BlogPaws Guest Blogger: Robin A.F. Olson
I live in Sandy Hook, CT, a district of Newtown, CT. I moved here 21 years ago from the Midwest. A few days ago, if I told you where I lived, you probably would have confused it with Sandy Hook, NJ or not had a clue of any sort where we’re located. Today the world knows exactly where we are in great detail. They know we’re a tight-knit small town. They see our quaint New England church steeples and clapboard sided homes and images of our hometown Fire Station draped in Christmas lights. It’s charming. It’s a sweet place to live. It’s safe.
I live in Sandy Hook, CT, a district of Newtown, CT. I moved here 21 years ago from the Midwest. A few days ago, if I told you where I lived, you probably would have confused it with Sandy Hook, NJ or not had a clue of any sort where we’re located. Today the world knows exactly where we are in great detail. They know we’re a tight-knit small town. They see our quaint New England church steeples and clapboard sided homes and images of our hometown Fire Station draped in Christmas lights. It’s charming. It’s a sweet place to live. It’s safe.
Today they see the schoolyard sign for Sandy Hook Elementary covered in balloons, teddy bears and flowers because someone went on a shooting rampage killing the heart of this town, along with those precious lives.
As I sat crying in front of my TV, watching the news, the seed of an idea sprouted. I’ve had ideas before about things I should do and most of the time I come up with a good reason not to do it, but what happened in Sandy Hook, just 4 miles from my home, demanded I DO SOMETHING to counter the unspeakable horror of what happened.
That was the key. Although I don’t have a spacious shelter, I did have my foster room. I had five kittens as well as my own nine cats. The healing power of being with animals is well understood and I, in my small way, could offer that to the children of Sandy Hook. Perhaps it would help them find their smile again?
My left brain warned me about “what ifs”… What if someone got bitten by a kitten? What if they didn’t want to leave after their 30 minute visit?
I would ask for donations of plush cat toys. That way the child would have something to hug and a reminder of their visit and not be upset when it was time to leave. By Sunday I was in full swing. I decided to stop worrying and just DO THIS. “Kitties for Kids” was born.
Because I write a cat blog called Covered in Cat Hair and have a nice sized group of readers, I was able to ask them to help me make Kitties for Kids come to life. I added plush cat toys to our Kitten Associates Amazon WishList and in less than an hour, every one I asked for was purchased.
I added more to the list and just as quickly, they too were purchased. I was breathless with glee that people would be so eager to help.
I asked friends to spread the word and every single one of them said they LOVED the idea and did I understand how much GOOD I was doing?
Too humbled to really think about it, I just kept going on with my plan. A woman offered to send me a shipment of her therapeutic K.T. Cat toys, which encourage children to express their feelings after they’ve suffered a nightmarish experience. Between the simple joy of watching cats play, the plush cat toys and the K.T. Cats, we could really help those kids.
By Monday we were sending out the first press release. I’ve done this a few times before with adoption events and such, but it’s always difficult to get the news out. I approached a local newsperson since they were swarming the streets of our town, but got the brush off. I kept at it, sending the information everywhere I could think of. Meanwhile, some of my fellow cat writers jumped into action to help.
Tuesday arrived and so did the media. We were on WNBC-NY’s news. They did a live feed from my foster cat room. After that the rest is a blur. The news spread like wildfire across the country. The phone doesn’t stop ringing. Emails are pouring in. I never could have dreamed a simple act, born from the love of my community, would result in so much positive feedback and the promise of really making a difference.
The two week anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting is approaching. The past two weeks have changed my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. One person CAN change the world and break its heart in two, but there’s also one person in Sandy Hook, CT who is determined to join hands with others and change it back to being a place of joy, compassion and love.
Editor's Note:
Kitten Associates wasn't able to host their annual Holiday Fundraiser due to the tragedy. They're flush with plush, having received more than 75 shipments of plush cats as of Christmas Eve, but could still use cash donations and other items from their Amazon Wish List for their foster kitten program.
For more information or to make a donation to Kitties for Kids
All images ©2012 Robin A.F. Olson
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