The emphasis on this support structure is to ease the families transition from hospital to home and the consequent life changing event. By reducing family stress, this support network will enhance children’s physical and psychological recovery, thus compliment the hospitals mission to heal. The network will begin at the hospital where families will receive a teddy bear with an inscription of Krissy’s Kuddle, a phone number and a web address. The hospital staff responsible for dispensing the Kuddle will also provide a brief explanation of the network. At the discretion of the family, they will contact Krissy’s Kuddle. A Krissy’s Kuddle volunteer will provide a parent-to-parent support system and link the family with a collaborative network of professionals and individualized support systems. The vision for Krissy’s Kuddle will begin within Hillsborough County and gradually expand to include other counties in Florida, eventually reaching to communities nationally and internationally.
Krissy’s Kuddle will provide the following networking services:
- Provide Parent to Parent support
- Provide assessment of family support and assist family with their identified needs.
- Determine sources of stress, family strengths for managing stress, and amount of stress the family attributes to the situation.
- Develop family support plan that will commend the family members for their strengths in order form them to deal adequately with the situation. The plan will offer information to prepare the family toward understanding and accepting the critical situation. Finally, the plan will include drawing forth support and referrals to community resources.
- Provide identified Krissy’s Kuddle teddy bear to local children’s hospitals in order to quickly link families with the network.
- Provide referral services to local medical community including hospitals and physicians.
- Provide support through individual community resources such as civic clubs, schools, and neighbors
- Offer Spiritual and Cultural Support
- Expand informational resources
- Tend to everyday tasks...
- mowing the lawn
- picking up the paper
- running errands, etc.
What You Can Do To Support Krissy’s Kuddle
- Sponsor Teddy Bears
- Become a Parent to Parent Member
- Become a Community Partner
- Donate medical goods
- Share your talents
- Give us a call.
