GoPals

Every parent knows the fear and panic that accompanies a child’s loss of a beloved stuffed animal. Somewhere while traveling between Seattle and Portland–we never figured out where–my daughter Piper’s favorite plush toy, Midnight, just disappeared. The loss was devastating to my six-year-old, who never went to bed without her favorite cat. “Right then it occurred to me: our phones are mobile, computers are mobile, why can’t plush toys be mobile too?” Fast forward 11 years. My six-year-old daughter is now 17, she has a 12-year-old brother, and their mom had spent more than 20 years as a top Footwear and Apparel Designer for Nike. And so one night–after my kids and I watched a few too many episodes of Shark Tank – we decided it was time to make my idea a reality. Together we worked to design a plush toy that travels everywhere a child goes, a stuffed animal that fastens securely to any backpack. GOPALS happily tag along on every trip–to school, sleepovers, vacations and more. And parents rest easier knowing that their child’s favorite friend will never leave their side. The mission of GOPALS is to spread joy by doing good–the first by creating a small stuffed friend that never leaves a child’s side, the second by supporting the UN Foundation's Shot@Life campaign. A portion of every GOPALS sold will go toward this very worthy cause, which provides life-saving vaccines to children all over the world. Last year, over 1.5 million children died from vaccine-preventable diseases, and our hope is that with your support that number might be dramatically reduced.