Wolfson’s ‘Christmas in July’ toy drive transitions to virtual because of COVID-19

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax was at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in July 2019 when Santa made an early stop to see patients.

At the time, Amy Mitchell, a 2-year-old patient’s mother said, “To have special toys like this for him to play with and distract him from everything going on, it really means a lot.”

This year, because of coronavirus, almost all visitors aren’t allowed inside — making a tough situation even more stressful for families.

Child Life Specialist Janice Foster explained, “We use toys for normalization, in order to make the hospital atmosphere familiar.”

The doctors and staff at Wolfson said they’re relying even more on the “Christmas in July” toy drive to spread cheer and to deal with the summer dip in donations.

The collection was moved completely online so COVID-19 isn’t a concern.

Foster described, “These are able to come right to the hospital and we’re able to get some really specific things.”

She added, “We accept gifts on the registry anytime throughout the year, but specifically at ‘Christmas in July’”.

It was a different donation method that still helps sick kids.

Anyone wishing to donate money or shop for toys can visit:

• ChristmasJuly.com
• or visit Amazon.com and type ”Wolfson Children’s Hospital” in the baby registry search bar.

Cox Media Group