(gentle music) (bright music) (Taylor knocking) - Hi, can I drop off a stuffed animal for him?

- [Parent] Yeah!

- Oh the gray one, the gray one.

You want this teddy bear?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

There you go, sis!

Let me do that one.

Got a stuffed animal for him.

My name is Taylor Cole, and I am the founder and president of Cuddles with Kindness.

Cuddles with Kindness, our main mission, I would say, is collecting and providing stuffed animals for kids in need.

That can be whether they're hospitalized, in a homeless shelter, foster care, whatever that traumatic situation might be.

Our goal is to provide them with a stuffed animal to provide them a little bit of normalcy in childhood through whatever they're going through.

I started it when I was eight years old.

I had gotten a stuffed animal while I was in the hospital.

It was a black and white panda bear.

And it had hearts around its neck, so I named it Hearts, (chuckles) 'cause I had gotten it on Valentine's Day too.

That just meant a lot to me for a kid who's going through something, you know, not normal, it's scary, you don't know what's going on.

Something like a stuffed animal just brings that sense of comfort for kids.

When I was 17 years old, my parents finally let me turn it into a nonprofit.

I always joke that I think my parents thought it was probably like a phase, like, "Oh, she's eight.

Like, she wants to decorate boxes and collect stuffed animals.

Like, no way is this gonna last forever."

But I think they finally gave up of me asking (laughs) and helped me set up the nonprofit when I was 17.

And I think throughout the journey I've been so incredibly lucky to be placed and have connections that just have really supported me in the process of growing Cuddles with Kindness.

Think it's just a stuffed animal, but it's, like, really so much more than just a stuffed animal.

They've been able to use our stuffed animals and show, like, the teddy bear getting an ultrasound or the teddy bear getting an IV or a PICC line, and just being able to use that.

It's more than just play, it's therapeutic play.

I'll just, I'll give her options.

There you go.

(Taylor laughs) - Unfortunately, my grandson had some health issues, and he had to have several blood draws.

And he was able, he was a recipient of several stuffed animals.

Every time he would go in for a draw, he would receive an animal.

It could be a bear, a dog, whatever, he always loved them.

It helped ease the scariness of the whole situation.

We all have experienced going to the hospital, and we know what it's like to not know what's gonna happen.

But if, you know, even as adult, if they could give us maybe a little stuffed animal, we might like it as well.

- [Taylor] They're so cute.

- I participate by hosting one of her bins, and then I will post on my social media for people to come donate a new, with the tag still on it, stuffed animal.

Doesn't have to be a bear, it can be any type of stuffed animal.

Any price range, anywhere from, say, $5 to, my grandson received a dog that retailed at $80, so there's all sorts of animals that are in there.

- Yeah.

Bye-bye.

I'll see you later!

See you later.

We do our annual Valentine's Day Drive for OSF Children's Hospital January through February.

So we encourage people to bring in new stuffed animals to either the drop-off location or one of the events.

And then we go around and collect all of those stuffed animals, sort and organize 'em.

And after all of that, we take 'em to the children's hospital the week of Valentine's Day, and the kids get 'em on Valentine's Day.

And then whatever's left over from that week is then distributed throughout the year.

- Thank you.

- You're welcome.

Happy early Valentine's Day.

- Thank you so much.

- You're welcome.

Distributing the toys is like, it's magical, I would say.

Stuffed animal for you guys.

Happy early Valentine's Day.

- Oh, that's beautiful!

We appreciate it.

- You can have a kid that is totally, you know, scared, crying.

And it's like they see that stuffed animal, and it's like, oh, like, oh, they've got a toy or, like, it's a stuffed animal.

Like, it just, the sense of, like, comfort and just relief that they see and seeing something so simple as a toy, it kinda just melts the other things away, and it's very fulfilling.

I think my eight-year-old self would be proud and probably amazed.

I don't think I ever thought it would become what it is.

That first drive, I was so proud of myself 'cause I collected like 30 bears.

(laughs) Now looking at it, I'm like, oh, wow, that wasn't that many.

But to me at that age, that was huge.

It was 30 kids, and it was bigger than just me.

Through doing Cuddles with Kindness and the connections I've made with Cuddles with Kindness, it led me to become a nurse, and now I'm a pediatric ICU nurse.

So, very much that experience has very much shaped who I am today.

All right.

Do you wanna pick out a stuffed animal?

One, I hope that we continue to grow, 'cause the more we grow, the more kids we can help and provide that sense of comfort for.

And I would love to see it, you know, eventually grow outside of just Central Illinois.

And then I'd say the second part is just hoping that we, again, reach the generations younger than us and teach kids the importance of giving.

One of the quotes I love is "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

And all it it takes is that starting point.

You just have to find what sets your soul on fire, what your passion is, and follow it.

- We appreciate it.

- [Taylor] You're welcome.

Have a happy early Valentine's Day.

(bright music)