Amazing Teens - Free Hugs
Taking a ‘Hug’ Out of the Big Apple
By: Jeffrey Valfer
TeenNewsNet Editor
On a brisk November afternoon I find three teens that are looking to give a hug to those that feel the big apple has taken a “bite” out of them. They are walking in the middle of Madison Avenue between vendors selling sweaters, t-shirts and Slovakia. With all the happenings my eyes become immediately focused on them blinding everything else around me. It is not every day or perhaps ever you see young people in the middle of New York holding up a sign soliciting hugs for free.
As they approach me I start to feel the warmth these youngsters exude. Mohamad Gargbo, about to join the Navy, Britney Vazquez, 8th grader at MS 45 in the Bronx, and Alison Chavez of Harlem’s Central Park East High School are taking a hug out of the Big Apple. “Everyone needs a hug,” says Chavez. “It’s a hard time for people.”
The three started this endeavor three months ago in Central Park. Gargbo came up with the idea and recruited Chavez and Vazquez. According to Gargbo the initial feedback was mixed. “Some asked why we were doing this…others were very open minded about it – they gave us hugs and felt happy. What then are these teens goal? They really do not have one, but Gargbo exclaims that for today they will do as many as they can until they get tired.
And what are they getting out of this? Chavez tells me “[Being young] we started this so we can inspire everyone else and become a better world.” Vazquez adds that she “feels the energy of making their day better.”
What then is next? Each hopes to continue to allow New York to be “the city that never sleeps” by re-energizing its residents one hug at a time.
