A Sad Nuggie Initiative

The Ollie Project

The Ollie Project is a classroom initiative inspired by one of our biggest fans, Ollie. Through this program, classrooms can be filled with Sad Nuggies to help students of any age learn, imagine, self-regulate, and feel supported. Each Nuggie adopted through The Ollie Project goes directly to a classroom in need.

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The story

Meet Ollie

Ollie is a Sad Nuggie superfan. He came up with Sad Nuggie Fridays: a day when students could bring their Nuggie friends to class, to read with and keep close through the school day. Which is exactly what Nuggies were made for, being your emotional support buddy to make your days a little easier.

Then Ollie noticed that not everyone in his class had a Nuggie, or could get one. So he asked us to help, so no kid was left out. This is what started The Ollie Project.

Read the full story

“Sad Nuggie is important to me because I love them! Sometimes, if you're sad, a hug from a Sad Nuggie can cheer you up! They always make you happy!”

— Ollie

In the classroom

More than a plush toy. A classroom tool.

From that day on, Nuggies became a true part of classroom life. Here's what that looked like in Ollie's class.

Opens up big feelings

Nuggies opened the door to talking about emotions and checking in with each other.

Builds community

Sad Nuggie Fridays gave the whole class a shared tradition where no one feels left out.

Grows confidence

Having a buddy close by helped students feel safe opening up and supporting one another.

Sparks learning

They read together, solve math problems together, write stories together, and even designed brand-new Nuggies. Students also built Nuggie homes for large and mini Nuggies in STEAM challenges.

These little Nuggies opened up the opportunity to discuss emotions, check in with each other, and provide support while building confidence. It also helped create a sense of community.

— Tracy Leonard, Ollie's teacher

Why The Ollie Project exists

Bringing that same feeling to every classroom.

The Ollie Project was created to help bring that same feeling to other classrooms. It exists so teachers can create safe, supportive spaces where emotional learning is encouraged, no one feels left out, and students are free to imagine, connect, and grow together.

Through classroom adoptions, supporters help place Sad Nuggies into real learning environments. In addition, $1 from every Sad Nuggie adopted goes into our Classroom Fund, which helps us support classrooms around the world with essentials, comfort tools, and other supplies where they're needed most.

Inclusion

Empathy

Comfort

Imagination

Our goal is to support classrooms of all kinds, across all ages, communities, and learning environments, and to help make emotional well-being a natural part of the school day.

Classrooms
waiting for Nuggies

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For teachers

Want this for your classroom?

Any classroom, any age, any kind of learning space. Enrolling takes a few minutes and costs nothing.

Enroll your classroom

Tell us about your class, share your story, and set your Nuggie goal: one Nuggie per student. A real human reviews every application.

Share your page

Your classroom gets its own page with a live progress bar. Share it with parents, family, and your community — every adoption fills the bar.

Hold your adoption day

When the goal fills, we ship the whole batch to your door. Then you do the fun part: every student meets, chooses, and welcomes their new Nuggie.

Enroll your classroom// free to enroll · reviewed by our team · you pay nothing

Adopting, not donating.

The Ollie Project is run & operated by Sad Nuggie Ltd, a Canadian company. It's a give-back program, not a charity. When you adopt, you're buying real Sad Nuggies that we pack and ship to a real classroom, and you can watch their progress bar fill. And $1 from every Sad Nuggie adopted goes into our Classroom Fund.

How it works

“Thank you seems like such a trivial thing to say for such an incredible gift. Please know that what you do matters, and that it does not go unnoticed.”