by Kalyn Stockman

To kick off 2021, team Aragon participated in an Aragon Cares activity that warmed our hearts. Best of all, we got to support two different organizations with this one!

Fozzy’s Toy Room

You might remember that in 2019, we volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House and got to cook a meal for children (and their families) with a life-threatening illness. Well, the wonderful mission of the Ronald McDonald house is present in other organizations around the country too–one being Family House in San Francisco. 

“Family House serves as a home away from home for families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses by providing physical comfort and emotional support, free from financial concerns” (familyhouseinc.org). When a child first arrives to the Family House, they are taken on a tour of their new home–the first stop being Fozzy’s Toy Room–a room filled with hundreds of toys to pick from. Each child gets to select a toy of their liking to keep, for free! 

Fozzy’s Toy Room is a very special and integral part of Family House. When a child is faced with the uncertainty that comes with having a life-threatening illness, and on top of that, have to leave the familiarity of their own home, it often brings unimaginable stress. By allowing a child to select a special toy as their first experience at Family House, it is hoped that they will feel some sense of comfort. So, this January, Aragon decided to donate some adorable stuffed animals to Fozzy’s Toy Room!

Send A Friend

Each Aragon employee picked out their favorite stuffed animal from a great company called Send A Friend. Not only do they provide adorable stuffed animals, but 10% of every purchase goes directly to a children’s hospital in the U.S. 

Send A Friend makes it easy to donate to children in need. You can ship stuffed animals directly to an organization of your choice, or you can check out their newly-launched Give A Friend program, which allows you to purchase stuffed animals in bulk, at a discounted price, and have them delivered to children’s hospitals around the U.S.! 

Photo from https://sendafriend.co/

Our Experience

Looking through the endless photos of Send A Friend stuffed animals–from ‘Rowdy the Rooster’ to ‘Tucker the Turtle’–was a fun way to break up a typical work day as we each picked our favorite, hoping that one of the children at Family House would love it. 

This Aragon Cares activity was a perfect way to start the new year–bringing hope to those in need.

If you’re interested in donating to Fozzy’s Toy Room, you can find the information here. Or, if you’d like to check out how to donate a Send A Friend stuffed animal directly to a children’s hospital, find more information here.