photo by Theodore Wiesehan: The Palmer family poses with the dolls distributed as part of Operation Give a Hug. Pictured are, from left: (front row) Luke (2), Emily (5) and Evan (7); and (back row) Leane and Noel.

by Theodore Wiesehan

    As the mother of a two-year-old daughter and three-year-old son when her husband Noel was deployed to Iraq in 2003, Leane Palmer of Seward saw firsthand how difficult separation from a parent can be for a young child.
     "When they're smaller like that they just don't understand what's going on with Daddy or Mommy gone," she said.
     A gift from Leane's best friend, Susan Agustin, helped her children through their father's time away. Now Agustin and Palmer are giving the same gift to thousands of children whose parents are serving in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the current U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
     Agustin's daughter, Maddie, had been given a doll with clear sleeve allowing a photograph to be displayed over the face. When her husband was deployed, Agustin replaced the picture in the doll with one of Maddie's father.
     "And then a few weeks later Noel got deployed to Iraq and she sent my kids (Evan and Emily, then 3 and 2, respectively) each a doll," Palmer said. "She just thought that they would be good for the kids."
     "I took them to soccer practice and soccer and preschool," Evan said.
     The dolls helped Agustin's and Palmer's children so much that Agustin established a nonprofit organization called Operation Give a Hug in 2004 to provide the dolls to other military children with parents serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
     Though the Agustins now live near Detroit, Mich., Palmer and Agustin remain close friends. Both continue their work soliciting donations and locating children in need of the dolls wherever they are living.
     Palmer said the organization has distributed nearly 9,000 dolls - most of which have gone to active duty families.
     "Guard and reserve units are harder to get to because you don't live on post and they draw from huge areas," she said. "We'd like to get the word out more to guard and reserve units, because those kids need them, too."
     Because the organization is not-for-profit, Palmer said they prefer to send dolls in large quantities to save money on shipping costs, though she said they will still send out individual requests.
     "I sent three dolls out last week to three little girls who just lost their dad in Iraq," she said.
     Several area groups and individuals have contributed to Operation Give a Hug. Faith Lutheran Church held a back door offering, the Centennial High School Student Council organized a fund-raiser and the VFW contributed a donation to the effort, as well.
     The dolls have also made their way into the hands of several Seward youngsters with a parent serving in OEF or OIF, Palmer said.
     She has provided dolls through Seward Elementary School and the 4-H program Operation Military Kids.
     Leane said Operation Give a Hug is always seeking donations, as there are always more children they would like to send dolls to.
     Donations can be made on-line at www.operationgiveahug.com or by mail to the Tacoma, Wash., Kiwanis Club, which sponsors the program, at The Kiwanis Club of Greater Tacoma Foundation, Attn: Operation Give a Hug, P.O. Box 11351, Tacoma, WA 98411-0351.
     "They give the kids a little bit of comfort in a time that's pretty difficult for them, because they just don't understand what's going on," Palmer said. "They don't understand time, so they don't understand that Daddy's going to be gone for 12 months or 18 months. Then it happens again. They get deployed again and the kids are going right back for their dolls.
     "It's something they can sleep with, they can hold, they can cuddle - something tangible. It's something they can hug until Daddy gets home and they can hug him for real."