The Furry Project

The Furry Project

Mac, Furry, Mom and Fiskars!

By Ann Yurcek

This is a true story about a boy, his best buddy Furry, and Mom.

Mac, from the start of his life, odds were stacked against him. Abandoned in the NICU, spent months in the foster care system until he found his home with a family well versed in parenting medically fragile children. Mac was premature, prenatally exposed to alcohol and drugs along with genetic syndromes; the resilient little boy defied the odds. They said he would never be able to ‘this or that’, but he proved them wrong!

Mac discovered acceptance and friendship in Kindergarten.

Kindergarten also introduced a special little Stuffie that led to a wonderful lifelong companion in Furry, Mac’s special penguin with the help of his Kindergarten teacher. From that moment on, Furry not only became Mac’s Emotional Support Partner, but his ‘real life’ best friend.

Furry helps Mac in almost everything he does: Children would send Mac stories, pictures, and share about the adventures they had with their penguins through technology while Mac was homebound for much of his school life due to his medical fragility.

Mac’s Mom and his teacher worked together to help Mac and his classmates find friendship, acceptance and inclusion. Thinking out of the box, the lessons from Kindergarten were immortalized in the storybook Furry, The Little Penguins That Could. Mom turned writer and the story became the Mom’s Choice award winner and became real just like Furry!

In this sweet video, Mom uses her Fiskars scissors to create costumes for Mac and Furry. And Mom finds a little respite from the challenges of special needs parenting.

Crafting a Difference

As years go by, Mac begins to think about his penguin as a need for other children who have been in a tough situation: tornados, fire, sad, scared, or lonely. He came up with the idea that “Kids all over the globe need Furrys.” Mom and Mac worked together to make this dream come true. Mac, Mom, and Furry, along with our orange Fiskars scissors, make Furry printed Masks for kids and penguins, Furry printed crayon rolls, Furry hospital gowns, penguin ribbons and, of course, we need to cut out the special Furry hearts to send to our friends. What a way to share!

How Mac and Furry Bring Joy to Others

Using donations from Mac and Furry’s allowance, a virtual lemonade stand (furrythepenguin.com) and other fundraising ideas, the family purchased cases of stuffed penguins for ride-alongs with our local officers, hospital emergency rooms, social workers from foster care, child life specialists to help children at his favorite children’s hospital. Mac spent his first day of not going to school, to meet with Officer Kruser to help him stuff the trunks of our local police cars. Not two nights went by that Mac and Furry learned that two of the penguins were used in a situation to help children in a traumatic scary situation. Mac and Furry are making a difference. But funds for Furry are difficult to earn when you cannot be in public yet because of Covid 19 as Mac and Furry live in the Little Town That Would and go to the Little School That Could.

Rocking Our Red Shoes

Furrys have been included in the Red Shoes Rock, a specially designed project to educate people on FASD, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, children born with prenatal alcohol exposure, like Mac. Mac has been running around the world with his sidekick Furry wearing his Red Shoes, around, including Antarctica! Did you know that penguins wear red sneakers? Furry does! Mac and Furry have reached over 100 countries and the Red Shoes Rock campaign has been translated into over 70 languages. Mac has autism and loves to sing in foreign languages. Oh, and ask him and Furry about geography trivia! They are both experts!

Mac is excited to be able to help children by donating the red Furry Emotional Support Partner bags filled with the Furry, The Little Penguin Who Cares book and The Emotional Support Partner kits complete with a cuddly soft Furry.

Sending Love

Mac secretly sends Furrys to children who are like him: A little girl facing heart surgery, a boy who was heading to foster care, other children facing cancer and life threatening disorders. This year, Furrys have found themselves in the arms of children who lost a parent to Covid 19. One little boy lost both parents so we mailed the Furry to him at his grandmother’s. Furrys are a comfort and friend who can soak up the tears along with sharing the adventures of life.

Crafting a Difference

We will be pulling out our Fiskars, as we have hospital gowns to sew for Furry, matching masks to sew for children with Furrys, and, of course, the book needs some fabric crayon holders to go in the bag. There is even Furry printed fabric! (Furry has his own scissors to help, but they are not orange or sharp because penguins do not have fingers so Fiskars does NOT make scissors for our stuffie friends). We will be clipping threads and Mac will be working hard to try to get his hands to manage the scissors! Sometimes Mac thinks he is like Furry, he struggles with making his hands do what he wants them to do. But he will grab his own little orange scissors to help Mom get the work done! Even if he has to have help to do it hand over hand, Mac is determined! We use our orange scissors to cut and sew the little ESP Partner bandanas and our tiny thread snipping scissors to turn Emotional Support lanyards into leashes for the ESP Stuffies kits. It is tough to get those threads ripped out so that is Mom’s job!

Surprises

Mac is one of 27 people first discovered to have a rare genetic disorder called Gabriele DeVries Syndrome along with the rest of his disorders. Gillette specializes in children with complex rare conditions and treatment of life changing surgeries. Mac is facing brain surgery for his early childhood onset dystonia and his progressive movement disorders. On his surgery day, September 2, Mac will be delivering his next round of Furry ESP bags to the Child Life Specialists at Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.

A Hug

Mac and Mom told the child life specialists that these Furrys can be pulled out and given to children who are struggling with the tough stuff to catch the tears and bring comfort while they are hospitalized. Mac’s wish is that all children who are going through challenges will find comfort of ESP friends like Furry and that certifying “Stuffies” as Emotional Support Partners will help people understand and not tease any age kids who carry a best friend.

Every year Mac and Furry Rock their Red Shoes on September 9, for FASD Awareness Day. But this year, Mac will be having the second part of his surgery and others will have to walk for him. He may not be able to walk for Awareness, however, he will help children at Gillette and other kids going through the tough stuff of life by sharing Furry love. We hope that someday we will have the funds to keep the hospital supplied with Furry ESP kits year ‘round and maybe some day the Furry Project can grow to Children’s Hospitals and foster care around the globe to help children cope. A big wish for a boy and his penguin!

Furry becomes REAL for a child who needs him. Grownups talk to Furry. The more you love them, the more real they become. We share our REAL story to inspire and make a difference. Penguins and scissors. Mac and Fiskars. Mom and her sewing machine and a little story of HOPE and love reaching out to others to share a little penguin magic!

This is the true story of the little boy and his penguin that could! Pure happiness!

MEEP