HugNation hosts
Caleb (94) and Halcyon (35)

HugNation invites you to be a part of
"The Huggable Campaign."

Wear a "huggable" button and tell the world,
"I believe in love. And I've got a hug for you."

 

*Watch the Video: Feb 14, 2007 :Valentine's Day*

Hugging Guidelines:

As the school officials were aware of, a hug has the potential to be abused. So here’s some guidelines to keep it pure:

• When in doubt, keep your embrace under 2 seconds. All it takes is a brief human connection to make a difference.

• Chest-to-chest. Arms on upper back. No need to grind or caress. Leave that to lovers (or people with advanced degrees in Hug-ology.)

From Huggers:

"Halcyon... I got my huggable buttons yesterday just in time for Valentines. I put one on my purse, and took out three more to send to Nickie. I had them in an envelope in my bag at the grocery store today. A lady in line behind me asked me where I got my pin, her daughter had just been called into the prinipals office at her jr. high to find out that she was in trouble for hugging on campus and if it happened again her mother would get called in.

I stood there shocked at what I heard. That is the same jr. high my sons will attend in the future. I had no idea. I prompty pulled out a huggable button, told her about you and your website and told her to give the button to her daughter. She almost cried and said that I had just made her day...."

-Stacy, FL

 

"Hugnation in itself is a beautiful thing. It is something i hope spreads through the world, and can bring more people together. Like it did today, during hug nation I met Kari, from Panama. My mother lives there as well, as does my sister and brother I have not seen my siblings in nearly 14 years.

Well Kari is going to do a wonderful thing for me and my mother, she will be going through the town my mom lives in about 3 weeks she is going to meet up with my mom and hug her for me!!! I can not tell you what that means to me. So, this is a great gift, a blessing. Hugnation is a great way to connect the hearts of the world."

Carrie, MISSOURI

 

Yesterday was wonderful! I went to work with my huggable pins (and lots of cute pink accessories, hehe) and got such a great response! Got questions, very positive responses, and lots of wonderful hugs! Definitely was an excellent way to spread the love and connect to other people!

Lauren, Maryland

 

"On valentines day I went to a local night club… so I dressed up in my furry pink yetty jacket (It is the ultimate hugging jacket!! U would love it!!) and I was telling people Hug Nation… and by the end of the night… I was standing out side the club with a huge cue of people lining up for free hugs!! It was amazing…"

Leigh, Scottland

 

"Backstory"

A 13 year old girl sent me a message on MySpace. She was a regular participant in HugNation, and needed advice.

Her school had just outlawed hugging. She (and her parents) felt it was an excessively harsh response to the fear of inappropriate touching.

"There are 1000’s of things children need to be protected from," her mom said, "Hugging is not one of them."

So we brainstormed via email some course of action. We agreed that hugging someone against their will, or hugging inappropriately was not cool. So we decided that we should figure out some symbol that means, “I believe in the power of touch. And within appropriate context, I am open to a platonic embrace.”

We talked about arm bands or bracelets, but she finally suggested making buttons that said simply, “huggable.”

Perfect.

So I designed a simple button that could be printed and cut out. I also made pre-made buttons available on cafepress.com.

***

The fury at her school has died down, but the awkwardness around human contact remains. And the need for more love between one another will never go away.

So, this valentine’s day, HugNation would like to kick off it’s “huggable” campaign.

There is no reason that only the couple should be able to celebrate love on that day. Romantic love is great and all, but why not celebrate the love you feel towards the human family, as well?

***

June 2007 Update:
The School in Question has lifted the Ban!
***

HOW?

If you believe in hugs and are open to more hugs in your life, print out or puchase a huggable button and start wearing it on Love Day (aka 'Valentine's Day'). If you see anyone wearing a button, all you need to do ask them, "Feeling huggable?"

 

**NOTE: Even the most huggable people in the world are not always in the mood, or have the time for an embrace. The button just means they are open to it. So make sure you get the okay first.

**NOTE: People will surely ask what the button means. Simply respond, "It means I have a hug for you. Would you like one?"

"When?"

The event was Valentine's Day 2007. But being huggable continues indefinitely.


"Why? "

The world is torn apart. We need to connect. We need to be able to reach out and feel that there are people out there who care and love and feel like we do.

Now, more than ever, we need to use any tools we have to heal our planet. Will it work? A better question is, "Will we try?"

For a weekly group hug via webcam, Join Caleb (94) and Halcyon(35) for HugNation.

 

GET YOUR BUTTON:

Printable "huggable" buttons:

Buttons for purchase (sold at cost):

 

 

 

GET YOUR WEB BUTTON:

Want to help spread the love?!

Copy and paste this code into a bullitin, or your blog, or your profile!!

Feel free to add some personal text like, "I'll be huggable on vday...will you!?" It should look like:

 

 

 

 

Send inquiries or virtual hugs to
Halcyon@lifestudent.com or Caleb@lifestudent.com




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