“Unhugged” Pays It Forward

I’m a 55 year old mother of one and grandma of two wonderful children who have completely stolen my heart; it was with the birth of my first that I picked up crocheting again with a vengeance!

I learned to crochet when I was 12 in The Girl Scouts, which still inspires me today with a spirit of empowerment it instills in young women who might otherwise have no positive direction.

I crocheted vests, doilies, hats and scarves for my friends and family (the latter were not so willing to wear my vests), and eventually figured out how to make doll clothes. I kept practicing and honing my skills until I learned to read patterns, do difficult and intricate stitches…also learning how to work with different fibers and creating my own designs.

When I got hurt on my job in 2004, I took up crocheting full time just to keep myself busy…creating a website with hopes that I could start up a small business and eventually become a brand, but couldn’t afford to market and promote myself. My company’s name is Crochet Creations by Melody, and I have a Facebook page and website by the same name.

I developed a HUGE collection of stuffed animals over the years, and decided I could combine my talent of crochet with those stuffed animals to bring smiles to the faces of children in need, so I created a non-profit organization called UNHUGGED – http://www.facebook.com/Unhugged and http://www.unhugged.org/ on the web. Unhugged creates crocheted personalized sweaters for stuffed animals which have been donated [by friends, The Girl Scouts, the community, and LAMA – Latin American Motorcycle Association]…they are then called ‘huggables’, and distributed to group homes, foster homes, homeless shelters, children’s homes, and hospitals that will accept them (some will not because of respiratory concerns).

Unhugged also represents a challenge as I cannot afford to market and promote it either, so I am almost totally being promoted by word of mouth.

With all of my health concerns and other personal setbacks, I simply feel the need to PAY IT FORWARD; it’s in my DNA, and I love what I do!

By: Melody Harris