OUR STORY | Feelsafe

Our Story....

I can still remember the day when I came home from going to Build A Bear and proudly introducing my new bear to my other stuffed animal friends, when my mom says, "You should be very thankful you got to go to Build A Bear today and have so many stuffed animals. You know there are children who don't even have one teddy bear to sleep with at night." Actually I didn't know that, and in that moment I was both shocked and sad to think that there were little kids who went to sleep with nothing to cuddle. And I remember feeling, "That's not right."

My brother and I were homeschooled at that time and the initial conversation about being grateful for what we had led to learning about kids who were our age in complex social situations that included child abuse and homelessness. Over the next six months Feel S.A.F.E. was conceived, a non-profit initiative to bring backpacks with a stuffed animal and necessities to children in domestic violence and homeless shelters. Our parents insisted that my brother and I do the lion's share of the work ourselves, even going into administrative meetings with adults by ourselves to present our ideas, while our mom waited for us in the car. The main things we needed adult assistance with was driving and banking. I was 11 and my brother was 10 years old.

Feel S.A.F.E. has had an overwhelmingly supportive response from the beginning. The general manager of Chicago's KMart donated all the backpacks the first year. We raised money for teddy bears and school supplies thru Fundly. A local dentist donated toothbrushes and toothpaste. Friends of friends donated coloring books and crayons.

I am now a graduate of the University of Virginia and my brother will be continuing our work at Oberlin College. We have expanded Feel S.A.F.E.'s initiatives beyond backpacks and plan to continue the work we started as kids thru our college years and beyond. "Every child has the right to feel safe" is not only our motto but is a truth we believe is worth bringing national and international attention.

Macy Liddy

Co-Founder, Executive Director

When I was really young I had an imaginary friend named Gary. In fact, he was my best friend and I even got to meet Gary's grandpa (that's another story). Aside from Gary, my stuffed animals (or "stuffies" as I called them) were my other closest friends and confidants. I had a very strong attachment to them, and to this day I would be very sad if any of them got lost or destroyed.

I don't know how I would have coped in my childhood without my stuffed animal friends like "Cowie". Cowie was there when my baby twin sisters were born and I felt left out and alone. He was there when I got home from being bullied on the playground and was afraid that I'd be made fun of every day. He was there with me when there was a lot of arguing in the house about things I didn't understand.

Honestly, I was probably the first kid that Feel S.A.F.E. served and helped. During the process of developing the first backpacks and teddy bears to shelters, I began to understand why I needed my stuffed animal friends to sleep with at night and how much they helped comfort me and feel "emotionally safe". Even in the most caring environment, everything in the world felt big and overwhelming at times for me. My soul feels deeply burdened when I think about young children in abusive homes or not having enough food, clothes or shelter. I believe all children need something soft to hold when they go to sleep at night, especially the little kids who have a bad home life or feel like they don't have any friends.

Even though I've outgrown all my "stuffies" and the closest thing by me at night now is my cell phone, they still have a special place in my heart and I'm grateful they were there with me every night of my childhood. I will continue my work and mission at Oberlin College. "Every student has the right to feel safe", whether physically, emotionally or sexually, in school and on campus. High school and college campuses have been rife with

highly volatile and violent situations that need to be addressed and its students reassured and comforted the best we can.

JP Liddy

Co-Founder, Co-Executive Director

Launching Feel S.A.F.E.

JP talking to Howard, the General Manager of Chicago KMart, sharing the vision of Feel S.A.F.E.	Howard was so inspired that he authorized KMart to donate all the backpacks we needed for our first year!	Holy Cow....look at all these boxes of backpacks for Feel S.A.F.E.!!!
Feel S.A.F.E. has grown and so have we. Our mission is to bring comfort and encouragement to children facing extreme hardships and spread the message that "Every child has the right to feel safe." ™	It was so exciting to pick up our first order of teddy bears for Feel S.A.F.E.!	This is Barry Bear and he's the mascot for Feel S.A.F.E. We took backpacks with teddy bears, school supplies and Christmas goodies to children in Wings Domestic Violence shelters and Catholic Charities homeless shelters, and that's how Feel S.A.F.E. got launched!

Our Story....

Launching Feel S.A.F.E.

JP talking to Howard, the General Manager of Chicago KMart, sharing the vision of Feel S.A.F.E.

Howard was so inspired that he authorized KMart to donate all the backpacks we needed for our first year!

Holy Cow....look at all these boxes of backpacks for Feel S.A.F.E.!!!

Feel S.A.F.E. has grown and so have we. Our mission is to bring comfort and encouragement to children facing extreme hardships and spread the message that "Every child has the right to feel safe." ™

It was so exciting to pick up our first order of teddy bears for Feel S.A.F.E.!

This is Barry Bear and he's the mascot for Feel S.A.F.E. We took backpacks with teddy bears, school supplies and Christmas goodies to children in Wings Domestic Violence shelters and Catholic Charities homeless shelters, and that's how Feel S.A.F.E. got launched!