| Paula Solinger Interview | Kiddo Rags | Johnny Solinger's Wife | Skid Row | November 2014 |

 

One day Im searching online for something new and random to cover for the site, or someone to interview, and I came across Johnny Solinger posting about signing more bandanas, and sending them off.. and I had no idea what he was doing.. with a lil looking I found the Kiddo-Rags site.... A program that Johnny  and his wife started that gives kids with cancer and other life threatening diseases do-rags to make them know that "we are all rockstars"... Johnny was busy on the road and he sent me to talk to his wife, Paula... Check out this amazing thing they are doing for kids!

 

J - So basically tell us about Kiddo-Rags.. And how did you come up with the idea?
P - Johnny and I were talking one day, and I told him about this girl who went to school with me ... I was 9 or 10, she was two years younger than me. She suffered from cancer, and she always came to school wearing these beautiful hats. As a kid, I knew she was sick, but I saw past her condition and always loved how pretty she looked in her hats. So I figured that may be, if we could provide kids with do-rags, just as the ones Johnny wears, not only the rest of the kids would see how incredibly cool and strong they are, but would also make these kids feel special. See, most of the times, when it comes to a medical condition, we see charities mostly focusing on a cure. I wanted to focus on the process as well. Make the process as painless as possible, from a psychological perspective, because I believe that having our spirits high is essential in the path to recovery.

 

J - Who came up with the name?
P - It was one of those brainstorming, joint efforts, you know? "Uhmm..bandanas...rags..kids..do-rags...I KNOW I KNOW!! KIDDO-RAGS!!!"

 

J - How does it work, do parents? Doctors? Come to you guys, or do you find the kids?
P - We have had a bit of everything, from parents who heard about us to orders of 200 plus for a special events. Sometimes they write and let us know their story, sometimes we read the story and approach the parents or charities.

 

J - Is there a charge for the do-rags?
P - No. They only thing we ask is a little background on the kid. We want to know their story. Our premise is to REALLY get to know who we are sending our little gift to. We want to hear from the parents. We want to hear from the kids. That's all we ask for. And, if the parents gives us their consent, we want to publish the kid's pictures, but this is not a requirement at all.

 

J - Can they request color/design?
P - YES! We normally use the same paisley design Johnny wears in whatever color the kid wants. It was a trial error effort in the beginning, as silly us, we got black sharpies and never thought they wouldn't work on dark blue or maroon do-rags... but now we have black, silver and gold sharpies, so whatever color, we will make it work!

 

J - Do you except donations.. Of money ? Or just people donating more do-rags?
P - We accept do-rags... Honestly, we need do-rags and postage stamps, and we want this to be crystal clear that there is no ulterior motive whatsoever. So that is all we ask for at the moment. Hopefully our little idea will grow and we will have to figure out what to do in the future, but so far, that's it.

 

J - Where can donations be sent?
P - They can write us a private message on our facebook page at www.facebook.com/kiddorags and I will provide them with our office address or an email if they'd rather send a cyber gift card.

 

J - Does Johnny sign each one.. AND a letter?
P - Yes!  I write a letter and hand draw something for each kid depending on their hobbies or interests, then Johnny signs the letter and writes a personalized message on each do-rag.

 

J - How many does he have to sign at a time?
P - Oh, we have had nights where we were working hard!!! We sit at the table, he is in front of me, I draw, hand him the letter with the color they ask for... multiply that by 100 times or more!!

 

J - Does he wait and sign each one personally, or 'pre sign' a stack?
P - We haven't done that yet, as he also writes a little message on the do-rags. I basically just explain to the parents that he is on tour and we will send the do-rag as soon as he comes back. But, we might do it for our bigger requests in  he future, as unfortunately, we have "lost" kids because we wanted to wait for him to personalize it...so we are re-thinking the process when it's time sensitive.

 

J - This is an amazing thing you do just to put a smile on lil kids faces who are not in the best position.. Do you see this growing.. And maybe getting other 'rockstars' to join up with you guys, and maybe also sign some?
P - I would love to!! So far, this is our love child. But then again, who knows where the limit is? if other rockstars want to join us, it would bring happy tears to my eyes. This is a simple concept. It requires time, because trust me, it takes countless hours to personalize everything, but when we get the kids' pictures and parents words...it is all so worth it, and it just changes your perspective on life so much, you know? So whoever wants to join us, is more than welcome.. and that person can be sure the reward is infinite.

 

J - What is your goal with Kiddo Rags in the next year?
P - We would love to find the time to also attend an event, so we can personally give them their gift and talk to them... may be he can sing, I can draw with them or act?? who knows? Possibilities are endless!

 

J - How can people find out about Kiddo-Rags? Do you guys have a website? Facebook page? Etc
P - So far we only have our facebook page.  www.facebook.com/kiddorags.

 

J - Anything else you would like to say about this amazing idea…?
P - Just spread the word!!! Write to us!! Let us know what you think and how we can improve!
And thanks so much for helping us reach more people. We both truly appreciate it!