“Each little box of joy has the power to heal so many hearts!”
When Shalini Samtani’s daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease, her family’s life was upended by countless hospital visits. But during one stay, Shalini realized happiness could be found in little things— and began boxing up joy for thousands of kids j
Ready?” Shalini Samtani asked, gazing down at her daughter. As her sweet child nodded, eyes wide with excitement, Shalini’s heart swelled. She’s so resilient, she mused. Even after everything she’s been through. Born with a rare immune disorder, Shalini’s little girl had been in and out of the hospital countless times in her short life. But this latest stay was particularly heartbreaking, as it meant that she would be missing Halloween at home.
Thankfully, the doctors had come up with their own plan for children spending the holiday in their care. And as the New Jersey family made their way to the hospital basement, they were overjoyed to find that each department had set up their own themed stalls, where, instead of candy, they offered dollar-store trinkets to each trick-or-treater.
Moving from stall to stall, Shalini’s daughter collected her goodies, and later, as she played with her slime and bubbles in bed, her face shone with a joy her mother hadn’t seen in some time. In fact, Shalini realized that the event had brought her entire family joy. And all it took was a few dollar store tchotchkes! she reflected when, suddenly, a light bulb flickered to life in her mind— and a sweet idea was born.
The healing power of happy
As the family headed home from the hospital just before Christmas, Shalini couldn’t shake the thought that she had to figure out a way to create that joy for other children like her daughter.
“But how?” she mused as she and her husband, Lavesh, thought through the possibilities. Suddenly, it came to her: “What about joy boxes?” she suggested. “We’ll fill them with fun stuff for kids to play with while they’re in the hospital!” With everyone in
agreement, the family settled on a North Pole theme for their first “joy boxes” and set to work finding toys, arts and crafts and riddles to fill them.
In a few weeks, Shalini had 50 boxes to give out to kids at the hospital, complete with a certificate confirming each child’s good standing in the North Pole. And as feedback from elated families poured in, Shalini created a Valentine’s Day box for February and a Dr. Seuss Day version for March.
“It’s transformed our child’s stay!” one parent said, while others shared the joy and laughter the boxes brought. Shalini knew that feeling well— and that she had to keep going to spread even more healing and joy. manufacturers donating toys and games to fill them and a growing body of volunteers packaging the goods, the Samtanis have been able to deliver thousands of boxes to hospitals across the country— and have no plans of stopping.
In fact, through fundraisers, their Facebook page, Spread the Joy Foundation, and Instagram, @ spreadthejoy foundation and @ openthejoy, the Samtanis have raised over $100,000 in the last year to bring boxes of joy to kids in the hospital. But Shalini’s greatest triumph is that the boxes have not just given joy to the recipients, but encouraged them to spread joy.
“We heal ourselves by helping others— and that’s our mission every single day!”
In each joy box, children are given a joy mission to carry out, like writing a card to the person who cooks for them. But one 7-year-old at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital took her mission to a new level when she rang her call bell to ask for help giving away her ‘Get Well Soon’ balloon to a patient next door. For Shalini, nothing could make her prouder. “The best way to heal is by doing things to help others!” she smiles. “That’s our mission: to not let what we can’t do stop us from doing what we can. We’ve found a way to find joy and give it back to others too. And it’s not about how much we give, but how much love we put into giving!”