Stuffed animals to become real thing for African orphans

Boxes of fluffy brown stuffed goats sat around a Scottsdale Community College classroom last week, each with a white bow reading “thank you” tied around its neck.

SCC’s Hospitality and Tourism Club hopes these 500 stuffed animals will bring in at least that many $25 donations to buy real goats for orphans in Uganda, Africa.

The club will sell the stuffed goats during March to benefit Hope 4 Kids International, a nonprofit group based in Anthem, said Janelle Hoffman, the SCC instructor who oversees the club.

The club’s aim is to help improve the lives of 900 orphans.

Goats are an investment for Ugandans — they can be bred, sold or traded for a more expensive animal, like a cow, said Elizabeth Flynn, orphan program director for Hope 4 Kids International.

The goats also teach the orphans responsibility, since they raise the animal, Flynn said.

“They’re so proud of their animals. They’ll say, ‘Come and see, my goat had babies!’” Flynn said. “It’s almost like a kid with a Nintendo here.”

The SCC club first worked with Hope 4 Kids International last year to do a flip-flop drive.

And it all started because Hoffman’s son, now 7, refused to eat his tuna casserole.

Hoffman’s family has sponsored a Ugandan child named Bachu through Hope 4

Kids International for two years. Hoffman told her son that children like Bachu would appreciate the food on his plate.

But then Hoffman had to explain why it would be logistically impossible to send a tuna casserole to Uganda.

“I told him, ‘If you eat your casserole, I’ll call tomorrow and see what we can send to Bachu,” she said.

Flynn suggested collecting flip-flops to help prevent kids from getting cuts on

their feet, which can lead to infections.

The club wanted to collect 500 pairs of flip-flops. But they ended up with 7,000 pairs of shoes, medical supplies and about $1,700, which was used to purchase 750 mosquito nets.

Hoffman said she wants to at least give out the 500 stuffed goats this year, but wasn’t sure exactly what to expect.

“Goats take a little more explaining than, ‘The kids need shoes,’” Hoffman said.

Club secretary Lindsay Wooten said everyone she’s talked to said they believe it’s a great cause. But she enjoys the confused reactions she gets at first.

“My boyfriend’s mom was laughing hysterically, saying, ‘Where am I going to keep a goat?’” Wooten said.

The club is starting to get the word out, though. It has several corporate sponsors, including KDKB (93.3 FM) radio, which will run ads about the drive and give T-shirts to listeners who donate.

Club president Jacquelyn Turner said she hoped the stuffed goats would remind people of how important their donation was.

“This is something that I think reaches a whole new level of hospitality,” Turner said. “This is a whole other way of caring about people — it’s helping them survive.”

Donate a goat

Anyone interested in donating $25 to buy a live goat for an orphan in Uganda can make out checks or money orders to H4KI - Goats.

Drop off your donation or mail it to Janelle Hoffman by March 31 at Scottsdale Community College, AP Building Office 246, Scottsdale, AZ 85256

Anyone who would like a stuffed goat as a thank you gift must drop off donations in person.

For more information call (480) 423-6260.