CHhugs was conceived by a group of people brought together by the wonders of the Internet! They all share a love of Ty Beanie Baby toys, we had the idea of collecting together and donating our spares to Children's Hospices around the British Isles to bring a smile to the faces of terminally sick children and their siblings. People on the list all got involved - from as far apart as Norfolk and Belfast and Jersey to Edinburgh. Of course just donating our spares would be a finite supply of Beanies so the "Sign a Beanie" campaign was born! The idea being to approach celebrities and ask them to sign a beanie - some to be donated as special gifts to the children, and some to be auctioned. With the fantastic success of the auctions, CHhugs has so far been able to donate £9000, over 1000 Beanie Baby toys and signed items which have raised around a further £3000. This year we are able to donate a further £6,200 and 62 signed items to the hospices we support.
There are currently 28 full time hospices dedicated solely to children who have either terminal illness, or life limiting conditions, which mean they are unlikely to reach adulthood. There are also 6 centres which offer either hospice in the home care, or day respite care. They all rely on donations to continue their work, and if you have ever been privileged enough to visit one of the hospices you will know they are a place of smiles and love - not the doom and gloom you might expect.
It is worth mentioning that CHhugs is totally non-profit, with all money raised going straight back into CHhugs. As well as the money and Beanies we donate, we also have a "Wish Box" which contains signed beanies, photos and other items which can be donated to children who are special fans - for instance "Hannah" in Liverpool is a huge Robbie Williams fan and we were delighted to be able to give her a "Fortune" bear signed by Robbie complete with a signed photo. Jeffery was "Gobsmacked" when he received his beanie and photo signed by his favourite TV presenter Charlie Dimmock.
The response has been fantastic with nearly 100% success, with everyone saying what a brilliant idea it is! We have received support from people like sports stars, including David Beckham, David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen, Stephen Hendry, Michael Owen and Birmingham City FC and West Ham Utd FC. From pop stars like Blue, Robbie Williams, Emma Bunton, Peter Andre, Sir Cliff Richard and David Essex. From TV shows like Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Casualty and GMTV and stars and celebrities like Bob Hope, Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Joanna Lumley, Lenny Henry, Dawn French, Stephen Fry, Dame Judy Dench, David Suchet, Sir Norman Wisdom, Bob Hoskins, Sam Neil, Gaby Roslin and J.K Rowling to name but a few. We have even had Beanies signed by the Marquis of Bath, Tony Blair, Sir Richard Branson and Prince Albert of Monaco!
Because Beanie Baby's come in every shape and size and are all named, we try and theme at least one beanie for each celebrity for instance Bob Hope signed "Hope", The Spice Girls all signed their "Spice Girl" beanie, Richard E Grant signed a Grant, Uri Geller signed "Mystic", Ross Kemp "Grant", Kate Winslett signed a "Titanic" bear, Patrick Moore signed Orion, Sam Neill signed "Sammy" and Robbie Williams signed "Millennium"
Every Beanie we send to be signed is donated, and we are always grateful to receive any donation. We have a donation of a huge box containing nearly 100 Beanie and we have also had a parcel containing just one Beanie. They are all just as important.
As well as auctions for our signed items we also have frequent auctions for our special dressed and hand decorated Beanies. These items are all unique to CHhugs and include our Snowflake Halo's which come in a new colour each Christmas, and our Summer Bride, just one of which is produced each year with a uniquely designed and hand made dress.
CHhugs Beanies have travelled far and wide, both to be signed and to go to their new homes. One Beanie, an Obi Wan Kenobi Bean Bag went all the way to Australia to be signed by Ewan McGregor! He was filming there at the time. This item was then bought by a fan in the USA, making this one of our most travelled Beanies!
We can accept donations of every kind of Beanie, Attic Treasure, Bopper, Plush, Kid, Buddy, Disney and Chubbleys. They are all great for signing! And because a lot of these items are signed on the fabric, they do not need to be Mint With Mint Tags!
If you would like to know more about CHhugs, or have a spare Beanie you would like to set free from it's tag protector and bag, you can always visit www.CHhugs.co.uk or contact me on Shelley@CHhugs.co.uk
|
