Article Contributed on: 10/31/2008 8:13:08 AM
As a mom of three kids,
Brooke Booth knows if a child's beloved blanket or stuffed animal goes missing, tears are sure to follow.
Booth, a Castle Rock resident, recently launched a Web site,
www.mylostbuddy.com, designed to help parents recover a child's belonging if it is lost.
Booth was struck with the idea after returning home after eating out with her family and realizing her son
Brady's blanket wasn't with them.
Leaving her son crying hysterically for his "baby" -- his nickname for his blanket -- Booth drove back to the restaurant and searched frantically around the booth where they were sitting. When nothing turned up, she began to dig through the restaurant's trash, mentally kicking herself for not writing her name and phone number on the blanket.
Thankfully, the blanket was found wedged beneath her son's car seat, but the experience got Booth thinking.
"I thought, if we were to lose the blanket again, how could we get it back without putting a name on it?" she said, adding that she didn't want to put her child's name, phone number or any other identification information out there that a stranger could get a hold of.
Booth came up with the idea of patches that are easily ironed or sewn on to clothing, blankets, stuffed animals and more. The patches have a unique code and the My Lost Buddy Web site on them, she said.
When a parent buys a patch, the code is registered on the Web site. If someone finds the item, they can go to the Web site, enter the code and an e-mail is sent to the owner letting them know their item has been found and who to contact, Booth said.
As a former elementary school teacher who has seen piles of coats and backpacks at lost and found, Booth said she knows how easily kids can misplace things.
"My main goal is to help other parents out," she said. "If they can get back an expensive coat, or a kid can get back his treasured blanket, that's rewarding in itself."
Patches are $5.95 each and are available on the site in four designs. Booth said she plans to create more as the company grows. She said she asked her children, especially her 5-year-old daughter,
Blake, for their help to come up with the designs: a butterfly, football, baseball and paw print.
"Brady is so excited about the football patch on his blanket -- he shows it to everyone!" she said.
Booth said she plans to concentrate on getting the word out about her site in Douglas County and Colorado and plans to branch out from there.
UP NEXT
What: Holiday bazaar where Booth will be selling her patches
When: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 15
Where: Sapphire Point Clubhouse, 7550 Soapstone Way, Castle Rock