LILYPADS CARE CART
Bringing food, essential, & self-care items to inpatient families
LilyPads Housing is thrilled to announce the launch of its Care Cart, a new program designed to provide comfort and essential supplies to families with children receiving care at UVA Children’s Hospital. The Care Cart will make its debut on March 10th, 2025 and will continue to visit families bi-weekly, offering much-needed support to families during their hospital stay. We invite community members to support the program by donating items or volunteering to support the Care Cart initiative.
CARE CART SCHEDULE & MENU
The LilyPads Care Cart visits the following UVA Children's Hospital wings: 7th Floor Central, 7th Floor West (PICU), 8th Floor antepartum rooms, and 7th Floor East (NICU), in this order, every other Monday from 11am-2pm. To view and/or subscribe to the current Care Cart calendar, please use the links above.
Our Care Cart is stocked with a diverse variety of shelf-stable meals, snacks, toiletries, essential items, and self-care items to help ease the stress of long hospital stays. Our items are donated by the community, so their availability is subject to change from week to week. To view a comprehensive menu of what is currently available on our cart, please use the links above. While viewing our menu, please keep in mind that the pictures seen are representative of each category and may not reflect the exact items you will receive.
“We understand how overwhelming hospital stays can be for families. We hope that the Care Cart will provide not only practical support but also a reminder that these families are not alone—our community stands with them.”
-Jen Koym, Founder of LilyPads Housing
VOLUNTEERING WITH THE CARE CART
We are always looking for community members with a passion for helping hospital families to volunteer with our Care Cart! In order to become a LilyPads Care Cart volunteer, you must first complete the hospital volunteer requirements through UVA Hospital Volunteer Services. Every hospital volunteer must complete an application, authorize a criminal background check, attend an orientation, and complete a brief health assesment.
To find out more about volunteering, please click below and fill out our volunteer form.
CARE CART PARTNERS
The Care Cart is made possible through the generosity of community donors who help stock it with essential and comforting items and our community partners who help us collect donations. We would like to say a special thank you to the following community partners: Club Pilates, Suzanne Dennis' Office, Crozet Speech & Learning, Bounce Play-n-Create, and the Scrappy Elephant.
We welcome the support of individuals, businesses, and organizations who wish to contribute by donating supplies or funding for the Care Cart. Every donation directly benefits families navigating the difficulties of having a child in the hospital, offering them small moments of relief and care.