JACKSONVILLE, FL – Community PēdsCare®, a pediatric palliative and hospice program of Community Hospice & Palliative Care for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, hosted a holiday drive-thru event for patients and families at the Earl B. Hadlow Center for Caring at the main campus of Community Hospice & Palliative Care over the weekend. 

Community Hospice & Palliative Care welcomed over 350 patients and family members to the festive, lit-up, outdoor holiday setting created by employees. The families drove through a designated route named “Candy Cane Lane,” playing games, meeting familiar holiday characters, and collecting goodies and holiday gifts from Santa that had been generously donated. Before leaving the holiday drive-thru experience, patients were able to take photos with Santa around a fire truck.

“The holiday drive-thru is one of our favorite experiences we share with our PēdsCare families to celebrate the joy of the holiday season,” said Patrice Austin, Director of Community PēdsCare.  “A moment to mark a beautiful memory on the page of their journey. We are very thankful to the donors, volunteers, and staff who all come together to make this a special evening for our families. It truly takes a village, and our village is full of cheer.”

THE PLAYERS Championship, who have continuously supported the Community Hospice & Palliative Care Foundation throughout the year, found out about the need for holiday gifts and immediately stepped up to fulfill all remaining wish lists.

“We are very humbled by the work that PēdsCare does for families in Northeast Florida and thankful that they included us in this incredible event,” remarked, Jared Rice, THE PLAYERS Championship Executive Director. “We are hopeful that this gift will make the holiday season a little bit brighter for some truly deserving families in our community.”

Community Hospice & Palliative Care would also like to thank Stellar and Jacksonville FC for the numerous gifts donated for the children, and all those in the community who support the Community PēdsCare® families.

If you are interested in donating to Community PēdsCare®, visit Support.CommunityHospice.com.

About Community Hospice & Palliative Care
Established in 1979, Community Hospice & Palliative Care is an innovative national leader in palliative and hospice care, as well as providing programs and services to meet the diverse needs of the communities it serves. During its 43-year history, through the support of more than 1,000 employees and 1,000 volunteers, the organization helps approximately 1,600 patients per day to live better with advanced illness – at home, in long-term care and assisted living facilities, in hospitals and at its eight inpatient care centers. No one is ever denied care due to an inability to pay. To learn more about the support and services of Community Hospice & Palliative Care, visit CommunityHospice.com

About Community PēdsCare®
Since 2000, Community Hospice & Palliative Care has provided palliative and hospice care and support for children living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions through Community PedsCare®, an award-winning pediatric care program in collaboration with Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, and the University of Florida-Jacksonville. The program, one of only a few community pediatric programs in the United States offering both palliative and hospice care, provides clinical, social service, spiritual, child life, medical and volunteer support to improve quality of life for children from prenatal to age 21. To learn more about the support and services of Community PēdsCare®, visit www.communityhospice.com