By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
America’s military troops should never be forgotten. I’ve written much in my books and articles, as well as social media, about people and organizations advocating for their welfare. One of the best examples I’ve found is in the far west end of our state, in Paducah. It’s Gayron Ferguson’s volunteer group, The Hugs Project of Western Kentucky, founded by him in 2007.
The Hugs mission is “to see that all our military men/women who are serving our country in the Middle East get the love and support they deserve.” Essentially, Hugs sends care packages to carry out that mission. To do so, it relies on volunteers in Kentucky and some in nearby Illinois who share Gayron’s heartfelt concern for those who sacrifice so greatly for our country.
What are in the care packages?
“We put an assortment of items in each box such as snacks and sweets, as well as personal care items such as toothpaste, nasal spray, and bar soap,” Gayron explained. In those boxes, personal cards and letters are included from both children and adults. Two other unique items, “hugs” and “coolies,” are also added. “A ‘hug,’ or cool wrap, is a polymer filled tube of material that when soaked in water, makes a ‘tie’ that goes around the neck or ties onto the head to aid in cooling someone down in very hot weather,” Gayron continued. “’Smellies,’ or boot fresheners, are sort of like bean bags filled with scented rice to put one in each boot to take out the moisture and put in a fresh scent.”
The boxes are not cheap. Each box costs about $45.00 to fill and about $22.00 to send. Garron figures the organization has mailed over 64,000 boxes to over 23,000 men and women military personnel in eighteen years.
The Hugs Project of Western Kentucky began because of a personal connection. “My oldest son was deployed in Iraq in 2005,” said Gayron. “He mentioned that two of his buddies did not get any mail the whole time they were there. I asked him why he didn’t tell me so I could send them something just to give them some support. They went back in 2007 and after two months. He told me the same two guys still weren’t getting any mail.”
It touched Gayron, and, wanting to help, made what he called a “plan” to help the three. He would send his son and two buddies one “care” box a month for their remaining nine months of deployment—and that would be the extent of it.
“That was almost nineteen years ago,” said Gayron, with a grin. Much more has been done since then.
The organization, which is a branch of the national organization based in Oklahoma, now thrives, running totally on unpaid helpt. It’s been a great encouragement for those personnel to receive the benefits of such kindness. The many letters of appreciation bear witness, and some are very special. “Two of our heroes wrote to us that they ended up NOT committing suicide because (they said) ‘someone cared’,” noted Gayron. “That little bit kept them from going over the edge.”
The Hugs group has received many touching letters. Some who earlier received boxes have become Hugs volunteers. “One female soldier came to the Hugs house when the local TV station was doing an interview with us,” said Gayron. “She showed them a little box that had some trinkets that were sent to her. One item was a small, crocheted heart in our logo-type thing with ‘Hugs’ in the heart of it.” The first thing she got when deployed was from Hugs.
One airman, noted Gayron, somewhat “adopted” him and his wife as “surrogate” parents because of the deficiency of his own parents, and keeps in frequent touch with the Fergusons.
“At our ‘Hugs House,’ we have a room full of flags flown over bases all over the world as a thank you and certificates of appreciation in two rooms,” he said.
Not only is Hugs all volunteer but it is supported by financial donations and has little in the way of administrative costs. His wife’s help and support of Gayron is crucial. “Mostly, people who donate just a little each month, but a lot of people donating just a little can do so much,” said Gayron.
For more on this worthy charitable work, visit www.thehugsprojectofwky.com or its Facebook page.