STUFFY DAY
LA WILDFIRE RELIEF

Stuffy Adoption Day - LA Wildfire Relief
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 | 1 - 3 PM
Vidiots Foundation
4884 Eagle Rock Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90041

Thanks to a generous donation from Douglas Toys, Humanitas has a number of stuffed animals ready for adoption by fire-impacted kids who have been displaced by the LA fires.

As a part of our ongoing LA Fire Resource efforts, thanks to Douglas Toys, Vidiots Foundation, and writer Julia Brownell, Humanitas hosted a Stuffy Adoption Day on January 28 at Vidiots benefitting fire-impacted kids and our community at large. Kids could adopt a free stuffy and stay for a free screening of Robin Hood (1973). Vidiots also offered a free popcorn and drink to each guest.

Stuff isn’t just stuff. When we lose our soft things, we lose pieces of ourselves. Without certain markers of our past, we’re without a physical timeline memorializing who we were, are, and going to be. Our belongings anchor us to reality, without which we can feel lost and exhausted.

The stuffies were new and gorgeous: corgis, seagulls, owls, longhorns, otters, unicorns, and more. Douglas Toys’s beautiful work is a true gift.

No adoption is complete without paperwork, so our staff had certificates on hand, and delighted as kids paused to give serious thought to the naming process. We had many funny and tender moments throughout the day. Try explaining what a signature is to a 4-year-old: “It’s your name, but squiggly.”

While it wasn’t our typical work day, being there in this way for the writer, entertainment, and larger community made sense. The first writing people do is imbue personalities onto their stuffed animals and toys. You give them dreams, conflicts, and write dialogue for them. They’re your first buddies. Their magical lives are your first drafts.

While there’s no replacing anybody’s teddy bear that would be missing a nose if grandma wasn’t there to sow a purple button in its place, but we were honored to help mark this new chapter with a sweet new friend.

As the lights went down for the movie, we saw folks across the audience holding and cuddling their stuffed animals.

After the event, leftover stuffies were adopted by fire-impacted schools who we learned about from the writer community.

Additional free community screenings at Vidiots and more can be found on their website.