and The Lovey Project. Several years ago Jen had a vision—to fill the hearts of children in need of love and support with just that in the form of a “lovey”. By Jen’s definition, a “lovey” is more than just a child’s treasured stuffed animal, it’s a anchor and a tool of stability and support that children suffering from emotional pain can use for comfort.
The idea for the Lovey project was born within Jen’s own family. When her middle son Leo, now 17, was just one-year-old he grew attached to his first “lovey”, a stuffed dolphin named Seesh. “Seesh” was Leo’s mispronunciation of “fish” and the name stuck. Jen’s other two sons grew attached to their loveys also. Fifteen-year old Cole had Lamby while 20-year-old Tyler had Maxwell the dog. After seeing her boys grow attachments to their loveys and witnessing the comfort they brought to her kids, she knew she wanted more children to experience the same comfort her boys had experienced from their loveys.
Jen started the Lovey Project as a result, and collects donations and loveys to benefit children in need of a stuffed toy to love. Jen believes these stuffed loveys help children struggling with emotional balance and big emotions find comfort. When Jen learned of the children at Hephzibah Home, who come from homes filled with abuse and neglect, and of the children in foster care that Hephzibah serves who have gone through big transitions, she wanted to help. Jen regularly collects “loveys” for Hephzibah Children in the hopes that they will find comfort in a stuffed, adorable, squishy toy to hug and love and that it will bring them peace and maybe even put a smile on their face.
As part of the continued support Hephzibah receives from The Lovey Project, Jen rallies additional support and donations for Hephzibah during Halloween. This year, Jen and her team of supporters sponsored each child living at Hephzibah Home so they could choose a festive costume. She also donated Halloween treats for all of the children and staff.
We are always grateful when supporters creatively find ways to offer comfort to the children we serve. We do everything we can to offer hope and healing to Hephzibah children, and when our community does the same, it shows children just how cared for they are and how the world is full of wonderful people. And sometimes, that’s all a child needs to know in order to thrive.