Walk through the halls of the emergency rooms at Pen Bay Medical Center or Waldo County General Hospital and you are bound to see children clutching stuffed animals. 

One may think nothing of it. Many children are gifted stuffed animals and it would make sense if they are brought it to the emergency room with them. 

But, many times, that has not been the case. 

In many cases, the stuffed animal being held tightly has been gifted to the child by an emergency room nurse, who received the donation courtesy one local woman’s organization. 

The organization, Rosie’s Hugs, was created by Stefanie McAllister about two years ago and named after her daughter, Rose. 

As one who has always worked with children as a preschool teacher, theater teacher and Assistant Children’s Librarian at the Camden Public Library, Stefanie knew she wanted to have children with her husband, Mark, who happens to be an emergency room doctor at Pen Bay Medical Center. 

“We had tried for so long and after two miscarriages, we were pregnant with Rose,” she said. “Unfortunately, I have a rare blood disorder and she was stillborn at 27 weeks.”

“I have always been a huge fan of stuffed animals and the comfort they bring and said that if my husband and I ever won the lottery I would give a stuffed animal to every child who needed it,” Stefanie said. “I'm not sure how I thought I'd achieve this — wandering the streets like some Johnny Appleseed with a sack of stuffies on my back — but I could never really shake the idea.”

In fact, Stefanie encountered first hand the effect stuffed creatures can have on a human. 

On a family visit to Florida, the McAllisters purchased a stuffed monkey they named Dexter, which now serves as the organization’s logo, for Rose. 

Upon returning to Maine, Stefanie began sleeping with Dexter the monkey in part to help prop her stomach up, “so it was the last thing [Rose] kicked.” 

“It's pretty special to us and provided comfort in the worst time of our lives,” Stefanie said. 

Stefanie noted her dream of handing out stuffed animals to children staying in the emergency room stemmed from the fact emergency rooms can be a scary place to be as a child. 

“No child should have to be scared,” she said. “I felt like, why wait until we won the lottery. Couldn't we just collect stuffed animals and maybe involve the community in helping.”

In the spring of 2016, the McAllisters received permission to set up a shelf in the nurses room at Pen Bay and slowly began to fill the shelf with stuffed animals the nurses could hand out. 

Soon, the number of stuffed creatures began to grow with the help of a drive in the winter where Stefanie sets up a table at Camden’s Christmas by the Sea, where she gets some financial donations, as well as through the help of Camden National Bank and the youth figure skaters at the Midcoast Recreation Center. 

Last year, the McAllisters received 88 stuffed animals thanks to drop boxes being set up at various Camden National Bank branches and their Hanley Center. 

“I also partnered with Dr. McKenzie Savidge, who has a group of youth figure skaters at MRC and they collected stuffies thrown on the ice (just like at the Olympics) for Rosie's Hugs,” Stefanie said. 

To date, Rosie’s Hugs have provided 1,350 stuffed creatures to the emergency rooms at Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County General Hospital. 

“The program has been so well received and done so much better than I ever thought and I feel so glad when I hear stories from parents about how it made a difference to their child,” Stefanie said.  

Presently, the McAllisters have two children, five-year-old Liam and almost two-year-old Maggie. 

“We have a very happy family and Liam even helps out when I deliver stuffies to the hospital,” Stefanie said. “Whenever we are [at the emergency room], if there is a child who needs a stuffie, the nurses let us hand one out. Liam loves to pick out the animals! He also likes helping me select them at the store.”

Anyone interested in donating either stuffed animals or money to buy stuffed animals can either visit the drop box at the Pen Bay Pediatrics office located at 7 Madelyn Lane in Rockport or by contacting Stefanie via the Rosie’s Hugs Facebook page. 

Stefanie noted she does have to comply with regulations meaning stuffed animal donations “have to look like they just came off the shelf.” 

“Occasionally, we will get some donations that are gently used and my mother, Cindy Rogers, helps me clean them all up, but we try and just use new ones,” Stefanie said. 

What’s in store for the future of Rosie’s Hugs? 

“Eventually, I would like to have so much ‘supply’ that I can provide stuffies to local law enforcement, because they too encounter some scary situations,” Stefanie said. 

Reach George Harvey at sports@penbaypilot.com.