Graham Cracker Hugs - Emma's Exceptional Equipment Exchange

Our “Graham Cracker Hugs” Program

We are now accepting nominations for the
2023 Graham Cracker Hugs program below

What is a “Graham Cracker Hug”?

This is a program we started in 2022 for the Christmas season. Losing a sibling is something no child should have to experience. Our children know first hand how it feels to lose their sister Emma and they want to help other siblings going through the same. Holidays can be hard on everyone and siblings may struggle with many hard feelings, especially at Christmas. We want to try and bring some joy through hugs this Christmas. Our family is using our grief and the healing process to help others who grieve. It’s a heart project….. one that we wish was not needed BUT our goal is to do this each year and reach more children that need a hug.
We do this through fundraising to purchase Build-A-Bear stuffed animals. The stuffed animals are then named “A Hug From” and the name of the sibling that passed away. The bears are then delivered to the family – physically if they are in the Seattle / Tacoma area, or mailed if they are farther away. Parents can then make the choice on when and how they give them to the siblings.

Why the name Graham Cracker?

Well it’s a long standing fun name we have for our family AND we have come to realize that grief can look like Graham crackers.
How, you ask? Well, some moments for those of us who have experienced the loss of a child, it can look like we have it together. A nice rectangle with all the angles perfect. But grief has left scores on our hearts that can easily break. Sometimes we break a little…. into two pieces. Sometimes we break a bunch into 4 pieces or more. Sometimes we are so crushed by grief that we are just crumbles……..
It’s all grief that looks different at different moments. Graham Crackers are used for many things – whole, in pieces or crushed. When we first experience grief, we may not be feeling like we can function or move on.
As our hearts find strength, we can find ways to use our grief to do beautiful things.

This is our family’s Heart work.

Nominations

We are now accepting nominations for the 2023 Graham Cracker Hugs program. If you know of a family that has lost a child in the past year, you may nominate them using this link:

Nomination form

Sponsor a bear!

The cost of each bear averages $25-35 depending on shipping. The kids are hoping to give at least 30 bears to siblings this Christmas!

Donations