North Jersey Mom Reunites Texas Flood Victims With Their Stuffed Animals

NEW JERSEY — A mom and daughter recently found a soaked, mud-caked stuffed horse near the site of the fatal flash floods in Kerr County, Texas, where more than 30 children lost their lives.

The pair reached out to Randi Jaffe of New Jersey, who runs a "Lost Stuffy Project" meant to reunite stuffed animals with kids who've lost everything in disasters.

The project began back in January during the California wildfires, and is now helping the families who've lost their belongings in the floodwaters.

"This stuffy was found by a mama and her 4yo after the floods — let’s try to get it back to its owner," wrote the Lost Stuffy Project on Instagram on Monday, and dozens of people responded to try to help.

The next day, the group posted a new request:

"We urgently need to find this @jellycat Fuddlewuddle monkey," they wrote. "It needs to shipped immediately to a family whose daughter was a victim of the flooding at Camp Mystic. If you have this @jellycat in good condition, please reach out and we will arrange to have it sent to the family immediately."

By the next day, a Jellycat monkey was on its way to the family, who had lost their 8-year-old daughter and wanted to bury it with her. People are still keeping their eyes open for the original, and some posted late Thursday that they believed it had been found.

Jaffe told Patch Friday that she wasn't sure if the original had been located.

While the project can't always find the original lost item, they will do their best to find a replacement.

More Requests

Jaffe, a former Hoboken mom who now lives in Marlboro, helps children through tragedies for a living — like when they're facing surgery or if a parent is chronically ill. As a "child life specialist," she works with hospitals and individuals. READ MORE: North Jersey Mom Helps Kids Fleeing LA Fires Reunite With Lost 'Stuffies'

As she told Patch in an interview earlier this year, she woke up on a morning in January after the California wildfires and wanted to help the kids who had to leave their homes.

"I couldn't stop thinking, what would I grab if I had to leave?" she said. "My 3-year-old's stuffed animals. And I thought, all these kids are missing their stuffies and they're not sleeping anyway...."

"[My] job is to help kids feel a sense of normalcy in a circumstance that's extremely challenging," she added. "The first thing we say to parents coming into the hospital is, remember to bring their comfort items. Bring your lovey, bring your stuffy."

Jaffe and her sister-in-law Jennifer then created the "Lost Stuffy Project" Instagram account. The number of requests and volunteer offers exploded.

Even the Jonas Brothers have gotten involved, filming a public service announcement with the group.

Girl From Camp Mystic Seeks 'Ruff Ruff'

In the last week, hundreds of people have responded to requests sent out by the group.

On Monday, the group posted, "Searching for 'Ruff Ruff' — a sweet girl lost this stuffed dog at Camp Mystic. Let’s help bring her some much needed comfort during this unthinkable time. 'Ruff Ruff' is a Gund Muttsy — we're unsure of the year it was made."

While dozens of campers and staff members at the flooded camp lost their lives, one girl was able to find a small note of comfort.

By Tuesday, the group had received a "Ruff Ruff," to give her they announced.

The grateful mother wrote, "It means so much more than you’ll ever know. Ruff Ruff was the only thing she took from the cabin and was devastated when she got separated from it.“

The group is now taking monetary donations for the flood victims. They are also still accepting requests to find or replace a lost stuffed animal. More information on the group and their efforts is here.

To reach Jaffe professionally, find her at Kid Cope Specialists.