Stuffy Guard Project

Community
Name:	Stuffy Guard Project
Date(s):	2000-to at least 2007
Founder:	A.J. Nordall
Type:
Fandom:	Stargate SG-1
URL:
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Stuffy Guard Project was a fan-run charity created by Stargate SG-1 fans.

Stargate: SG1 fans have been collecting stuffed animals for donation to the British Columbia Children's Hospital.

A.J. Nordall, co-founder of the Stuffy Guard Project, said, "Back in 2000, I was part of a group of fans online trying to get a fan club created for [SG1 cast member] Teryl Rothery. We'd heard about the Wolf Events convention that November that would celebrate Teryl's birthday by collecting teddy bears to be donated to a local children's hospital. The five of us wanting to start up the fan club decided we would collect teddy bears to send to the event. Since I was one of the club members attending the first Gatecon convention that September in Vancouver, BC, I was designated one of the spokespeople for the group. We managed to collect approximately 90 bears that were sent along to the Wolf Events convention. While at the convention, we were brought to the attention of Teryl herself. The fan club never got off the ground, but the experience in collecting those teddy bears, knowing they were going to ill children, left a definite impression on me."

Since its inception, the Stuffy Guard Project has been collecting stuffed animals and monetary donations for disbursements to a number of children's charities, including Make-A-Wish (the favorite charity of popular SG1 fannish get-together Gatecon), Canuck Place, and the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (which also benefits from Sekh's Party another SG1 fan-run group), as well as the hospital. According to Nordall, "By our sixth year, 2006, we had collected over ten thousand stuffies and nearly $4000 worldwide, all donated to children in hospitals and shelters."

[...]

The amount of work involved with organizing and running a charity event can be staggering. Nordall said, "For the past seven years, the [Stuffy Guard Project Association] has been a constant part of my life. I've literally eaten, slept, and breathed it. As cliché as it sounds, this little grassroots charity has been like my child, more so than anything else has."

So why does she do it?

"I love the sense of commitment," said Nordall, "of actually making a difference in someone else's life. I've seen these kids' faces light up at the sight of all those stuffed animals. Every time the kids came to the presentations, we let them choose stuffies for themselves. It's a riot to watch them pick through the bins of toys, finding what they like. Knowing that I've been a part of what brought those smiles to their faces is perhaps the greatest feeling in the world, and one I find myself wanting to experience over and over again."