how they got their stripes

More camouflage pigs were ordered this week as a result of new demands.  My mom spent the last two weekends at Yellow Ribbon Ceremonies - one in Tulsa and one in McAlester.  At both events, people approached the booth to thank the VFU team for the heart-warming surprise they received in the mail.  Most of the recipients forgot they had signed up to 'win' a pig, so when the mail arrived, you can only imagine their shock when they opened a white box and found a cheerful striped piggy bank staring back at them.  The initial plan was to draw one winner from the list of entries, but after much discussion, it was decided to award every family that signed up with a piggy bank.

In a conversation between one mother and another, it was said that her 'daughter can not go a single day without putting something in the pig' and 'there were so many sweet tears when such a kind thing arrived, unannounced, asking for nothing in return.'

Moms were crying, kids were tickled pink about their new pigs and people were connecting and finding comfort.  

That is why we do it.

march of pigs

The first of hundreds arrived this week. These are the blank banks that will be hand-painted with the camouflage stripes and sent off to awaiting families. The proceeds from necklace sales of Woodstock the Pig, ‘the bio’, go right back to VFU so they can fund this project.

the pig crusade

The Pig went on hiatus for a few months. It took a special request from a mom that he come out of retirement dressed in his best camouflage. Veterans’ Families United (VFU) asked for a larger version of him for Yellow Ribbon Events - these events assist serve members and their families to prepare for, and return from deployment. VFU thought Woodstock the Pig would be a warm-hearted addition to their table. The plan was to raffle him out in a drawing. What wasn’t expected was that The Pig had 200 entries and counting. After much discussion, it was decided that money would be raised so that VFU could send each family that entered their own pig.

Never missing an opportunity to take The Pig a step further, my mom drafted up an ‘Idea Booklet’ that would show families how to use their pig as therapy tool. My mother is a psychotherapist so she knows a few things about mental health and holistic healing. One of my favorite ideas is the ‘memory bank’. Think of it an a mix between an old-fashioned diary and Facebook. It’s mainly something for the little ones to do, but it really could be enjoyable for anyone. The basic plan is that every time the little one has a hooray moment, he writes it down on a strip of paper, dates it, then stuffs it in The Pig. Everyone gets to share in the joy of opening The Pig and releasing the stored treasures when the deployed parent returns.

a doodled beginning

A group of extremely fantastic people had just launched Veterans’ Families United Foundation and I wanted to help. I probably spent a good week picking my brain on how I could contribute and...nothing. My mind was hitting a void. On a search for clarification - I grabbed a latte, filled up the gas tank, wandered the mall for sales and ate a slice of mall pizza. Ate a second slice. My brain was clouding over from all the caffeine and mozzarella so I decided to call it quits. I headed home.

Upon leashing up the chihuahua, I noticed my sketch book. After the walk, I opened that sucker and began to doodle with my prisma markers. The cutest red doodle was born. Now what to do with him...