Madison Co. nonprofit packaging up hope for families in the hospital

Richmond, Ky. (WKYT) -When a child is rushed to the hospital or has an extended stay due to illness it can turn a family’s world upside down.

One Madison County nonprofit works to bring hope and encouragement to those families through a small act of kindness meant to make their hospital stay a little easier.

A stay in the hospital can be frightening for a child, for his or her parents left waiting with them it can be equally as terrifying and stressful.

Sometimes there isn’t time for necessities, but that’s where Jessica Ball steps in.

“You don’t bring a toothbrush or toothpaste with you when are rushed to the emergency room so these care packages we put together are filled with toiletries and necessities for the moms and dads,” said Jessica Ball.

Six years ago Ball created Hannah’s Care Packages, a nonprofit that delivers much needed goods to parents staying in the hospital with their children.

“I felt like God was pulling me in that direction that I needed to take care of the moms and dads because they weren’t taking care of themselves,” said Ball.

It has become her mission to take simple things like soap, shampoo, conditioner and other items of comfort and package them up in her Madison Co. home with a little extra love and then send them out the door to parents with a child in the hospital.

The packages of love and hope weigh about 10 pounds Ball says by the time she is done stuffing them full of what she calls hope in a big.

Hannah’s Care Packages have traveled to families across the country each one a way to minister to those they reach.

“Hannah is actually Samuel’s mother from the Bible. Her story in the Bible where she prayed to God for a son reminded us of what our parents go through at the bedside of a child, they pray to God for him to heal their child,” said Ball.

Since 2015, Ball says the nonprofit has probably delivered more than 1,000 packages.

It is a labor of love, many times to complete strangers.

“This is where I’m meant to be and this is what I’m meant to do,” said Ball.

For Jessica Ball, it is a way to pack God’s love for others into a neat little package and send a little hope to those who need it most.

“That’s really what this is all about, just planting a seed, shining a light and letting them know they are loved and they are not alone,” said Ball.

For the time being there is a limit on where Hannah’s Care Packages are being sent, but they do offer “a send a card” program to anyone.

To stay connected with families through prayer and outreach those handwritten cards are sent out by request as another way to provide some hope and encouragement.

The organization runs solely on donations from the community.

A fundraiser for Hannah’s Care Packages will be held Saturday, September 18.

The Brews, Beards and Bands benefit will take place from 6 pm to 10 pm at Dreaming Creek Brewery.

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