bughug care packs

Unexpected hospital stays can be part of caring for a child with disabilities or chronic illness. BugHug Care Packs offer families all the items they may have forgotten. Each care pack is thoughtfully curated by families who’ve been through this themselves and offer medical staff another way to encourage families.

We need to keep each item stocked, so please consider using our lists below to donate.

Who is eligible to receive a care pack?

Pediatric patients with disabilities or chronic healthcare issues being admitted for more than a two night hospital stay. Initially, care packs were only given to the kiddos, but thanks to huge community support we also now offer parent/caregiver care packs as well.

Where are care packs currently distributed?

Hoops Family Children’s Hospital at Cabell Huntington Hospital & the Ronald McDonald House in Huntington, WV. As we grow we plan to branch out into other children’s hospitals in the tri-state area of WV, KY, and OH.

Who gives out parent and pediatric care packs?

From our own personal experiences, we realize extended hospitalizations can be overwhelming. With privacy in mind and a desire to not be intrusive, we leave our care packs with the great medical teams and staff taking care of your family and they give them out following our guidelines. Our care packs give medical teams and staff one more resource to encourage and love on your family during your stay. They tend to get pretty creative with their delivery, so we hope it’s a great surprise

Why is it called BugHug?

One of the branches of the Jeremiah Tree Foundation, BugHug Care Packs, was named after our daughter Rylee who had followers called RyleeBugGroupies. Rylee had more comprehensive disabilities and while she spent the majority of her eleven years traveling, listening to music, and ensuring her style was on point we did spend several long-term stints in PICU at Cabell Huntington Hospital. You’ll see her #ryleebuggroupies on the side of each care pack and we would love to see her name and ladybug trending as you share your family’s story. There are lots of folks in our community that will be following our social media – it’s a great avenue to show your kiddo is much more than a diagnosis.

How do you decide what goes in a care pack?

That’s a great question. There are so many options! Our parent and child care packs are curated by a group of families who’ve dealt with similar hospitalizations, several pediatric medical professionals, a sibling of a child with disabilities, and several of the kids who’ve received a care pack in the past. There’s also a card inside each care pack that parents and kids can complete and turn in. That information helps us adapt to changing needs and also decide what items are hits or duds (thankfully, no duds so far) as we move forward.

We are given guidelines on what can be in a care pack and we adhere closely to that while including fun items. To ensure each care pack is equal, our shopping lists are set up for bulk buying. We recommend using our Amazon WishList and Dollar Tree shopping list to nab our must-have items. If you order through Amazon, the items ship directly to us. At Dollar Tree, you can go in with your list and clear out the stock of one item (believe me, we do it all the time!) or you can order an item online by the case and ship it to your local Dollar Tree for free. Items are thoughtfully selected and often pull double duty. We’ve heard kid-size flashlights are great for getting to the bathroom in the night without the overhead lights…and that they also are perfect for late-night puppet shows. Stress balls are used as fidgets, a toy, and to focus on during minor medical procedures. Books are often a great distraction throughout the day and help maintain a bedtime routine during a hospital stay.

We do accept like new, current magazine donations. Please do not cut off your address label – we use a stamp to cover all personal information before including them in the parent care packs. We do not supply items that you can receive at the hospital in our care packs (toilet paper, hand sanitizer, band-aids, etc.) because at some point we just have to be able to close the lid on these generous care packs!

I’ve used the Amazon WishList and the Dollar Tree shopping list before, but why are some of the items I purchased in the past no longer on the list?

We watch our BugHug donation stock closely. Occasionally we will have enough of an item to supply current and future needs. When that happens, we remove that item from the list. Keeping our list up to date ensures we have what we need for care packs.

What if I would like to meet or thank someone with your organization?

As COVID guidelines allow, we still stop by for visits with the families we care so much about. Hopefully we get to meet you in person soon, but in the meantime you are welcome to post on our social media accounts. We’ve placed disguises in all the child care packs, please feel free to use them in photos if you’d like to maintain your child’s privacy while posting on our accounts…adds some intrigue to the whole affair! Seeing your posts on our social media accounts, or sharing your story on our website allows people in the community to see how their donations impact families.

Don’t forget to use the thank you notes included in each care pack as well – help us share some gratitude by thanking the great people taking care of you during your stay. We love encouraging medical teams and staff with our #kindnessiscontagious card campaign.