For the fourth consecutive year, Hibbett and PUMA have presented Children’s of Alabama, Social Services with a combination of much-needed monetary donations, apparel, footwear and accessories o support Care Closet, Sugar Plum Shop and the CHIPS Center. Additionally, the hospital was gifted with 1,000 Pop-its toys, for hospital staff to use to help entertain distressed patients and their siblings, who may have accompanied the family on an emergency room visit.
“This holiday season as we once again partner with PUMA to support Children’s of Alabama, we are filled with gratitude and appreciation for the compassionate care their staff provides for families in our community during times of need,” said Sarah Sharp-Wangaard, VP Marketing, Hibbett.
“We hope our donation this year will help Children’s Social Services to remain well-stocked with the supplies they need throughout the year for local children and their families.” “This partnership provides invaluable funding and items for our care closet to ensure that patients and their families have essentials to make their stay at the hospital the most
comfortable it can be," said Emily Hornak, Director of Cause Marketing at Children's of Alabama. "This support enables the care team at Children's to provide family-centered care to ease patient and ca egiver stress."
The Care Closet is utilized daily by social workers from every division at Children's of Alabama and shoes and clothing items are frequently needed, but not always readily available. On average, the team provides more than 400 families in crisis with essential items each year. The Care Closet donations allow those who arrive at the hospital with a child after an emergency to pick up essentials they may need for their child or themselves such as apparel and footwear, toiletries and more, free of charge.
The Sugar Plum Shop provides an average of 260 patient families with gifts to help ease the burden of being in the hospital during the holiday season annually, while Children's Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services (CHIPS Center) promotes hope and healing for those affected by child abuse and neglect. The specialty-trained staff at the CHIPS Center provides more than 2850 counseling sessions for children and families in need each year.
The donation of $20,000 cash and more than 500 PUMA products was presented to Children’s of Alabama by Hibbett and PUMA staff on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. The shipment contained approximately 290 clothing items, 231 pairs of footwear and 30 accessories.
