CHILDREN BATTLING CANCER FIND A REASON TO SMILEA petite, two-year-old blonde
girl, still recovering from surgical removal of her cancerous left eye,
discovers in her mailbox a large envelope decorated with brightly colored
cartoon animals. Tearing it open, she retrieves a card from the envelope
and exclaims "Mama, look, it's a teddy bear!" The card (along with stickers,
books and a bookmark included in the envelope), helped to accomplish
something that hadn't happened in a while: the little girl smiled. That smile was made possible by THE HUGS AND HOPE CLUB, a program that sends free "goodie" packages to children with life-threatening illnesses. DO YOU KNOW AN ILL CHILD IN NEED OF A SMILE?
The HUGS AND HOPE CLUB Program was created to "send smiles across the miles" and brighten the day of children battling cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The nationwide program touches the lives of many children across the country and throughout the entire world. On the Hugs and Hope Club's website (www.hugsandhope.org), new children are featured each month with their story, photo, and a mailing address. Hugs and Hope volunteers (which number over 2,000) and visitors to the site mail cheery cards and small gifts to each sick child and their siblings along with notes of encouragement to the parents. The club itself sends out monthly cards and goodie packages including stickers, books, or toys relating to each child's likes and interests. "We like to remind the children that they are cared about and they are special," says Jordan. We call the packages "happy mail" because we hope that it puts a smile on the child's face.
KIEREN - a Hugs and Hope "club kid" who had surgery to remove a brain tumor. |
The Hugs
and Hope Club began in September of 2000. The program relies on
the support of sponsors who donate time, talents, or money to carry
out the goal of "sending smiles across the miles." If you know someone
who needs a smile, or if you are interested in learning more about the
program, please visit their website at