FedEx and The Happy Factory

Starting in 2005, FedEx has provided charitable shipping space for The Happy Factory to send toys worldwide to needy children.  The Happy Factory started in the home of Charles and Donna Cooley in Cedar City Utah in 1995.  The couple made hundreds of toys that they humbly offered to Primary Children's Hospital.  The toys were received with such enthusiasm and gratitude that they made more and donated to ther local charities.  Amy Grant featured Happy Factory in Three Wishes debut television series and the Cooleys have  distrubuted 927,000 toys to date...15,736 internationally by FedEx to chldfen who otherwise would never receive a toy.

Following is a thank you note from Happy Factory's website:

Harold Brown, the director of welfare for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, told us of an experience he had he was visiting an orphanage in Liberia, Africa.

He tells us that when they arrived there were about 70 homeless children and few adults. A container arrived that had been sent for the orphanage. When his group opened the container, the first thing they did was feed the children suffering from hunger. The next thing they did was cloth them because they were mostly naked. And then he said two boxes came out that were filled with Happy Factory toys.

He expressed his feelings: "I always thought a toy was just a play thing. I've been involved in food, clothing & medical supplies all my life."

As the missionaries passed the toys out to the children, they just held and looked at the little wooden objects because they didn't know what toys were. They had never had a toy. So, the missionaries got down in the dirt with the toys. In a couple of seconds there were some grins. In a couple of minutes there were 70 happy children.

He told us he was so grateful that he was able to witness the magic of a toy in the hands of a child. With the tears running down his cheeks, Harold Brown realized that Happy Factory had not just sent "play things", they had sent boxes of happiness.