Oklahoma City nonprofit provides ‘hugs’ to troops
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – “We do it for our troops.” Karen Stark says about The Hugs Project in Oklahoma City.
Their mission began after seeing a news article 20 years ago.
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“We read an article that said a 22-year-old soldier collapsed and died while standing guard duty. She left behind a two year old daughter,” said Karen. “And I thought ‘Wow what can we do.'”
So they came up with “Hugs”. A hug in this instance is a cooling tie for soldiers serving in desert countries. Filled with water, a chemical inside the fabric turns the water cold so soldiers can wrap their necks, specifically the carotid artery, with the cold tie to help stay cool. In some cases, they have literally been lifesavers.
“The guy in the Humvee ring noticed ahead there was someone laying in the sand and people frantically fanning him,” Karen added. “They knew it was heat stroke, and so one of them yelled out ‘get them things out of the cooler’.
“…and they pulled the ones off their neck and out of the cooler, papered his body with the hug cooling ties and started to fan and he said we watched his eyes come back. If that’s the only one we’ve saved in 20 years,” Karen told us through tears. “And we know there’s more, we’ve heard other stories, you know that one was important and that one deserved our love and support.”
The care packages now include “hugs” and a host of other things for the troops. Toiletries, snacks, sewing kits and more. For all Karen and Ray are doing for the troops, Vietnam Vet Dale Bishop nominated them for Pay It Forward.
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When we received the $400 cash reward from First Fidelity Bank’s Caitlin Melgar, Dale presented it to Karen and Ray with these words: “You started 20 years ago, labor of love. With nothing. Now you’ve got people in every state, 38 countries, you’ve shipped out 32 thousand tons of material. And about a million hugs, and you do it for love of the troops and a love of the people.”
Dale gave Karen the $400 Pay It Forward award and a hug, for all of those at The Hugs Project who send hugs around world.
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