Help brighten the holidays for hospitalized Chrildren with Bina's Buddies!!

Hello! I'd love the opportunity to introduce you to our local nonprofit, tell you why we do what we do, and how you can help!

Please consider choosing us this holiday season!!

Who are we?
Bina's Buddies is a local nonprofit dedicated to donating toys, blankets, coloring books, stuffed animals, games, dvds, comfort objects, etc., to children and families enduring legthy and repeat hospitalizations at Mayo Eugenio Litta's Children's Hospital over the holidays. This year, we are also trying to expand to donate items to the Rochester Ronald McDonald house as well!

Why are we doing this?
Our daughter, Charlotte, was hospitalized for roughly three and a half months when she was just shy of two months old. We started our stay at Children's of St. Paul and after two months of chaos, we were transferred to Mayo Clinic's Mayo Eugenio Litta's Chrildren's Hospital at St. May's Hospital in Rochester, MN.
While there our daughter received a life saving surgery and care. Although she is not out of the woods (she is still facing another major surgery in a few years), today she is a spunky, smart, energetic two and a half year old and aside from her scars you would never know what that child has been through.
During our stays at both hospitals, we noticed that the children at Children's of St. Paul receive a lot of outside charitable donations and perks. They receive pajamas from Sweet Dreams for Kids (another amazing local charity!), blankets from Blankets for Linus (and it's amazing how much having their own soft blanket means to a sick child!), fun items from the military, visits from professional sports teams, burritos from Chipotle, and awesome toy prizes during weekly BINGO games!
However, when we went to Mayo we realized that none of those amazing charities reach out that far... they stay local.
The kids at Mayo are often facing very lengthy and repeated hospitalizations and really deserve some cheer, especially during the holidays!!

Why extend to the Ronald McDonald House?
During our stay we were lucky enough to get a room at the Ronald McDonald house for the last month of Charlotte's hospitalization. This proved invaluable especially when she was in the PICU as there was no room to sleep in her room...
I still remember getting a tour of the house and all the services they provide. I was awe struck and my heart was so full at the amazing things and home that they offer for just a $10 per-night donation!
The final stop on the tour was our room. As he took me around the corner to the bathroom I started sobbing.... I was completely overcome with emotion and heartfelt gratitude. At that point it had been nearly 3 months since I had a bathroom and shower to call my own! Such a simple thing we take for granted had become a source of overwhelming joy!!
It is amazing how the little comforts of a "home" become such a luxury when your child is hospitalized. I am forever grateful to the RMH of Rochester MN and would love to be able to help them out this holiday season as well!

How can you help?
I will post a list of ideas for items we would love to accept for donations. If you have any items or ideas for items not currently on our list please let us know!
If you want to help in another way, we are also accepting poptab donations for the RMH (Ronald McDonald House), Money to buy items through paypal, and we have also had an amazing friend come through to set up a 31 ordering party (more on that later), in which all commissions are being donated to buy items for the kids!
If you have any questions please contact us via our facebook page: www.Facebook.com/BinasBuddies or you can email us at BinasBuddies@gmail.com!

Ideas for Items to Donate:

• Blankets
• Pajamas (all kids sizes)
• DVDs
• Puzzles
• Stuffed Toys
• Packages of toiletries for the families
• Non Perishable Food (to be donated to the Ronald McDonald House)
• Cards
• Coloring Books and Crayons
• Wii Games (they have Wii systems in most long term rooms)
• Toys
• Picture Frames
• Craft Kits
• Books
• Gift Cards
• Cleaning Supplies (for RMH)
• Anything else you can think of for a hospitalized child age infant through teen