MAY 13 • 2021 | 21
I
t was the brainchild of a
9-year-old boy.
When Avery Schwartz of
Commerce, who attends Hillel
Day School, wanted to give his
Nana Margaret Garvin a hug, he
created a “Hug Buddy.
”
Since Avery couldn’t hug Nana
in person because of pandemic
distancing, he instead created a
two-dimensional “hug” figure
that was drawn on paper and
mailed to Nana, who was moving
to Traverse City.
For Avery’s father, Glen
Schwartz, co-owner of the West
Bloomfield-based mental health
clinic Viewpoint Psychology &
Wellness, his son’s creation was
a way for people to connect at
a time when many families had
become disconnected due to
social distancing. Avery’s “hug”
drawing soon became a Hug
Buddy, and Hug Buddy turned
into the mascot for “Viewspire.
”
Viewspire aims to do exactly as
its name says: to inspire through
views. It’s a platform developed
by Schwartz and Viewpoint
Psychology & Wellness child
psychologist Nikki O’Donnell,
in collaboration with 9-year-old
Avery, to help decrease stig-
ma against mental illness and
encourage people to ask for help
when needed.
Just launched in early April,
Viewspire includes clothing, art
and other items that promote
acceptance and healing. It’s also
the outlet where people can create
and send their own Hug Buddies,
just like Avery sent to his Nana.
“There’s a need for an
approach to mental health
that’s accessible and friend-
ly,” O’Donnell, 39, says. “
An
approach that’s not clinical.”
O’Donnell says that the con-
cept for Viewspire had been
in the works for about a year.
Previously, the mental health
practice was creating calming
jars. These jars could be shak-
en alongside special breathing
techniques that were designed to
reduce anxiety and stress. Avery’s
Hug Buddy, she says, was the
missing piece of the puzzle that
pulled the concept for a positive
mental health platform together.
BOY’S EFFORTS
Avery’s small act of kindness
turned into a movement. Glen
Schwartz says his son devoted
all his spare time to make Hug
Buddies available to everyone.
Avery created a Pinterest board,
spent hours working on graph-
ic design programs and told
everyone that he knew — from
friends, to family, to even his
principal at Hillel — about his
idea for Hug Buddies.
As his father and O’Donnell
worked on building Viewspire,
Hug Buddy grew to be the face
of the platform. Now, with
the launch of the site officially
underway, Hug Buddies can be
sent by anyone, anywhere via
postcards that cost $2. Each post-
card also comes with the option
to make a nominal donation
toward mental health causes.
“It’s a new way of viewing
mental health,
” Glen Schwartz
says. “It puts a really positive spin
on it.
”
While the adults manage
Viewspire inventory — which
they say they’ve had an over-
whelming response for since its
recent launching — Avery, along
with O’Donnell’s son,
8-year-old Zane,
hand-color each Hug
Buddy that goes out
by mail.
“If you know some-
body in your class is being
bullied, or you have a relative
in the hospital, or you just miss
someone because you haven’t
been engaged in the community
for a while, you’ll be able to send
these Hug Buddy postcards,
”
Glen Schwartz says.
Hug Buddies are the perfect
connection to Viewspire, he says,
because they also inspire people
through views (or in this case,
hugs). Many of the images used
in Viewspire’s products are creat-
ed by patients, including pictures
of birds and flowers.
“One of [O’Donnell’s] patients
actually created a bird one day
in session,
” Schwartz describes.
“It was his way of expressing
himself.
”
After the patient was able to
convey his feelings through the
drawing of the bird, Schwartz
says the patient began to devel-
op a more positive mindset. It
was a key motivating factor for
Viewspire, but the only thing
missing was a mascot.
“I was driving home one day
with Avery,
” Schwartz recalls,
“and he said, ‘How come we’re
not using my Hug Buddy?’”
The lightbulb turned on.
“I sent the picture of the Hug
Buddy to O’Donnell,
” Schwartz
continues, “and within 10 min-
utes, she digitized it and she was
like, ‘This is it! It’s totally it.
’”
Yet it’s only the beginning for
Viewspire and its Hug Buddy
mascot. “Our dream is that this
goes into a brand where the Hug
Buddy is the recognized symbol
for positive viewing of mental
health,
” O’Donnell says. “It shifts
the whole experience of how we
view it and ask for help.
”
To see more, visit shopviewspire.com.
Hug Buddies
A 9-year-old’s “hug” drawing
aims to inspire love and healing.
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Avery Schwartz, 9,
is the creator of
the Hug Buddy.
with O’Donnell’s son,
Buddy that goes out
by mail.
body in your class is being
bullied, or you have a relative
in the hospital, or you just miss
body in your class is being
bullied, or you have a relative