How Cuddly Crochet Octos Help Raise Money For TELL

“Personally, I found being a part of the Octo Team really refreshing. Seeing the students and teachers buy Octos for themselves and others really boosted my spirits, and I hope that the foundation we sent the money to pays it forward.” - Mao
 

A big thank you!

Hello! We are the Octo Friends team and we are here to celebrate, and to let you all know about our very successful, Second SALE!! We are so happy to announce that we have raised 11,650 yen!! We have raised 20,350 yen in total!! We are so amazed since 20,350 yen is a lot of money going to charity. All of this money is going to the amazing mental health organization, here in japan, TELL!! Tell is an amazing organization that provides calls and messages to people in need of help 24/7 here in Japan. They provide full psychological help and counseling here in Japan. Seisen has been supporting Tell for a long time and is a very trusted organization. If you would like to know more about Tell here is a link to their homepage!! Please check them out since they have been a huge support to us as well: https://telljp.com/ 

More about our Octo Team

Octo Friends is a student-led organization first created by Caitlynn (Nick) Bucy and Sara Makise (Zelezny). After the first sale, many other students were inspired to help us lead this organization. Here is a list of all my amazing team members and their jobs!

Yewon Jung, The Wonderful Manager (6th grade)
Lana Smallwood, The Wholesome Designer (6th grade)
Mao Hakari, The Talented Treasurer (6th grade)
Lena Wong, The Fellow Crafter (6th grade)
Janelle Dela Cruz, The Awesome Helper (6th grade)
 
If you would like to support Octo friends in the future please contact us at:
2027masa@seisen.com 
We will welcome any members in Middle school next year. (Graduating from 2027~2029). 

Why we started Octo friends

We started Octo friends first as a fun hobby and maybe a way to help make little donations to something we were passionate about, Mental health. We think that mental health is very important for staying healthy and to stay positive in situations such as work or school! Here is our sales speech:

“Are you stressed? Do you feel like you need a break? Well then Octo friends might be the perfect solution! Octo Friends is a fundraiser that supports Mental illnesses and health. Octo friends make handmade crochet octopuses that will be your friend and always be with you! They are compact yet the perfect size to cuddle with and each Octo is unique in its own way. The Octos come in pretty pastel and bright colors and are fluffy and soft. The money will all go to Tell, an organization that supports mental health. So please feel free to order a friendly Octo at our sale!”

Why Octos?

We thought that crochet octos may be perfect for this since the crochet plush gives off a “grandma’s homemade knitted scarf made with lots of love” sort of vibe. We thought this is perfect because who loves us more than our grandma? And the reason why we picked Octos is because it is very easy to fidget with. The octos have curled up tentacles which you can play with and the head is very squishy and round, just like a stress ball. Although we don’t recommend torturing our cute octos in such manners, if it gets rid of the stress, then the octos would be happy to make your days easier. It is also the perfect size to either turn into a keychain, to display or to cuddle with! It also comes with cute vibrant and pastel colors both relaxing and fun!! We also simply thought that the octos would be easy to crochet and to make many of. 

Here is a photocollage of the octo factory: