NICU HOLIDAY BASKETS
Our purpose is to provide support to aid, ease and connect parents so they can face an unimaginable situation with strength, optimism and gratitude.
When you’re expecting a child, you expect everything to be normal but it’s not always the case. For parents who are thrust into the NICU, the life they had planned for has been thrown out the window.
Feelings of confusion, helplessness, guilt and fear become their first parental emotions… and that’s just the beginning. For many parents the average day in the hospital is 12 hours long. It takes courage to walk in, and even more courage to come back the next day. It’s a roller-coaster with no defined end.
As parents who have gone through this, we know you can’t do it alone. While we are blessed with great family and friends, the NICU experience is so intense and isolating that you can feel alone. The connection and kindness that strangers extended to us made all the difference and we now want to pay it forward.
This December our goal is to provide 75 gift bags of essentials, which will reach all NICU beds at Mount Sinai and St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.
Last year: We delivered 175 gift bags to the NICUs at St. Michael’s Hospital, Michael Garron Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Mackenzie Health in Vaughn and Saint John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick.
Our hope in providing these gift bags is to remind the NICU parents that they are not alone.
Your donation will go towards providing 75 gift bags of essentials, which will reach all NICU beds at Mount Sinai and St. Michael’s hospitals.
What is in the bags?
Toiletries for parents and babies, snacks, juice boxes, journal, baby products, baby books, chocolates, gift cards for dinner and coffee stores.
We need volunteers to make it happen. Support comes in many forms and we appreciate it all!
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Volunteer
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Share our website
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Donate
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Fundraise for us
Please note – we are currently in the process of becoming a registered not for profit organization so this year’s donations will not be tax deductible.
We thank you for your donation.
& Sponsors
We are grateful for the amazing support we received from many individuals and companies in 2018!
We couldn’t have done without you.
The families also expressed their gratitude during the delivery of the baskets, some cried, some showed a timid smile. It was beautiful and emotional to all of us.
Santa, made a special appearance and created fun to the many children visiting their sibling in the NICU.
Thank to your generosity we were able to donate toys, books and kids furniture to the kids play room in the family lounge at the NICU at Mount Sinai.
A Special Thank You To Our Sponsors!
Sponsors
Volunteers
Renata Runge,
Volunteer
Ruwani Wijesooriya, Volunteer
Testimonials
"Last year the NICU families at Mount Sinai Hospital were the recipients of extreme kindness and generosity. This celebration of giving had a significant impact on our families in the NICU - they were incredibly touched and appreciative to receive something so special during a very difficult time in their life.
-Kristy Macdonell M.S.W, R.S.W | Social Worker & Parent Program Coordinator Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
"It's been just over a year since we received one of your amazing gift baskets in the NICU. We never properly said thank you. On Dec. 22nd, our 29 weekers turned 1 and we added your rainbow ribbons to their birthday hats. Thanks for sending some love our way in 2014."
-JD, NICU mom
"This is a wonderful initiative which we benefited from when we were in the NICU. We received this beautiful basket which made our rollercoaster ride more bearable. Miss Kaia is a preemie and we spent over 100 days in the hospital. The lotions from all the hand washing we did was needed, the sanitizers, toothbrush from our overnights, and Medela products were a blessing."
-Adrienne S. - NICU parent
"We were grateful for them as recipients, and it had always been in our mind to give back and are happy to be part of this project now!"
-Laura Cham, NICU mom, owner of Baby Noah's Art
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