3rd Annual Christmas in the NICU

My name is Samantha Wescott. I am a stay at home mother to three beautiful children. My youngest daughter, Whitney, was born on May 21st, 2012. She was taken by emergency c-section seven weeks early due to a very rare but serious lung condition. We were told before she was born that she wouldn’t live, and we were told that four more times during our NICU stay, but she astonished everyone with her strong will to live. She spent over 6 months (189 days) in the NICU at Primary Children’s Medical Center. She came home right before Christmas three years ago on oxygen, 7 different medications and a feeding tube. Today she is a healthy, happy toddler who has been given a clean bill of health.

The Holidays are soo hard when you have a sick infant in the NICU. We spent six sad, very scary holidays with our baby in the hospital. Now that Whitney is healthy we love to give back and to help ease the burdens of these struggling families.  This is our third year putting together Christmas gift baskets for families with infants in the NICU. Our first year, we had a goal of 15 baskets and collected enough donations for 36 baskets! Last year our goal was 40 baskets and were able to put together 54 baskets with all the donations we received! This wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of many individuals and small businesses. 

This year our goal is to collect enough donations to put together 100 gift baskets for the families with infants in the NICU at Primary Children’s Medical Center, St. Mark's Hospital, Davis Hospital, and McKay-Dee Hospital.

****The reason we started this GOFundMe page is because we need cash donations to purchase gasoline gift cards for each basket, as well as any remaining items and supplies we need for the baskets. 

 Thank you soo much for your time, and have a very Happy Holiday season! Please feel free to contact me anytime at the email address listed below if you have any questions or concerns. I will be collecting these donations for the next month so we can put the baskets together and deliver them before Christmas.

Sincerely,

 Samantha J. Wescott
[email redacted]

Here is a list of the items we put in the baskets:.
 
*packaged snacks and drinks
*gift cards (especially for gas/groceries)
*hand sanitizers/toiletries
*lotion/chap stick
*Notebooks/journals/greeting cards
*chocolate/candy
 *knitted baby hats, booties, blankets
*bows, leg warmers, jewelry or other baby accessories for infants who cannot be dressed
*accessories and jewelry for Mom
*coloring books and other small toys for older siblings
 *soothing music CD's 
*children's books
*money, gift cards or in-kind donations to assist in purchasing these items