Amity foster parents donate newborn pillows to CHOP
Amity Township foster parents Jessica and Tom Flatley started Boppys for Bunny, a donation project to help infants at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Jessica posted on her Facebook page in early June that she had a goal to collect 20 Boppy Newborn Loungers if anyone wanted to pitch in and help out. She set up a public Amazon Wish List titled Boppys for Bunny and had them shipped directly to their shop, the Lucky Squirrel Printworks in Douglassville.
“I know that everyone in our circle wants to help us, not everyone can foster but everyone can support if you show them how,” said Jessica in an email.
Jessica explained the inspiration for the donation project.
“Our littlest love nicknamed Bunny is inpatient at CHOP. Her amazing nurses mentioned how much quieter her floor would be if all of the babies had one of the Boppy Newborn Loungers that Bunny has,” said Jessica. “So I spoke to the Child Life depart
ment on her floor to make sure that they would be allowed to use the pillows (there are often ‘safe sleep’ practices that need to be followed) and she assured me that yes, while they were on monitors they would be allowed to use the pillows, but that the babies would then get to take them home when discharged as they cannot be sanitized for the next baby.”
Two weeks after the initial Facebook post, the couple received 170 Boppy Newborn Loungers.
“We wildly exceeded our goal!” said Jessica.
“(We were able) to donate not just to the floor Bunny is on, but we are able to donate them to the entire hospital!”
On June 30, they delivered 170 Boppy pillows to CHOP. They plan to hold a yearly drive.
“They thanked us over and over! I kept responding with ‘I didn’t do this, our Tribe did!” said Jessica.