The Jared Box Project, the State College-based nonprofit group, has achieved a new milestone, it announced this week.
Since its inception here a decade ago, the charitable organization has now inspired more than 60,000 Jared Boxes — small, shoebox-style boxes filled with small toys, games and other items for hospital-bound children and youth.
‘This is an incredible milestone,’ Jared Box Project director Cindy Kolarik said in a news release. ‘What started out as a way to honor one little boy is now a national effort that has reached children in 39 states, four countries and in over 300 hospitals.’
The Jared Box Project began in 2001 after the death of 6-year-old Jared McMullen. As he battled brain cancer, he would take toys and games in a backpack to help him pass the time at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.
But he was concerned that some other children in similar straits didn’t bring items to help them through their own hospital trips, according to the news release.
After Jared’s death, his friends and family in the Our Lady of Victory Catholic parish began the Jared Box Project in his honor. The entirely volunteer-driven endeavor encourages community groups to make their own Jared Boxes — packed with toys, stuffed animals and other thoughtful items — then donate the boxes to local hospitals and treatment centers.
Our Lady of Victory parochial school, in State College, is still among the strongest Jared Box Project supporters, according to the news release. Likewise, the Sterilite Corporation has donated thousands of plastic boxes for use as Jared Boxes. Old Dominion Freightline has donated the cost of shipping the Sterilite boxes from the company’s warehouse.
Any organization interested in joining the charitable effort can find guidance and more specifics on the official Jared Box Project website.
