Puget Sound Business Journal

Is that your final answer? Judges of school business plan competitions get very involved
2/22/08 Puget Sound Business Journal

Wugaboo Vice-President Kristen Bergsman and her husband Ryan were recently quoted in a Puget Sound Business Journal article about the upcoming University of Washington Business Plan Competition.

Increasingly, it is the chance to meet and connect with experienced entrepreneurs, investors and service providers -- not only the cash prizes -- that spurs students to compete.

"Hopefully we can cultivate that network," said Ryan Bergsman, an evening MBA student at the UW whose team plans to submit a business plan for an actual company of which his wife Kristen, a student in the master's of education program, is vice president.

Kristen Bergsman said for students, accessing such professionals would normally be very difficult. "I wouldn't be tapped into that network without the competition," she said.

Click here to read the full article.

In Support of Playtime and True Toys

At Wugaboo, we have enjoyed hearing from Moms, Dads, and Grandparents about how their kids develop relationships with their Hugawugs toys and books. We've heard of kids who take their Hugawugs to bed with them, or along for a ride in the stroller and carseat. We've heard of kids who develop nicknames for their Hugawugs and act out imaginative play with them.

We were particularly intersted to learn that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued a report that supports a child's right, and need, for play. The report is titled, "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds."

The report states that, "free and unstructured play is healthy and - in fact - essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones as well as helping them manage stress and become resilient."

One important guideline suggested in the report: "Emphasizing the benefits of 'true toys', such as blocks and dolls, in which children use their imagination fully over passive toys that require limited imagination."

So let's hear it for giving kids of all ages time for free, unstructured play, and for providing them with "true toys" that get kids exercising their imagination muscles.

Welcome New Hugawugs Retailers!

We would like to offer a warm welcome to two new Hugawugs retailers:

Oregon
Hermiston Drug & Gift
114 E. Main St.
Hermiston, OR 97838
(541) 567-3072

Montana
Cabinet Books & Music
320 Mineral Ave.
Libby, MT 59923
(406) 293-9111

Welcome to the Hugawugs family!

The Hugawugs Help Out WestSide Baby

The Hugawugs love to help out in their community. Just recently, Wugaboo made a donation of a basket full of Hugawugs products for the 7th Annual WestSide Baby Benefit Tea, which occurs on Sunday, February 10.

What is WestSide Baby?
From their website: WestSide Baby is a nonprofit organization that collects previously owned items for children and babies and distributes them free of charge to South King County families in need. We work through local social service agencies already assisting low-income families. Agencies order items from us and deliver them to families who are homeless, living in transitional housing, or simply in need of a little help during a difficult time. We work toward a day when all babies and young children in our community have their basic physical needs met - enough diapers, food, adequate clothing, appropriate toys, books, and safe equipment for their care.

Since opening in 2001, we have distributed over $3.4 million worth of clothing, toys, baby gear, and other items. In 2007, we served more than 5,700 children!