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  • Ask Papabear

She Wants to Do Volunteer Fursuiting at Her Local Hospital

3/7/2017

1 Comment

 
​Papabear,
 
I've always been a furry since I was little, but only now am I getting a fursuit. They'll be finishing it next week, so I'll have it soon. Since my fursuit will be of the pokemon Solgaleo,my suit is a kid icon. I'm thinking of going to a children's hospital to visit kids in a fun pokemon suit. But I'm not sure what to do. How would I act around the kids, what would I say?
 
Jaelyn (age 13)
 
* * *
 
Hi, Jaelyn,
 
Since you are 13, I kind of doubt a hospital or other company or organization will permit you to visit kids in fursuit, even with your good intentions, unless you were part of some formal organization or other, such as a church or other nonprofit.
 
I admire and respect your desire to put your fursuiting towards a good cause, but would recommend you wait awhile (until you are 18). In the meantime, get some fursuiting and live performance experience while in fursuit. It's not as easy as it looks, and when you are old enough to do some charity work you will be able to perform much better.
 
When that time comes, here's what you do: go to the hospital where you wish to fursuit and find the Volunteer Services department. Make an appointment there and then explain what you wish to do. Hospitals will have guidelines for how their entertainers must conduct themselves with patients, and these policies might vary from hospital to hospital. Give the Volunteer Services coordinator a clear idea of what you wish to do and why. Hopefully, they will be open to it, but if they say "No, thanks," you can always try a different hospital.
 
Happy Fursuiting!
Papabear
 

1 Comment
Charleston Rat
3/8/2017 01:31:03 pm

Thought I'd add my two cents to this letter, because I think I might have some extra advice for you, Jaelyn.

You said that your fursuit is based on a Pokemon character, and your age suggests that you're in middle school (I'm rather unfamiliar with the American school system). Furthermore, I seem to be the only person in history who has never gotten into the Pokemon hype (or video games for that matter). Therefore, perhaps you could look for some local Pokemon group and fursuit for them instead? I don't know if Pokemon Go is still as big as it was when it started or not, but I'm sure some of those players would be delighted to see a Pokemon IRL as well as on their screens. Maybe you could set up a Pokemon club at your school and, when you're confident, play mascot for the group as well as leader?

I mean, like I said, as someone who doesn't play Pokemon, I'm not entirely sure how it all works. But, I thought that'd be a nice place to start off with practicing your fursuiting, before deciding to suit for good causes. Like PapaBear said, that time will come later. :-)

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