Bright Boxes reach hospitals from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador

Bright, NotJustYou’s care package program for hospital stays and crisis days, has now delivered to all ten provinces. In 2025, Bright Boxes went to children’s and adult hospitals from Vancouver to Charlottetown, with stops in Manitoba, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Hospital giving has been part of NotJustYou’s work for years. In 2020 and 2021, it sent gifts and Warrior Bags to the Stollery Children’s Hospital, the Alberta Children’s Hospital, BC Children’s Hospital and SickKids.

Where Bright went in 2025

This year’s route crossed the country, reaching adult hospitals as well as children’s hospitals, because warriors need support at every age. Deliveries included:

• Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary
• Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre at the University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton
• BC Children’s Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver
• SickKids, Toronto
• IWK Health, Halifax
• Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Charlottetown
• Stops in Manitoba, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador

Each delivery brought comfort to warriors and to the teams who care for them. Together, the stops stretched from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

What is inside a Bright Box

Each box is curated by NotJustYou’s founder, Ufuoma Muwhen, who lived with sickle cell until a stem cell transplant just after her 18th birthday, and by warriors who know what a long hospital stay is like. Every item is there for comfort on the hardest days:

• A warm blanket, since cold can trigger pain
• Hydration supplies, since dehydration is a known trigger
• A microwavable heat pack and pain relief items
• Nutritious snacks
• A notebook and things to pass the time on long days in hospital
• Comfortable clothing and personal care supplies
• Helpful information

A pain crisis can mean days in hospital, away from the routines of home. Small comforts, like a warm blanket or something to pass the time, can make those days easier to get through.

At BC Children’s Hospital, a Patient Experience Worker said a teen called his box “a box from heaven.” He loved the microwavable heat pack.

For the full story behind each item, read Inside a Bright Box. The boxes are for comfort and never replace a care plan from your hematology team.

Request or sponsor a box

You can request a box for yourself, your child or someone you love who is in hospital or facing a crisis. The request form asks who the box is for, with an optional hospital or city, and the Bright team will be in touch about delivery.

To sponsor a box for someone else, donate to NotJustYou. Sponsors help put boxes in hospital rooms across the country.