If you had told Gayron Ferguson that by 2021, he would be working full time operating The Hugs Project of Western Kentucky, working each month to organize 120+ care packages being sent overseas, he would have said “no way,” along with a belly laugh. When Gayron first brought The Hugs Project to Paducah in 2007, he planned to do it for a short amount of time while his own son, a U.S. Marine, was serving our country in Iraq.
God had a very different plan for Gayron and the organization. Since 2007, The Hugs Project of Western Kentucky has grown into a full time, 100% volunteer-run operation for Gayron, his wife Donna, and many volunteers. They are a chapter of The National Hugs Project in Oklahoma but operate independently, which means Gayron and his local supporters are the sole lifeline of the project. The Western Kentucky chapter of The Hugs Project is now the largest chapter in the nation.
The name The “Hugs” Project comes from the cooling wraps that are hand-sewn by volunteers. “It’s kinda like giving them a hug when they put it around their necks,” Gayron explains. Most care packages are sent to Iraq or Afghanistan, with several others going to countries such as Kuwait and South Korea . These are places where troops don’t have the ability to roam around and may not have frequent access to items found in Hugs care packages. “We will send to any service member, but we actually have chaplains [overseas] watching for people who don’t receive mail, and we make sure they started getting mail,” Gayron smiled. “The moral boost these care packages provide is just unbelievable.”
As with most organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges. Many volunteers are elderly, and for safety reasons, elected not to volunteer for several months during the pandemic. That’s where 11-year-old Ethan Mullins came to help. Ethan is the grandson of Gayron and Donna. He lives in Southern Illinois but came to spend several weeks with his grandparents in the early months of the pandemic and eagerly helped them through the rough time of volunteer decrease. Ethan helped organize and pack hundreds of care packages, which played a major role in keeping their operation flowing through the pandemic. With passion and determination, Ethan’s help and God’s will, they continued to send 120+ packages every single month throughout the pandemic. When Christmas came along, they worked even harder to make the season special for our troops. In the month of December 2020, they more than tripled the number of boxes normally sent in a month.
The Hugs Project doesn’t leave anyone out—some service members have four legs. Over the past couple of years, an addition they’ve made to their project is K-9 care packages. “We have highly trained K-9s that get deployed to the Middle East, and the asphalt is so hot, it damages the nerves in the pads of the feet,” Gayron explains. “Also, in the Middle East, the sand is a lot different from ours; the sand over there is very fine and almost like slivers of glass. The dogs, being low to the ground, were constantly getting sand in their eyes, and it would basically shave off the retina of their eyes, leaving them with painful, impaired sight. When this happened to their eyes or feet, they’d return home, and the dogs would be put down.” When Gayron learned of this, The Hugs Project of WKY began sending K-9 care packages to the service dogs and their handlers, which include not only life-saving boots and goggles for the dogs, but also toys, treats and bones.
One may ask how it’s possible to sustain such a highly organized non-profit without the aid of paid staff members. Gayron will tell you it’s all God’s work. At times when they thought they weren’t going to make it work one month, they would get a large last-minute donation that made the difference. “God has provided everything we need at the right time.” Gayron passionately continues, “I have to admit, over the last several years, my faith in God has increased ten-fold or more. I’ve seen Him work. For everybody that does pray, I would encourage them to not only pray for The Hugs Project, but for the men and women serving our country. And not just for their physical health, but that God will protect them mentally and emotionally as well.”
To find more information and learn how to get involved, visit their website: thehugsprojectofwky.com and be sure to follow their frequently updated Facebook page: The Hugs Project of Western Kentucky.
