Ninth Annual Monkey Love Valentine Drive Nets Nearly 2,000 Stuffed Animals

CONTRIBUTEDMore than 1,880 stuffed monkeys swung in to Shelton for the ninth annual Monkey Love Valentine Drive,” a yearly effort to collect stuffed animals for children in need.

Jennifer Sneider, the owner of J‑Cuts barber shop located at 505 Howe Ave. in downtown Shelton, organizes the drive every year and said she is amazed by the outpouring of kindness from the community.

Every year more and more people join in,” says Sneider. Now that this collection is well established, monkeys find their way to J‑Cuts throughout the year. When people see monkeys for sale, they think of children in need.” 

Once again, members of Keith Urban’s Ville and Facebook fans from all over the world mailed stuffed monkeys to Connecticut. They collected a total of 1,356 stuffed monkeys, 300 of which were donated directly to the CT Children’s Medical Center.

J‑Cuts became the main drop off location after taking the drive over from the owners of Luther’s Garage, which is now closed.

This is my fifth year being involved,” says Sneider. We have so much fun. My customers, co-workers and family all love to get involved! We decorate the barber shop in anticipation of a whole bunch of monkeys moving in for a little while. It is an amazing feeling to know each and every one of these monkeys will find comfort in the arms of a child in need and children will find comfort in these monkeys.” 

Additional collection locations included Minuteman Press of 427 Howe Ave., Suite 2 and the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, 10 Progress Drive, 2nd Floor, both of Shelton. 

Minuteman Press also donated posters. 

Mary Finnegan and Lenny Marconi held their 5th Annual Monkey Love Sunday Jan. 18 at Off the Hook Bar & Grill on Ferry Boulevard in Stratford.

As a member of the online meet-up group, Party Express, Marconi decided to invite everyone to Off the Hook each year for a monkey drop off party. Between donations from this group and many loyal customers of Off the Hook, over 100 stuffed monkeys were collected again. Off the Hook holds a Monkey Love Sunday celebration each year on the Sunday before Super Bowl. Next year, they hope to have other area pubs in Stratford join in. 

For the second year in a row, the Milford Fire Department dropped off donations along with Bright Horizons child care center of 3 Corporate Drive, Shelton and United Methodist Women of the First United Methodist Church, 47 Franklin St. in Ansonia.

The United Methodist Women, led by Barbara Tchakirides, crocheted 18 adorable and colorful stuffed monkeys. We enjoyed crocheting these monkeys knowing they would warm the hearts of children in need on Valentine’s Day,” says Tchakirides. 

This annual community event benefits abused and neglected children, impoverished, adopted and sick children, and frightened children involved in police calls, as well as children who may feel a little left out when a younger sibling is born and children treated for cancer or other illnesses at local hospitals. 

The 8th Annual Monkey Love Valentine Drive, held in 2014, collected and distributed over 2,000 stuffed monkeys to area organizations to give to children in need. 

Children benefited by the drive this year are serviced by the Milford and Lower Naugatuck Valley (Shelton) Boys & Girls Clubs; Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital in New Haven; TEAM Inc. in Derby and Ansonia; BHcare’s Center for Domestic Violence Services in Ansonia; Griffin Hospital of Derby; the Department of Children & Families in Milford; International Institute of CT, Refugee Services division of Bridgeport and the Shelton Lion’s Club.

Coordinators also shared 26 of the stuffed monkeys as 26 Random Acts of Kindness.”

According to Laura Jones, manager of Refugee Services at the International Institute of CT, We serve recently-arrived refugee families, as well as asylees, asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking. We serve a number of children who come to us through these programs, either on their own or with their parents, who would really appreciate receiving one of these special monkeys.”

In celebration of the 10th Annual Monkey Love Valentine Drive next year, coordinators are hoping to mark this milestone by launching a monkey love challenge” and have it go viral. They would like to have people participate by buying some monkeys, making a cute video, posting it on social media calling out others to do the same and then mailing their donations to J‑Cuts.

For information on holding a collection of your own next year, beginning Jan. 1, 2016, call J‑Cuts, 203 – 924-4107.

J‑Cuts also holds an Annual Back-To-School Book Bag & School Supply Drive which begins July 1. 

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