Project Lovie Brings Comfort

Lovies have been bringing love and comfort to local children since 2015, thanks to some Fort Worth Country Day Falcons. Savannah Low Freeman ’30, Arabella Lightbound ’30 and former Falcon Greer Pettit ’30 (Arabella’s cousin) learned about “lovies” when they were preschool students at Kinderplatz. Students were allowed to bring one “lovie,” a favorite stuffed animal that brings about a feeling of comfort and security when away from home, to school each day.

“I had a little lovie called Betsy, a bunny with an attached blanket,” Freeman said. “I remember loving to cuddle my Betsy, and she was always with me.”

Lightbound would bring a different lovie to school each day because her main lovie was too big to take to school. “My special lovie was a big pillow that I called Lamby, but it is a cow,” she said. “I got it when I was 4 years old. It is very important to me because it belonged to my greatgrandmother.”

These lovies and their experiences at preschool with them made the girls think about how much joy they bring. They began to wonder if all kids have a stuffed animal of their own, prompting them to start collecting stuffed animals from their friends to give others the same sense of love, security and comfort.

With two additional best first friends (who now attend Trinity Valley School), Annabella Teague and Siena Teague, and the help of their mothers, Anne Low, Amber Lightbound, Laura Pettit and Maria Capua, the girls launched Project Lovie. They asked families to join them at Bass Hall’s musical production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by purchasing a ticket and inviting them to a pre-performance party in the Green Room. The “tickets” for entrance to the party were new, unwrapped lovies to share with patients at Cook Children’s Medical Center. Santa Claus even attended to thank the children for helping him out and spreading holiday cheer. They gathered approximately 100 that first year. Those lovies were dropped off at Cook Children’s and given to the children by the medical center staff.

Since that inaugural event, Project Lovie has grown. Freeman and Lightbound returned to Bass Hall for two more years, following the same template: Ask families to purchase tickets for Rudolph and donate a lovie at the pre-party. Since 2016, the lovies have been given to children in the Presbyterian Night Shelter. The 2018 celebration turned into a pajama party at Mira Vista Country Club. The stuffed animal served as the entrance ticket, and the children watched a movie, FWCD’s Falcon Flyers sang, and a dance team performed. In 2019, they partied at Altitude Trampoline Park. Each year, they collected nearly 200 plush lovies.

The pandemic did not stop the girls. “We wanted to bring a smile to children’s faces during a lonely time,” the girls shared. So they created a sign-up online and collected donations to purchase stuffed animals in 2020 and 2021.

Over the years, Project Lovie’s circle has grown to include friends from Trinity Valley School, All Saints’ Episcopal School, Fort Worth Academy, and FWCD.

This year, Freeman and Lightbound collected in person and hosted a breakfast at the Presbyterian Night Shelter. They gave lovies to 90 children and 19 infants who had been living in the shelter for six months to a year.

“It was so fun to hand out the lovies to the children,” Lightbound said. “To see their smiles and excitement was so nice. We showed them a few lovies, and they got to pick theirs.” The girls had created piles by age: The babies (ages 0-2) received small cuddlies, ages 2-8 picked from medium stuffed bears and little Squishmallows, and those ages 9+ chose from the large Squishmallows and Teddy bears.

Since 2015, Freeman and Lightbound estimate they have collected nearly 1,500 lovies, and they are already thinking of next year. “We have so much,” Freeman said. “To give to others and see the happiness it brings them is the best feeling.”