'Little bit of love': Free hugs met with open arms

A mother and daughter say some people in Charlottetown were so eager for a hug this week they were "throwing themselves at us."

Mary Lou Blanchard and her daughter Cassidy Gallant said they were "overwhelmed" with the amount of negative news in the world and wanted to do something positive.

So, standing on the corner of Queen and Grafton Streets on Monday, they opened their arms to anyone who wanted hug. It was so well received they decided to do it again on Wednesday.

'Incredible experience'

"It was just such an incredible experience," Blanchard said on CBC's Maritime Noon.

People sometimes just need that little bit of love from someone, it doesn't matter who.- Cassidy Gallant

"We had people who just came up and went 'Oh I really needed a hug today' or we had kids coming running across the street, teenagers who said, 'Oh I could use a hug' and just throwing themselves at us. Little tiny children going, 'Can I have a hug?'"

Gallant said she got as much from the experience as the people she was hugging.

"Just to be lifting other people's mood in such a simple act, it made us feel absolutely amazing."

It wasn't all positive, however. Blanchard said some people questioned their motives, and others who saw their signs assumed they wanted money.

'Some negative feedback'

"I knew there would be some negative feedback, I knew there would be some people making fun of it," she said.

"But I also knew there was people that would openly welcome it."

Gallant said she was struck by one particular person who rode the bus downtown just to get a hug from her.

"People sometimes just need that little bit of love from someone, it doesn't matter who."

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