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© Jenifer Jurden, LLC 2009. Jurdy™ &Jurdy Green™ are trademarks of Jenifer Jurden, LLC. All rights reserved. |
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perpetual happy-ness for earthlings everywhere |
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About Jurdy |
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Jurdy® creator, Jenifer Jurden is a native of Wilmington, Delaware and was raised in a cartooning household where making others laugh was top priority. She credits her mother for instilling in her an intuitive sense of giving to others and never giving up, and her father , a longtime syndicated editorial cartoonist, for her abilities to infuse a unique outlook on seemingly simple everyday life. Now this Jurden and Jurdy duo is on a mission to offer comic relief and compassion to bring
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Watch this! Jurdy cartoon comes to life before your eyes! Click here |
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This site is dedicated to my niece who is and always will be my inspiration to help make the world a |
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All aboard! Time to join the “happy-ness” movement! There’s a new movement sweeping the world—it’s called “happy-ness”! And spearheading this phenomenon is the hero of happy-ness™, Jurdy®, a lovable, comical character who is on a mission to make the world a better place. Be it at home, at work, in schools, and in our communities, Jurdy is leading the charge to hope and well-being. Jurdy is showing us that being happy is a choice and that choice lies within us all. Now is the time to wake up and rise to the occasion of a happy-you, a happy-me and a happy-us.
A cartoon, a mascot and a friend to all, Jurdy® was borne of a deep desire to share universal well-being the way Superman came to Earth to protect humanity. With humor and compassion as super-powers, Jurdy brings to light an intuitive and holistic way to live, love and laugh for humans of all ages, races, genders and backgrounds. Larger than life, this lovable character stands tall for teaching us that no one—be it family, friend or foe—can take away our happy-ness.
So, how exactly is Jurdy® getting the message out? School assemblies, community events, Jurdy merchandise, corporate programs and outreach missions are just a few vehicles Jurdy is driving in the human race to happy-ness. Jurdy launched a texting acronym campaign to help educators spotlight the horrors of bullying. By speaking to children in their own “language”, Jurdy is able to grab their attention and strongly impact their daily decisions to make healthy choices, like FAM—Friends Always Motivate, BFF—Bullies Fizzle Fast, ’SUP—Speak Up and CHILL—Choose Happy. It’s Loving Life. With warm hearted, energizing pep rallies and community events, children are quickly adopting the Jurdy philosophy of happy-ness. To reinforce healthy choices, Jurdy has on-going programs such as
Jurdy® Heroes is a recognition program that promotes those in the schools and communities who set a strong example for their peers. Through mentoring, these heroes are ambassadors of kindness and proponents of anti-bullying and substance abuse prevention. Jurdy’s in Your Corner is a Jurdy plush doll program where a plush is in the corner of each classroom or community gathering place serving as the guardian of kindness. Jurdy’s Got Your Back is a back-pack clip-on where Jurdy hangs (literally) with the children where ever they go.
In addition to communities and schools, Jurdy® brings happy-ness super-powers to corporate employees as a humorous coping-mechanism and management tool. Jurdy, the corporate spokes-character for employee engagement, bridges the gap between company and employee. By providing the combination of comic relief and motivation, Jurdy is able to simultaneously grow positivity and productivity for employee and company alike. In fact, Jurdy wrote a book based on over 25 years of incognito observation aptly entitled, “… but Why Should I Hire a Human” which addresses common workplace pitfalls that detract from not-so-common workplace happy-ness.
Jurdy® has also taken this Happy-ness Tour on the road from local communities to far-away places, as Jurdy’s outreach hits the world stage. In 2010, Jurdy traveled to Haiti as the country was in the midst of recovering from the worst earthquake in its history. Jurdy’s mission: Teach these children, their families and friends that optimism and well-being are in us all no matter the circumstances, be it hardship, heartbreak or even the devastation of an earthquake. None of these can beat the power of happy-ness. And what better messenger than Jurdy—with no age, race, gender or background to define or limit, Jurdy’s universal appeal speaks the language of love and laughter. And laugh the Haitians did as they learned to love this funny green character with the consummate smile. As Jurdy visited their schools, villages and communities with the message of hope, every child and adult followed Jurdy’s lead and donned their own super-powers to help and give to one another. The fact that Jurdy’s love for children, families and communities knows no borders can also be seen in this character’s commitment to helping children with disabilities and illnesses. Jurdy® has been seen in greeting cards for Autism Speaks® and St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital to help lift the spirits of these children and families. Jurdy also sends customized greeting cards and e-greetings to children struggling with life threatening illnesses to let them know the hero of happy-ness in with them on their journey.
Jurdy joined forces with twist legend Chubby Checker to launch the international “Twist Away Childhood Cancer Challenge” to benefit Mascots for A Cure, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Kasie Helpz Kidz Foundation and the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. Similar to other successful fundraising challenges, the “Twist Challenge” leverages the power of videos shared on social media, text and email. Participants take the Twist Challenge with friends, family and co-workers, and make a donation to Mascots For A Cure. The Twist Challenge campaign launched on “National Twist Day”, and coincided with National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. “Working with Mascots for a Cure and the legendary Chubby Checker was a perfect fit for Jurdy in spreading more ‘happy-ness’ around the world,” said Jurden. We were blessed to have such positive partners to help us make the world a better place.”
When asked what’s next on the horizon for Jurdy, Jurden is turning her focus to another vulnerable population in need of some light in their day—senior citizens. She is developing a whimsical cartoon line which she has humorously coined Jurdyatrics™ to help the Greatest Generation and Baby Boomers and the like laugh at what ails them. Having accompanied her parents’ through their aging process she is convinced more now than ever that the elderly need an advocate and friend to be by their side at every turn, whether because they are lonely, unwell or just in need of a strong dose of cheer and moral support. “A good laugh is the best medicine was a message my Dad taught me at a very young age and I’ve no doubt his philosophy will be just what the doctor ordered when it comes to nurturing happy-ness in this deserving population!”
The takeaway here? Jurdy steps up to the plate and reminds us that we have what it takes to be happy, we have what it takes to make others happy, we have what it takes, period. When we live by this mantra, we are more likely to stay the positive course and reap the amazing benefits that naturally accompany positive attitudes and behavior. Each of us has the strength to rise above the negativity if we stick to our goals and believe—believe in ourselves and believe in our dreams, even during those moments of doubt. Never give up. Even if your family or friends or co-workers don’t believe in you, it doesn’t matter. When we surround ourselves with positive people, we can accomplish anything. And that’s true happy-ness.
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