Cheeriodicals has a rich history of working with the team from REGENXBIO Inc. to make a difference for those struggling with healthcare needs in DC area hospitals. With this year’s COVID-19 pandemic, our two organizations began reaching out to healthcare workers as well through the Hospital Heroes Initiative, delivering tote bags full of helpful items to three hospitals in the National Capital Region and New York City.

REGENXBIO and Cheeriodicals began their relationship in the fall of 2018, when Cheeriodicals led a team of nearly 100 employees from REGENXBIO to assemble more than 300 Cheeriodicals cheer-up gift boxes for delivery to hospitalized children at Children’s National Medical Center and to families at the Ronald McDonald House DC.  That first team building experience led to so many smiles from employees and of course the recipients at the hospital and Ronald McDonald House on that delivery day.  

After the wonderful experience of delivering cheer in 2018, the REGENXBIO team engaged Cheeriodicals again in the fall of 2019. For this activity, their team had grown quite a bit and we had nearly 200 participants assembling more than 300 Cheeriodicals to benefit patients and families at Children’s National Medical Center and the Ronald McDonald House DC, with an added delivery to Veterans at the DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  

Like every other company in the US and abroad, REGENXBIO has been adjusting to the new normal managing their business and the lives of their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. For them, this means continuing to develop innovative gene therapy treatments for people with severe and debilitating diseases with significant unmet medical needs while managing a remote workforce across a large portion of their company.  It’s a challenge, to say the least, but it has not reduced their focus to bring medical treatments to market for the healthcare patients they service.

As we were connecting with REGENXBIO to plan their 3rd annual Cheeriodicals activity set for October 2020, we shared with our key REGENXBIO contact details of Cheeriodicals’ new Hospital Heroes Initiative.  In this new effort, Cheeriodicals’ team packs the newly designed Cheeriodical tote-bags in our office (within social distancing protocols), filled specifically with items to provide comfort and relaxation to frontline healthcare workers. The tote-bags are shipped directly to the selected hospitals for distribution to their frontline staff as a thank you for their brave and caring dedication to patients fighting COVID-19.

The REGENXBIO Team loved the idea of delivering cheer to the Hospital Heroes. They wanted to support the hospital located close to their corporate office, Shady Grove Adventist in Rockville, MD,  to make an impact literally in their backyard. This local hospital would service many of their own employees should they become COVID-19 positive.

REGENXBIO also asked if there were other hospitals in need, especially with a military or Veteran affiliation, given the life-changing experience they had in 2019 seeing the impact of their Cheeriodicals delivery to the DC Veterans Medical Center. Walter Reed Medical Center is a short distance away and certainly would be an ideal recipient of these Hospital Heroes tote-bags. One of the most well-known and respected active military healthcare providers in the country, Walter Reed has a large team of healthcare providers working on the front lines of this pandemic.

A REGENXBIO delivery of Cheeriodicals to these two hospitals would make a measurable impact in their Maryland corporate location. Before we could finalize the delivery arrangements, our REGENXBIO contact asked if we could deliver Cheeriodicals to a hospital in New York City, specifically one that had been hard hit by COVID-19.  We were well aware of the need from one of our hospital partners at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan and immediately reached out. Mt. Sinai had been at the epicenter of the pandemic for several weeks, managing a caseload of COVID-19 patients like few other hospitals in our country. They gladly accepted and welcomed this special delivery.

“REGENXBIO has been enriched by joining the Cheeriodicals mission and is proud to recognize the true heroes of this pandemic, who have risked their own wellness and worked tirelessly every day to bring COVID patients back to health. We honor their dedication and perseverance,” said REGENXBIO CEO Ken Mills.

“We have truly enjoyed working with the Cheeriodicals team over several years, as a seamless way to share our commitment to giving back to our communities,” said Darcy Weyant, Senior Manager, Enterprise Risk, Compliance and Business Process Improvement and REGENXBIO team leader. “They have also given us a chance to meet patients from the Ronald McDonald House, establishing a meaningful direct connection that is so often missing from corporate events.”

“Working with the REGENXBIO team has been a highlight of our social responsibility work over the years”, said Gary Parisher, Cheeriodicals President and CEO. “I’ve personally attended all of their prior Cheeriodicals events and seen up close and personal their desire to give back to those in need of a lift in spirits. Their delivery of cheer to frontline hospital heroes was the perfect way to thank these healthcare workers for their tireless efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The REGENXBIO history of giving back with Cheeriodicals has been well documented and we are excited to consider all the ways our relationship can continue to make an impact for those in need for years to come. Stay tuned!