Thank you for considering donating to the UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center Child Life Program and the pediatric patients we serve. It’s because of wonderfully generous people that we are able to provide our patients and their families with toys, games and activities in our playroom, teen room, waiting areas and at patients' bedsides. Gifts go a long way towards making the hospital a less threatening place and brightening a child's stay. As you consider your donation, keep the following important guidelines in mind. In this document: •
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Gift Guidelines Child Life Wish List Service Projects and Donation Ideas If you have any questions, call Child Life at 774-­‐443-­‐2549. Gift Guidelines Toys and stuffed animals: Because of our strict infection control and safety policies we only accept new toys, games, stuffed animals, books, arts and crafts, and other items. This policy is in place to protect our sickest patients who may be suffering from respiratory illnesses, suppressed immune systems or other life-­‐threatening conditions. We discourage gifts of stuffed animals. Edible gifts: All edible gifts must be commercially made and factory wrapped. Unfortunately, we cannot accept homemade foods for safety and infection control reasons. Visiting policy: Because of our infection control and safety policies and privacy regulations, we are unable to allow donors to deliver gifts directly to the children or their families. Respect diversity: UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center serves children and families from birth through young adulthood and from all walks of life. Because of this, we ask donors to respect our patients' diverse belief systems by not including items depicting specific religious or political themes, or any items that may be violent or inappropriate for individuals under 18 years of age. Delivery: Deliveries are scheduled through the Child Life office at least one week prior to the date of delivery so that we may arrange for a child life staff member to meet you in the main lobby. Donations should be delivered to: UMass Memorial -­‐ University Campus Remillard Family Pavilion -­‐ 1st floor 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655 Monetary donations: You may also donate funds directly to the Child Life Fund via the UMass Medical School/UMass Memorial Development Office. These funds are used throughout the year to purchase toys, arts and crafts, and other supplies that directly benefit children. To donate to this fund, contact the UMass Medical School/UMass Memorial Development Office, 508-­‐856-­‐5520. Child Life Wish List Under $10 Infant and Toddler board books No spill tumbler cups Disposable sippy cups Wrist rattles I Spy and pop-­‐up books Coloring books Plastic infant toys and rattles Squeezable stress balls Bubbles Playing cards Phase 10 and Skip Bo cards Pinwheels Matchbox cars Crayola markers and colored pencils Unpainted wooden crafts (birdhouses, boats, cars, etc.) Colorful bandaids Crayons (individual boxes) Under $25 Sound books Infant stimulation toys (sounds and lights) -­‐ no cloth Plastic infant toys Crib mirrors -­‐ no cloth Crib gyms and mobiles -­‐ no cloth Popular board games (Clue, Battleship, Sorry, Yatzee) Puzzles (25, 50 or 100 pieces) Magnadoodle Lego Kits -­‐ small, no large buckets please Arts and crafts kits (beads, caps, felt posters) Toy doctor kits Dolls with plastic bodies Over the door basketball hoops Music CDs (nature sounds/relaxation, Disney, lullaby, popular teen) DVD movies -­‐ new releases, rated G, PG, PG-­‐13 Disposable cameras Rescue Hero action figures Fisher Price toys (farms, people, animals, garage) Nail polish kits Gift certificates to local movie theaters Hand-­‐held electronic games (Connect 4, Battleship) Infant wash tubs Hats and scarves Fast food gift certificates Under $75 Washable crib mobiles -­‐ no cloth Video Games for systems (Game Cube, Playstation (2 and 3), Nintendo 64, GameBoy Advanced, Nintendo DS) Model kits (snap-­‐together cars, airplanes, boats) Computer games/software Hats and shirts from local sports teams Portable CD players Toys R Us and Babies R Us gift certificates Kodak printer paper and Ink (Kodak PH-­‐160 Printer Dock Media Kit) PS2 Controller Fisher Price Peek-­‐a-­‐Boo Soothers ("Rainforest Waterfall" & "Ocean Wonders Aquarium") Items over $75 Portable DVD players Kodak EasyShare printer dock series 3 Service Projects and Donation Ideas Craft supplies • Crayons • Coloring books • Markers • Glue • Construction paper • Paint • Stickers Make craft kits Craft kits should be pre-­‐packaged in ziplock bags with all necessary materials, and instructions included (scissors are provided by the hospital). All materials must be new. Craft kits can be made for a wide variety of age groups, depending on the level of difficulty for each project: •
Beads and shoestring/ribbon for making jewelry (large beads for young children) Coloring page packets and small crayon packs. Some good web sites to get the pictures: http://www.lil-­‐fingers.com/, http://www.crayola.com/, www.dltk-­‐kids.com/coloring.htm, http://www.familyfun.go.com/ • Craft sticks to make picture frames (include sequins, fabric scraps, glue stick) • Pre-­‐cut, blank hanging door sign (like hotels use) with crayons or markers for decorating • Dream catcher hoop with yarn, string, beads • Friendship bracelets with thread • Blank greeting cards with markers to decorate • Plastic needlepoint canvas with design, plastic needle and yarn • Pipe cleaners or gimp and directions for making animals, flowers, etc. • Paper bag and materials with instructions to make a puppet • Stained glass activity: tissue paper scraps, glue and Plexiglas sheet (rounded corners) • Cardboard sewing card (with holes punched around the edges) and yarn, shoe laces, etc. • Blank paper doll cutouts with crayons or markers • Blank paper book with stickers, markers, crayons for children to make their own stories • Cut-­‐out construction paper shapes (e.g., kites, fish, etc.), or pre-­‐cut seasonal decorations: 3-­‐
inch sizes of various shapes can make art projects easier for children. Patients can then paint and decorate shapes or shapes can be used to decorate patient rooms or nursing units. • School boxes: A school box or a decorated shoe box with crayons, pencils, rulers, glue, scissors, etc. • Individual craft kits in Ziploc bags with directions and supplies. Examples include: • Cut-­‐out felt hand puppets or finger puppets with items to decorate • Friendship bracelets -­‐ strands of floss and directions • Bead necklace -­‐ strand of elastic and selection of beads • Clown face -­‐ paper plate, yarn for hair, puff balls for eyes, etc. • Make-­‐your-­‐own-­‐card -­‐ separately packaged for a variety of occasions (e.g., birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Halloween, Valentine's Day). In each set, include an envelope, a folded piece of paper for the card, designs on paper of different colors to cut and paste to card. • Holiday activity bags -­‐ cut-­‐out shape (construction paper) of holiday item (Christmas tree, pumpkin, Menorah, Kwanza candles, Kinora, Easter egg, etc.) and glue and items to decorate • Blank sheets of paper with stickers, crayons and items to use as decorations We always have a use for fun prepackaged craft and activity kits. Suggested kits include Crayola, Imagine Nation, Creativity Kids and Klutz. •
Create comfort bags Small bags containing crayons, coloring book, short reading book, pin wheel, stress ball, pens and pads of paper. Help patients through tough tests and procedures When children undergo medical procedures they can help themselves relax and cope positively by blowing bubbles or pinwheels, looking at "I-­‐Spy" and picture books, listening to a calming music CD, or playing with sound and light toys. We strive to make sure these toys are available to any pediatric patient in need. Support the needs of our teen patients Our teenage patients enjoy CD players, popular music CDs, journals, magazines, model cars and airplanes, sports paraphernalia, nail polish, and small gift certificates to local stores. Support the needs of infants Babies enjoy mobiles, play gyms, high chairs, rattles, teethers, soothing crib toys and sound machines. Due to our infection control and safety guidelines, infant items must be easily cleanable (plastic), and that fabric or plush items are not appropriate for infant use at our Medical Center. Helping patients stay in touch Transportation and communication between hospital and home can be very challenging for some of our families. You can help these families by providing phone cards, gasoline gift cards (www.svmcards.net) or donating funds to go towards the purchase of parking vouchers for families who are experiencing a long hospitalization of a child. New books and magazines Any book you choose will be enjoyed by our patients, and the following web sites are a useful resource as you choose books to donate. • American Library Association • National Education Association • Reading is Fundamental -­‐ Book List Magazine subscriptions These can be ordered online and designated to go to a particular area of your choice. Please address the subscription as follows: Child Life Program UMass Memorial -­‐ University Campus 5th floor 55 Lake Avenue North Worcester, MA 01655 Teen Newsweek (www.weeklyreader.com) Zoobooks (www.zoobooks.com) Nickelodeon Magazine (www.nick.com) Disney Adventure (www.disney.com) National Geographic Kids (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/) U.S. Kids (http://www.cbhi.org/) Medical play dolls These handmade* dolls are given to our patients to keep and are used by our staff to help hospitalized children express their feelings and learn about their hospital experience. The poly-­‐
filled fabric doll has a blank face and body to encourage children to draw on it and personalize their doll. Guidelines for patterns are available upon request. •
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Blankets Handmade* blankets are comforting for children and help create a more nurturing environment. They should be made of colorfast, machine washable material and measure approximately 40"x32" or larger. *We ask that all handmade cloth items be freshly laundered to meet our infection control guidelines. To ensure the safety of our patients, handmade items should not have small removable pieces that are easily pulled off. Thank you for helping to ensure a safe environment for the children we serve. Cosmetics and other items Items include Chapstick, travel toothpaste, shampoo, brushes, toothbrushes, gas cards, new blankets, floss, shaving cream, lotion, deodorant, body wash, Life Savers, Tic Tacs.