Dad Teaches How to Survive Natural Disasters, but Wanted to Do More. How Son’s Stuffed Animal Inspired Him (Exclusive)

When disaster strikes, the recovery process can be both physically and mentally demanding. It can be an especially difficult time for kids, who sometimes lose everything they’ve ever known. Now, one content creator is using his platform to offer these kids emotional support through a new initiative.

Anthony Finchum is best known online as the man behind the Disastrous History podcast and social media pages. For years, the 31 year old, who lives in Nebraska, has used his platform to teach his followers how to prepare for and survive disasters. 

Now, Anthony tells PEOPLE that he wants to use that same platform to help those impacted by these same catastrophes. 

He and his wife Kaitlin, 35, recently launched “Operation Stuffie Strong,” which aims to bring children comfort following a disaster by providing them with a special stuffed animal.

“I think that it’s important to do something like this to show that, especially kids, you’re not forgotten,” Anthony explains. “People care, people want to help, people want to give you comfort.”

Originally from Indiana, Anthony has long been fascinated by natural disasters, having experienced his fair share as a child. At 18, Anthony joined his local fire department, where he helped investigate his very first house fire during a blizzard.

Intrigued, Anthony eventually went to college and took a number of emergency management classes, eventually receiving a Bachelor’s degrees in fire arson and explosion investigation.

In his career, Anthony has done more than 700 fire investigations, and assisted with responses to both hurricanes and tornados. He has also helped run multiple migrant shelters in Washington, D.C., all of which offered him an inside look at the various facets of human suffering.

Later in adulthood, Anthony says he fell into a nightly ritual of researching various natural disasters on Wikipedia. He would share his findings with his wife, who then proposed he start a podcast.

Anthony agreed, and “Disastrous History” was launched. He then created several social media accounts under the same name, where he now regularly shared detailed videos about both recent and historic disasters that have impacted the lives of thousands, if not millions, of people worldwide — from tornadoes and hurricanes to earthquakes, fires and more.

Now, Anthony has amassed more than 300,000 followers on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and more. With such a large following, he was eager to use his platform to “give back tangibly to disaster survivors.”

On Monday, May 19, Anthony came up with the idea for “Operation Stuffie Strong.” He tells PEOPLE he was driving home after picking up dinner from his family when the idea suddenly struck him.

“I was thinking about, ‘How can I give back to people and who can I do the most good for?’ And I was thinking about [how] my son has a stuffed animal that he absolutely loves,” Anthony explains. “It’s a stuffed animal rabbit. He named it Floppy, after Floppy from Bluey.”

“And I realized that if we lost our home and he lost Floppy, he would be absolutely devastated,” the content creator adds.

That’s when Anthony concocted the idea for the iniative. The goal, he says, is to offer kids “some kind of comfort after they have lost everything” during what may be one of the darkest moments in their lives.

“A lot of these times, these kids are anywhere from two to 10, and the only thing they’ve ever known is school and home. Or sometimes just home.”

Upon returning home, Anthony ran the idea by his wife Kaitlin, who enthusiastically offered to help. She quickly whipped up a website and set up an Amazon wishlist, as well as other ways for people to donate to the cause.

Then, it was time to launch. Anthony posted his first video about the iniative on Wednesday, May 21, and it wasn’t long before donations poured in. 

On the first day alone, about 40 stuffed animals had been ordered on Amazon, and nearly $400 had been donated. “I was not expecting the reaction,” Anthony tells PEOPLE, adding, “I don’t know what I was expecting.”

Most of the initial donations come with heartfelt notes from their donors, who recall the impact they felt after receiving a stuffed animal after experiencing a disaster themselves. Some donors still have their special stuffed animals today, and wanted to pass along the kind gesture to another young person.

“When we had our tornado back in the ’80s, my grandfather found one of my stuffed animals in the rubble and he handed it to me,” one woman wrote, according to Anthony. “And I still have it on my mantle.” 

Now, they’re looking for families to donate to. Those seeking assistance can visit disastroushistory.com/stuffiestrong to nominate a child for a stuffed animal.

Meanwhile, those who are interested in donating can visit his website, where they can find the Amazon wishlist as well as the Venmo and PayPal accounts.

Anthony says he and his wife Kaitlin plan to personally package all of the stuffed animals to families in need, and write personalized notes to the recipients. They also have a crayon drawing of their son’s bunny Floppy, drawn by their son himself, that will be “included on all of the notes.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Ultimately, Anthony hopes that “Operation Stuffie Strong” can show kids impacted by these disasters that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. “There is always hope and there is always good,” he says.

Meanwhile, Anthony continues to post educational content about disasters of all kinds. By doing so, he believes he can show people how to be better prepared for a disaster, and teach them that enduring such an event “isn’t the end of the world.” 

“People can come back, people recover, areas recover,” Anthony tells PEOPLE. “They may be different than they were before, but you can move on, you can live through it. There is hope on the other side.”