Mini Buddy Organization

I am SO excited to be part of an amazing organization that puts families and children first. Our family has had SO fun participating with the Mini Buddy™ organization over the last couple months even though we have just recently hit the internet officially this past week. So who and what is Mini Buddy™ and what makes this organization unique?

Mini Buddy™ is a group organized by families with children who have feeding tubes as their primary source of nutrition. Our goal is to help families and children understand the transition from eating by mouth to eating through the tube. The Mini Buddy™ has comforted many children facing procedures and surgeries. We are excited to work with multiple Children’s hospitals across the country to provide stuffed animals with feeding tubes to as many children as possible, preferably before surgery.

This is important to us because when dreams are shared, and a community comes together, anything is possible!

Our primary goal is to make the transition from oral to tube feeds less scary for children. We hope to use our Mini Buddy™, a very special animal with a feeding tube just like the child's, to provide comfort as well as a teaching tool that can be used to help family, friends and caregivers learn about feeding tubes.

We also hope to bring these children and their families together by working with individual hospitals to set up local chapters that include a support group for families dealing with GI issues. In our local area in Maryland in the Upper Chesapeake Bay area, (APG area) we bring families with medical and special needs together and offer the support needed for these unique families.

We are very pleased to announce that we're working with AMT (Applied Medical Technology) and we are so excited to be accepting applications for Mini buddy’s™ now!

Also, if your child has received an AMT bear from another group, we'd love to have you share your photos with us too! Thank you!! ♥

To see more about who we are, what we are about, and why we do what we do please see our Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mini-Buddy/271132522962766

Sponsoring a Smile
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.279753235434028.67198.271132522962766&type=3

The inspiration behind why do what we do!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.271334892942529.65241.271132522962766&type=3

Behind the scenes and Build A Bear Parties
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.271336802942338.65243.271132522962766&type=3

The Mini Buddy™ Adventures
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.271373289605356.65254.271132522962766&type=3

The Mini Buddy™ Blog!
http://mini-buddy.blogspot.com/


Mini Buddy Wish List Items

Expired Feeding Tubes
Foley Catheters
NG Tubes
Picc Lines
CVL Hickman line
Central Lines
Ports
Trachs
20cc/ml Syringes
60cc/ml Syringes
Diabetic catheters
G-tube pads
Any other medical supplies that can be securely attached to a Mini Buddy friend.

Please remember these items can be expired or defective but need to be new for our Mini Buddy™ friends as many of our children have immune system issues. If you or your child have extra supplies you are willing to donate supplies, will gladly accept any supplies you can spare.

Please send your extra supplies (and applications) to:

Mini Buddy
P.O. Box 642
Parma, ID 83660

Another way you can help is if you've ever considered donating money, or possibly a gift card to Build-A-Bear, now's a good time to do it. $20, combined with their $10 off of a $30 purchase, will purchase enough animals for 3 children!!!

We also take all the valid Build A Bear coupons we can get a hold of.

Build-A-Bear e-cards can be purchased and sent to myminibuddy@gmail.com. Paypal donations can also be sent to this same email address.

At last count we have than 50 on our wait list!!

You can contact us at with any questions to or to request an application for your child at myminibuddy@gmail.com