we will give a preemie an octopus this christmas!

When I asked our own Hannah Vatral (a young adult at Immanuel Church who works as a NICU nurse (N = "neonatal" = basically babies born early = preemies) what she sees as the biggest need in the hospital she works (St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children), which is in a very difficult neighborhood north of Philly. I thought Hannah might say blankets, or even volunteers to hold the babies. She responded with, "octopuses".  WHAT?  I said, "Octopuses?"

Apparently these octopuses are the ONLY approved items to be given to prematurely born babies in their isolettes. They have a special purpose that none of us would think about -- the babies love to weave their hands in the tentacles of the octopuses (see pictures below) rather than their tubes/cords, because to them it feels like their umbilical cord, which means it is also comforting because they feel like they are still close to their mother.

For every $5 donation you bring to the YOUNG ADULT CHRISTMAS party this FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20th, you will receive 1 raffle ticket, and we will draw Raffle prizes throughout the night.  

All donations will go toward buying as many octopuses as we can (average price on Amazon for an octopus is between $12-$15).

So, bring a donation and help buy a preemie an octopus this year for Christmas!