When the pandemic shut down her massage therapy work, Payson's Heather Johnson found another way to help.
Concerned about hospice patients spending their final days alone, she began creating handmade weighted stuffed animals designed to provide comfort and companionship.
That small act of kindness became Palliative Puffs, a nonprofit that has now delivered hundreds of custom-made "Puffs" to children in hospitals, hospice patients, and people living with PTSD, anxiety and other challenges.
Each Puff takes about 40 hours to make and is funded entirely through donations. Volunteers — and even local students — now help create the handmade companions that continue reaching people across Arizona.
ABC15's Cameron Polom visited Payson to meet the woman behind the mission and the volunteers helping turn yarn, stuffing and compassion into something much bigger.
To support the effort or learn more, visit PalliativePuffs.org.
Watch the story in the video player above.
Uplifting Arizona
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