Parade, donated toys brighten the holiday for kids at Exceptional Care for Children

“I think we were able to make them happy, and that makes us happy,” Jenn Parrish said.

Parrish founded Delaware Angels with her husband, Mark, and her friend, Jess Thornburg, earlier this year. The nonprofit seeks to raise awareness and provide support for families going through health crises.

Parrish organized a parade at ECC last year and this year decided to add a toy drive. She put out a call for donations and was able to collect dozens of contributions from community members.

“It’s overwhelming and emotional,” she said. “I have gratitude towards the community because this is all from the community.”

Delaware Angels collected enough toys for ECC’s live-in patients to receive at least two items each. It also received a grant from Delaware Gives to buy winter hats and gloves for all the kids.

Parrish said she hopes the donation drive and parade raises more community awareness of ECC and the work that it does.

“They’re one of Newark and Delaware’s hidden heartbeats,” Parrish said.

Located off West Chestnut Hill Road, ECC provides transitional, long-term and palliative care to medically fragile kids up to 21 years old. It currently has 45 patients, and next year, it plans to break ground on a new building that will accommodate teens and young adults.

Parrish noted that ECC has a special place in her heart because she knows firsthand what it is like to have a child with serious medical issues.

“My first son had trisomy 13,” she said, referring to the debilitating genetic condition that is often fatal in infants. “So if he were able to still be with us, he may have been here at Exceptional Care for Children.”