Bandrowsky, Paulson, Steiden 1

Peter Bandrowsky, Adam Paulson, Sam Steiden

Business Pathways
PACE in Cuddle Party
Though everybody has their own unique understanding of what PACE entails, cuddling
with strangers likely would not fit into most peoples definitions. Yet Cuddle Party, a non-profit
organization with 131 facilitators across 5 different continents, is a perfect example of an
organization that meets and exemplifies PACE, albeit in its own unique way (Cuddle Party,
About Cuddle Party). In operation for 13 years, Cuddle Party has used the traits of
professionalism, academics, character, and engagement to challenge pre-existing notions about
non-sexual touch while bringing together people of all backgrounds.
So what exactly is Cuddle Party? It is an organization that holds community events
where people can come together to bond, talk, and, yes, cuddle. However, in our groups
research, which each member contributed to equally, it was found that Cuddle Party does not
serve as simply a place to cuddle with random strangers, but also serves to foster dialogue about
openness, boundaries, and our innate human need for nonsexual touch (Cuddle Party, About
Cuddle Party). Also, when conducting our research, the group collectively decided that we
should go beyond just internet articles and the Cuddle Party website for information. As such,
the group arranged an interview between Cuddle Partys executive director Len Daley and Adam
Paulson, who was the only member available at a time convenient for Daley. The rest of the
group provided questions for Adam to ask Daley, and all members divided the writing and
editing of the paper to ensure an equal dispersion of work. With the groups roles and research
established, it is now time to discuss how Cuddle Party exemplifies PACE.

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Cuddle Party relies on professionalism to establish a safe, comfortable environment in
which people open up in a way that can sometimes be seen as outlandish in todays culture. With
attending individuals ranging from the hesitantly curious to the fully open, event facilitators have
to be able to read the people and adjust the event accordingly in order to ensure everyone is
happy and comfortable. Daley described the facilitators balance of rule-establishing and
encouragement as blissipline, which he further elaborated as a mixture of bliss and discipline
in which individuals follow strict rules to gain a euphoric feeling. It is the environment of
Cuddle Party and the aptitude of the facilitators that establishes the professionalism of Cuddle
Party not only at each event, but as an organization as a whole.
Cuddle Party ventures into an area that is very sensitive in this day and age. Though
touch is often viewed as inherently sexual, Cuddle Party seeks to change this perception through
its events. However, these events can only be successful if the cuddlers are comfortable and feel
respected. Cuddlers can be of all ages and are sometimes complete strangers to one another. As
expected, this immediately creates a feeling of awkwardness and uneasiness. This awkwardness
and uneasiness is translated into a commonality between the participants that allows them to
relax. Everyone is in the same boat. It is this idea, along with the support and guidance of the
facilitators, that truly establishes comfort for the cuddlers. That is the uniqueness of Cuddle
Party. It is an extremely professional event in an unprofessional setting. Cuddle Party consists of
pajamas, blankets and stuffed animals: aspects that are not traditionally professional. However,
Cuddle Party also consists of maturity, responsibility and respect: aspects that drive
professionalism. Cuddle Partys events are able to succeed because of the presence of those
values in its facilitators and participants; it is able to succeed because of the professional, albeit
nontraditional, environment it creates.

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Cuddle Party relies on its facilitators to carry out its events. These facilitators go through
hours of training before they can actively hold such events. This training fits into the academics
aspect of PACE. Anybody can apply to be a facilitator, regardless of their educational
background. Training costs $1490 and begins with a workshop, where trainees learn basic
facilitation skills that apply to any event, Cuddle Party or not. Following this, trainees have to
pursue a Cuddle Party Certification. This certification requires a 10-week online courses that
teaches facilitators-in-training the logistics of a cuddle event and how to execute an event in the
proper manner (Cuddle Party, Become a Cuddle Party Facilitator). Cuddle Party also shows its
commitment to academics through its offering of a scholarship to help facilitate the costs of
training (Foundations of Facilitations, Scholarships Awarded). Although Cuddle Party may
not have the traditional aspects of academics, such as high-level college degrees or work
experience, it most certainly exemplifies academics through its training and development of its
facilitators.
Cuddle Party exemplifies character in the type of culture it seeks to promote. Naturally,
as an organization centered around meeting with and touching random strangers, Cuddle Party
promotes a significantly more open culture than that of the mainstream. It seeks to challenge
dated views on sexuality and human connection, encouraging people to be open about their
needs for physical contact and combatting the notion that human-to-human touch is strictly
sexual. In this way, Cuddle Party builds the character of its customers and community by
encouraging them to be more open and upfront about our different desires for human contact.
In order to make its customers feel comfortable and accepted, Cuddle Party has to foster
strong character in its facilitators. Cuddle Partys facilitators have to be open and willing to
engage in contact with others, be able to discuss and encourage others to be more open and to

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engage in contact with others, all while being respectful of each customers unique wants and
feelings. A Cuddle Party facilitator has to firmly understand the importance of dialogue, because
if the facilitator or any participant does not completely articulate their desires at a Cuddle Party,
it could lead to unwanted touching that could range from awkward to violating. As Minnesota
Cuddle Party facilitator Candessa Hadsall described it, for [Cuddle Party], No is a complete
sentence (qtd. in Collins). Cuddle Party facilitators possess a strong character that is open and
encouraging while simultaneously being respectful and understanding of the boundaries of
others; these are not just character traits beneficial to Cuddle Party, instead these are character
traits essential to have in all walks of life.
The strong character present in Cuddle Party is also exemplified in the diverse groups the
organization caters to. As stated earlier, Cuddle Party is located on five different continents and
has dozens of different locations with varying cultures, showing how the company values
geographic and cultural diversity. The demographics of most cuddle parties also tend to be
diverse. In terms of age, Len Daley told us that their target demographic was 18-90 year olds,
showing their willingness to be open to all age groups. Daley also stated how Cuddle Party aims
and succeeds in achieving a balanced gender ratio, which was confirmed by an investigation by
The Atlantic (Fortenbury). As such, the corporate character of Cuddle Party is strong in that it
exemplifies an openness and appreciation for diversity.
However, there are still some areas regarding diversity where Cuddle Party could
improve. When attending a cuddle party, Fortenbury observed that the party was
predominantly white, a statement that has been echoed by other journalists. Also, Cuddle
Party could do better in serving and targeting groups such as the transgender community and
groups with nontraditional lifestyles and sexualities (Daley). In our interview with Daley, he

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acknowledged that there is progress to be made in achieving more diversity in cuddle party
participants, but that the organization is seeking to target more groups and that they have and
always will be open to absolutely everyone. While they may not be perfect yet, Cuddle Party
exemplifies strong character in their openness to where they falter and their commitment to
continuously improving the diversity of their participants.
Cuddle Party exemplifies engagement through its facilitators, who reach out to the
community and build relationships. Facilitators have multiple roles, but they are mainly focused
on creating an environment for people to safely and responsibly engage with each other. Cuddle
Party events serve as meeting spaces within communities, where individuals can go to meet and
bond with new people. At Cuddle Party events, facilitators provide a service by teaching the
concepts of personal boundaries and proper consent (Cuddle Party, Frequently Asked
Questions). Facilitators also often hold other events in the community, such as free hug and
cuddle sessions which can further bring communities together. Cuddle Party engagement also
connects to the donations they receive, which are also used to fund education and training
development, research, and charitable efforts which support the goals and ideals of encouraging
and providing opportunities for Health Touch around the world (Foundations for Facilitation,
Donate Now).
While Cuddle Party is a very engaging company, they could be even more engaged
within their communities if they improved their social media presence. While they do have a
Facebook page, they rarely post, and they lack presences on popular sites such as Twitter,
Snapchat, and Instagram. By better utilizing the internet and social media, Cuddle Party would
not only be better able to engage with its communities and spread its messages about consent and
openness, but they would be better able to connect with younger individuals. With the younger

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generation being more open to challenging sexual norms and more receptive to issues such as
proper consent, Cuddle Party would do well to try to engage with that demographic more.
While Cuddle Party may have some areas where they can improve, ultimately there is no
doubt that they exemplify every aspect of PACE, though certainly in its own unique way. While
a room full of cuddling strangers may not initially strike one as a professional setting, it is
through individuals professional behavior that Cuddle Party can succeed. They offer unique
training and scholarships that best meet the academic necessities for what they offer, and they
foster a strong character through their valuing of openness, dialogue, and diversity. Also
creating events that whole communities can engage in, Cuddle Party shows that there are many
different ways for an organization to fulfill all aspects of PACE.

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Works Cited
Collin, Liz. "Mpls. 'Cuddle Party' Chapter Teaches Communication, Boundaries." WCCO
CBS Minnesota. CBS Radio, 19 Jan. 2016. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
Cuddle Party. "About Cuddle Party." Cuddle Party. Cuddle Party, Web. 11 Oct. 2016.
Cuddle Party. "Become a Cuddle Party Facilitator." Cuddle Party. Cuddle Party, Web. 11
Oct. 2016.
Cuddle Party. "Frequently Asked Questions." Cuddle Party. Cuddle Party, n.d. Web. 11
Oct. 2016.
Daley, Len. "Interview with Len Daley." Telephone interview. 6 Oct. 2016.
Fortenbury, Jon. "Fighting Loneliness With Cuddle Parties." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media
Company, 15 July 2014. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
Foundations of Facilitation. "Donate Now." Foundations of Facilitation. Cuddle Party,
Web. 11 Oct. 2016.
Foundations of Facilitation. "Scholarships Awarded." Foundations of Facilitation.
Cuddle Party, Web. 11 Oct. 2016.