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ANGOLA — Miss Northeast’s Outstanding Teen Elayna Hasty has partnered with Bears for Humanity.
The organization, based in California, has partnered with the Children’s Miracle Network, a cause close to Hasty’s heart as her charity of choice is Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
“I’m a state ambassador,” she said. Bears for Humanity allows Hasty to sell four varieties of the hand-made, organic stuffed animals. Part of the charity outreach is that for each bear sold, a needy child gets a bear as well.
Hasty has been reaching out through social media to encourage people to purchase the stuffed animals. They use Global Organic Textile Standard products and are “hand sewn and stuffed with love by women and men from under served communities in the USA,” says the organization’s web site at bearsforhumanity.com.
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There is a link to purchase the bears on Hasty’s web site at donorthreesixty.com/ElaynasBearsthatCare/home
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Elayna’s favorite of the Bears for Humanity is a plush pink cuddly.
“At a young age, one of my favorite comforts was my pink teddy bear that I lovingly called Baby,” she says on the link at her web site, explaining why she wants to make a positive impact in children’s lives. “With every purchase, I will donate $5 to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.”
The toys cost $20 apiece. To assist Elayna, they must be purchased through her direct link. There are three shipping options. Elayna encouraged people to read carefully when making their order; the top option with free shipping donates the bear to a needy child and the donor does not get a delivery.
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Elayna established GAB Girls — Girls Against Bullying Girls — which has gotten national attention. Along with her anti bullying message, she has dedicated herself to helping hospitalized children.
For each bear purchased through Elayna, $6 goes toward her fundraising goal and a bear goes to a child at Riley. Currently available are pink and brown teddies, a lion and a monkey.
This is Children’s Hospitals Week through the Children’s Miracle Network. To mark the occasion, Elayna solicited donations for the cause at the Angola Dairy Queen Wednesday — free cone day. She took a picture of everyone in her Angola High School homeroom wearing stickers shaped like bandages that show their support for CMN.
She also plans to do an outreach at the Ronald McDonald House at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne, donating some of the 50 bears she’s been provided to give away.
“I’ve been there once to volunteer,” Elayna said. “It turned out very well.”
Along with Miss Northeast Madison Seifert of Auburn and a pageant team, Elayna made a meal of baked potatoes, soups and other comforts for the families staying in the house. The Ronald McDonald House at Parkview is a home-away-from-home for the parents of pediatric patients hospitalized at Parkview.
Created by Vijay and Renju Prathap of Hayward, California, Bears for Humanity aims to provide high-quality, sustainably produced toys and soothe poverty. Along with CMN, its partners include the Semper Fi Fund, World Vision, Toys for Tots and Feeding America. One of its focuses is to provide a USA-made product.
2019 Amazing Kids
Amazing Kid! of the Month Elayna Hasty – May 2019
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Posted in AKOM Archives 2019, Amazing Kids! of the Month, May 2019 Issue
By Victoria Feng, Editor-in-Chief
Elayna Hasty, 17-year-old founder of G.A.B. Girls
Quote of the Month
“I want every girl to know that they not only have a support system but they have the ability to lead, encourage, and most importantly, empower others to make a positive difference in their community and our world.”
-Elayna Hasty,17-year-old founder of G.A.B. Girls
May Amazing Kid! of the Month
For many students, May marks the end of school year. It is important that we finish these final few weeks off great. And that starts with making sure everyone at school is able to have a happy and relaxing final few weeks of school. However, when a student is being bullied, they are no longer able to have fun at school.
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After being a victim of bullying herself and seeing her friend go through a traumatic experience after being bullied, Elayna decided at only nine years old that she was going to start G.A.B. Girls to fight against bullying. Instead, Elayna advocates for girls to be self-confident and help other girls instead of putting them down.
Read on to find out more about Elayna and G.A.B. Girls!
Creating a Positive Platform
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Elayna’s three general workshops are “The Princess within Me,” “Free to Be Uniquely Me,”, and “Stand Up Speak Out.” The workshops offer content that is suitable to kids and teens of all ages, with the overreaching theme of positivity. “Stand Up Speak Out” is specifically about combatting bullying, and is for both boys and girls. While G.A.B. Girls usually focuses on helping girls, bullying is an important issue that isn’t limited to just girls.
Elayna regularly spreads her messages of positivity. Through working with Girl Scout groups on projects such as her “I AM” boards and Kindness Rocks, Elayna has used a variety of platforms to spread her message of anti-bullying and positivity among girls.
For all her hard work, Elayna received the Kids Are Heroes award, which she regards as one of her greatest accomplishments. But an even greater feeling that receiving an award is being able to feel like you have been able to make a difference in someone else’s life.
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Continuing Her Work
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While Elayna has reached many with her online website and videos, she hopes to expand her influence by bringing G.A.B. Girls to schools. Already, she has done numerous projects such as hosting over 75 workshops for kids. Through her work, Elayna hopes that there will be more kindness in the world and less hateful judgement.
When Elayna isn’t busy working on G.A.B. Girls, she competes in beauty pageants. She hopes to be Miss. Indiana’s Outstanding Teen and eventually Miss. America’s Outstanding Teen.
This month, think of all the ways you can bring a little more kindness into others’ lives. When you see someone being bullied, support them or tell a teacher. If someone’s alone, try to be friends with them.