While Baby Yoda out-trended political candidates on social media when the Star Wars spinoff TV ... [+]
Season two of the hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian won't debut until October 30, but "The Child" – more commonly and famously known as "Baby Yoda" – is once again in the spotlight. While Baby Yoda out-trended political candidates on social media when the Star Wars spinoff TV series debuted on the streaming service last December, the fictional character is a Facebook sensation for boosting morale amongst those fighting Oregon's wildfires.
This is the type of positive PR that money couldn't buy.
It started when five-year-old Carver Healey was shopping with his grandmother, Sasha Tinning, for supplies to donate to those battling the blazes in their home state, when the pair spotted a toy Baby Yoda. The pair decided the "cute little fella," as they described the Child, should be sent to the firefighters.
Carver took it a step further and wrote a note, "Here is a friend for you in case you get lonely."
Raising Awareness
Baby Yoda may not have any Jedi powers, and he certainly can't use the force to put out the blazes, but in many ways the officially licensed toy is doing a lot to raise awareness to the plight impacting the Pacific Northwest.
Baby Yoda was sent to the fire crews to boost morale, and now the toy travels with those first responders to various hotspots throughout Oregon.
Tyler Eubanks, who had organized the donation drive and sent the toy to the firefighters, even started a Facebook page called "Baby yoda figths fires" (@babyyodafightfires), which has nearly 50,000 likes and some 52,000 followers. It has allowed Baby Yoda to become a storyteller while the gender-neutral character has even made quite few friends along the way.
Much like a "Flat Stanley," the title character of the 1964 children's book by author Jeff Brown, which allows paper cut-outs to go on adventures far from home; the toy Baby Yoda is actually helping create some normalcy with the firefighters, but also is helping spread the word about the devastating fires.
Since the Facebook page was created on September 15, Baby Yoda has been seen manning the radio, monitoring computers, having a cup of morning coffee and notably even taking part in ride-alongs on the ground and in the air.
Oregon And Beyond
While Baby Yoda hasn't made the jump to lightspeed or gone to infinity and beyond, the force is strong with this Baby Yoda.
Earlier this month, Baby Yoda was seen aiding the crews of the Colorado Division of Fire's Multi-Mission Aircraft during an overwatch flight while it mapped the Williams Fork, Middle Fork, Cameron Peak and Mullen fires in Colorado and Wyoming.
The simple act of kindness from five-year-old Carver has become a media sensation as well, and it has been covered by CNN, CBS News, NBC News, The Today Show, The Washington Post and Cnet among other outlets. It has also been trending on Twitter, where the firefighting teams have also been posting photos of the toy making the rounds.
In one tweet from the Olympia Fire Dept. (@OlyFireDept), the character was used to encourage everyone to test their smoke detectors and put in new batteries when daylight saving time ends.
Whether it is boosting spirits, raising awareness or just putting a smile on someone's face during these difficult times, it seems the force is quite strong with Baby Yoda.
