Free Mom Hugs Descends On Philly Region With Love

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — A simple act like a hug can have a massive impact on a person's life, and potentially even save it, according to a local mom seeking to spread love in the Philadelphia region.

That's the goal of the national non-profit organization Free Mom Hugs and local leader Bonnie Kaplan.

Kaplan is one of the local leaders of Free Mom Hugs and has been helping spread love throughout the Philly region since 2019.

The former Lower Merion School District teacher and mother of three said she got involved in the organization after attending Media's first pride festival.

At the festival in 2019, she saw people advertising free hugs.

Though these huggers were not affiliated with the national group, which was founded by Sara Cunningham of Oklahoma around 2015.

Cunningham, a religious woman, was struggling to accept her son coming out as gay.

"She began to educate herself and realized it was possible to be a woman of faith and still love your child in the LGBTQ community," Kaplan said.

Cunningham's advocacy for spreading love to members of the LGBTQ community who may not experience from their families.

Cunningham eventually got ordained to perform same-sex marriages and formed the national organization of Free Mom Hugs, which is a 501(c)3 non-profit with branches in all 50 states, and even some international chapters.

As for Kaplan, she got involved because, "as a mom, I cannot understand any parents denying a child love because of who that child is, how they identify, or who they love."

"It's a human thing," she said.

Kaplan sought to get involved in Free Mom Hugs, but that was in late 2019, and many outreach efforts by the group, both locally and nationally, were stymied by the coronavirus pandemic.

However, Kaplan and her cohort were still able to spread love while staying socially distanced.

They began holding "pride rides" and "honk and wave" events in Delaware County and elsewhere in the Philly region.

"We stand on a corner with signs and flags just for visibility," she said of honk and wave.

Local Free Mom Hug volunteers held honk and wave events on Transgender Day of Visibility and National Coming Out Day.

They are planning a pride ride to celebrate Harvey Milk's birthday, too.

But once the pandemic began to recede and vaccinations became available, local Free Mom Hugs leaders got to work on in-person events.

In 2021, Upper Darby held a pride fest and Free Mom Hugs was requested.

Kapland connected with some other invested residents and — without even meeting in person beforehand — set up a table at the event and doled out countless hugs.

Since then, local Free Mom Hugs has only increased its presence in the region.

Free Mom Hugs visits all kinds of events, not just those focused on the LGBTQ community.

"As long as the mission aligns with our mission," Kaplan said of what it takes to get Free Mom Hugs at events.

The mission is simple: to empower the world to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community through visibility, education, and conversation.

Local Free Mom Hugs has been to college commencements, Halloween parades, Jasper Street Jams in Media, 5K races, Flyers games, and more.

While the type of events depends on what Free Mom Hugs may be offering in terms of giveaways and swag, they are always there to give hugs.

"Part of the beauty of Free Mom Hugs is we’re not about stuff, we're about love," Kaplan said. "That's what people need."

Kaplan, who is a cisgender heterosexual woman, said joining the group has been a learning experience.

"What I found was because I'm not a member of the LGBTQ community, I don't know so much what's out there.

But not long ago, one of her children came out as queer.

She and her husband raised their children with the mantra of "love is love" and with care and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community.

"To this day, I think that child has struggles, but what really hits me when I think about this: I know that our kids are very aware that our kids have our love and support no matter what," she said. "I saw how they struggled still with that."

Kaplan said seeing her child struggle even with their family's unconditional love showed her how difficult life without such love could be.

According to the Trevor Project, 35 to 45 percent of people 13 to 24 years old in the LGBTW+ community seriously consider suicide and 14 percent attempt it.

Among that same population, anxiety rates are 73 percent and depression 58, per the Trevor Project.

Those numbers increase when looking at just transgender and non-binary individuals, too.

"Just having one affirming person really reduces the risk of suicide," Kaplan said. "The idea that one person really can make a difference helps drive what some of us do."

In Pennsylvania, there are about 1,000 volunteers with Free Mom Hugs in the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Reading areas.

"It's all volunteer driven," she said. "Without people to give hugs, we don't exist. The more volunteers we have, the more love we're able to put out in this world."

Anyone interested in joining Free Mom Hugs in the Philly region and do so by visiting the Free Mom Hugs website here or visiting the Facebook page here.

Volunteers need only fill out a contact form to be looped in to local activities.

"You don't even have to be a mom," Kaplan said. "There's actually a need for dad hugs!"

And for those who might not be comfortable giving a hug, Free Mom Hugs is even down to give out fist bumps, high-fives, and small tokens of affection.