It's That Time Again!

It's a new year and it's time to start collecting again. This is the 3rd Preemie CLothing Drive and we need YOUR help! I would have like have got this started sooner this year but with my son being in the hospital I have been super busy and not able to sit down yet to blog about it. A few new things, we now have a Facebook page. So if you are on Facebook go find us there under Preemie Clothing Drive. I will update that page much more often than this blog. Also if you haven't noticed we have a new domain name. It's now preemieclothingdrive.com instead of preemieonesiedrive.com.

Donations will be delivered to the hospital on 03/09/11. Anything recieved after then will be donated at Chirstmas 2011.

So instead of posting a link for you to read a post that was written in 2008 I'm just going to copy and paste for you. This will give you a brief run down on the drive and the items needed.

Saturday, December 27, 2008
What's This About And How Does It Work?

This is the first annual preemie onesie drive being held by me (Rachel) and Ryan. We are collecting preemie onesies/clothing to donate to the babies that are staying in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). Ryan and I had our first daughter Carly in the NICU for 4 months before passing away from a heart defect. I know as well as other preemie parents of children in the NICU know that it's hard for your child to be there. It's hard in many ways. It's hard as far as gas is concerned because of the many daily trips to the hospital. A lot of times one of the parents (usually the moms) quit working to be at the hospital with their child as much as possible. This makes funds tight. Paying bills can become a struggle. And it makes it hard to buy your new little one the cute outfits that moms want to see their child in. So this is why I'm having this preemie onesie drive. To help parents enjoy seeing their little boy or girl dressed in a cute outfit. Sometimes it's all a parent can do for their child as they lay there in the hospital. Dressing your child when you can't do anything else helps you to bond and actually feel like a parent. Carly got a cute outfit while she was in the NICU as a anonymous donation. It made me feel completely blessed. It was nice for someone to do this for her. Being in the NICU is a very stressful time. Some are only there for days while others are there for months and even over a year. Simple acts of kindness fills peoples hearts with happiness. I'm doing this donation in memory of Carly who passed away on 3/9/08. I will deliver the donated onesies on 3/9/09. And plan to do this as an annual thing.

So please lets come together and help me to gather the needed onesies to donate to the NICU that my sweet Carly was at (Levine Children's Hospital). You can look in the upper left side of this blog for a mailing address. Also, if you would rather donate money you can. The funds received will go toward the purchase of preemie onesies/clothing. The NICU houses nearly 100 babies. This fluctuates from time to time. They also have an NPCN (neonatal progressive care nursery). This unit holds about 60 babies maybe more. I hope to raise enough to donate to both the NICU and NPCN. So tell everyone you know to help me reach my goal by 3/9/09.


Ways you can become involved.....

1. You can mail donated preemie onesies/clothing

2. You can donate money to go toward the purchase of new preemie onesies. (see left upper cornor of this blog)

3. You can place a flyer in your church, staff break room at your job, or local businesses with a box to help gather donations and mail them to the PO Box. (If you gather a large donation I will gladly pay for shipping).


**I will make a flyer and send it to your email to print if you would like to help in that way.

I will keep updated post on onesies/clothing received.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask. You can reach me at either carlynicoleelliotte@gmail.com

Thanks for your help and participation,
Rachel and Ryan


Q&A

1. Do we only want new onesies? Yes. The hospital only accepts new items.

2. Do we only want onesies? No. Onesies are great because they are easier to use. But the babies can still be dressed in outfits as well. You can send sleepers, rompers, shirt and pants, what ever you would like to send.

3. Do we only accept preemie sizes? No! We would like MORE preemie sizes than not because most babies in the NICU are smaller babies. We will take new born and 0-3 month though as well as preemie sizes. Not all babies in the hospital are always small. There are plenty of babies in the NICU born at term with other health risk that causes them to be in the NICU.

4. Do we need any other items other than clothing? Yes! We will gladly accept receiving blankets. We also need baby hats. These can be bought or they can be knitted or crocheted. Preemie sizes and newborn sizes are perfect. Socks are another thing that can be donated. Small socks are great. It's hard to find SUPER small sock for tiny babies but I did have a pair that fit my 3 pounder. But I'm not sure where to purchase socks of that extreme small size. And lastly quilts are great! They use quilts to cover the issoletts to help block out any noise and light to help the babies get as much peace and quite necessary. Many groups such as churches and what not make quilts for reasons such as these. The quilts to cover the issoletts need to be about 36inches by 36 inches maybe a tad bigger.

I'm sure there are other questions that I'm missing but as I get new questions I'll post as quickly as possible with an answer.

Thank you all for helping us in this project!

2010 Drive Update.

WOW! It's been a while since I have updated this blog. I had every intention of taking pictures of all the clothing and saying who each thing was donated from. As many of you already know, I'm pregnant again. I'm just over 16 weeks. This pregnancy has really took every last ounce of energy that I've had. So I'm sorry to say but I don't have pics this time. Next years drive I'll be back on my game, I promise! Things have gone well. Again, this year our goal was 200 articles of clothing. We haven't came close to the 2,000 pieces we received last year but we HAVE met our goal and went over. Right now we have got 286 preemie outfits, 97 newborn outfits and 125 0-3, 3-6, and 6-9 month outfits. That's a total of 508 items. Thanks so much for every one's help. I think we have a good sized donation to make this year. We still have 3 more weeks to get in any last donations for the March 9th delivery. Again thanks so much for all the help and support out there!

Kissy Kissy has helped this drive greatly. They have donated 100 items. They sent snap tees and footed pants. They also sent some very cute bibs. All of the donated items range from P2 (up to 3 pounds) and P1 (up to 5 pounds), which is great for the smallest babies. Thank you for your help and support, it truly means a lot. I know the families will thoroughly enjoy these items.

I actually had a few outfits by Kissy Kissy for carly while she was in the hospital. This was my all time favorite brand of clothing. It was super soft cotton and it fit her the best. I've always recommended this line, and now their gratitude gives me even more the reason to recommend them. You can find Kissy Kissy in different locations. Click here to find a store near you. If you live in the Charlotte area the Milky Way inside CMC main carries this brand. This is where I bought Carly's at.

Again thank you so much for your help and support.

It's Time To Start Collecting Again!

We are starting now in October collecting again for 2010. Last year when I started this drive I had a goal of 200 items. As the weeks went by I realized that I was getting close to my goal. Soon, I was counting over 200 and close to 500. I was amazed. By time March 9th came around we had over 2,000 items! I was shocked but BEYOND happy. I couldn't believe how well this drive had gone. We were able to make a HUGE 1st donation to Levine Children's Hospital and still have enough clothing to donate to LCH every 3 months for the rest of 2009. We were also able to donate to several other local NICU's in North Carolina. This was all made possible because of YOU! Thank you all so much.

So it's time again and I need your help once more. Please tell everyone you know to check out this blog and help. If you can't help by donating clothing or monetary donation, you can help by passing along this blog to everyone you know!


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*Recap on my 1st post for those of you who have never read my blog before.*
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This is the first annual preemie onesie drive being held by me (Rachel) and Ryan. We are collecting preemie onesies to donate to the babies that are staying in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). Ryan and I had our first daughter Carly in the NICU for 4 months before passing away from a heart defect. I know as well as other preemie parents of children in the NICU know that it's hard for your child to be there. It's hard in many ways. It's hard as far as gas is concerned because of the many daily trips to the hospital. A lot of times one of the parents (usually the moms) quit working to be at the hospital with their child as much as possible. This makes funds tight. Paying bills can become a struggle. And it makes it hard to buy your new little one the cute outfits that moms want to see their child in. So this is why I'm having this preemie onesie drive. To help parents enjoy seeing their little boy or girl dressed in a cute outfit. Carly got a cute outfit while she was in the NICU as a anonymous donation. It made me feel completely blessed. It was nice for someone to do this for her. Being in the NICU is a very stressful time. Some are only there for days while others are there for months and even over a year. Simple acts of kindness fills peoples hearts with happiness. I'm doing this donation in memory of Carly who passed away on 3/9/08. I will deliver the donated onesies on 3/9/09. And plan to do this as an annual thing.

So please lets come together and help me to gather the needed onesies to donate to the NICU that my sweet Carly was at (Levine Children's Hospital). We will be having collections at my church and other local churches. Allstate is also helping with this donation(the employees not the company in itself). I will be posting a PO Box address to mail donated onesies to. And also if you would rather donate money you can. And the funds received will go toward the purchase of preemie onesies. The NICU houses nearly 100 babies. This fluctuates from time to time. Also they have an NPCN (neonatal progressive care nursery). And this unit holds about 60 babies maybe more. I hope to raise enough to donate to both the NICU and NPCN. So tell everyone you know to help me reach my goal by 3/9/09.

I have gotten in touch with some local companies and some out of state companies to help with this project. I've also contacted some local news stations to help. My ultimate goal is to raise more than enough onesies needed and gather enough monetary donations that could go straight to the NICU to purchase new equipment and supplies needed.

Ways you can become involved.....

1. You can mail donated preemie onesies

2. You can donate money to go toward the purchase of new preemie onesies. Just click on the donate button at the top of this blog.

3. You can place a flyer in your church, staff break room at your job, or local businesses with a box to help gather donations and mail them to the PO Box. (If you gather a large donation I will gladly pay for shipping).


**I will make a flyer and send it to your email to print if you would like to help in that way.


I will keep updated post on onesies received. At the time of donation I will have several pictures to post on that special day.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask. You can reach me at either carlynicoleelliotte@gmail.com or at carlynhannah@yahoo.com

Thanks for your help and participation,
Rachel and Ryan

3rd Donation Made Yesterday.

I meant to make our September donation on the 10th of the month. Every time I made plans to go to the hospital something came up. I'm sure you all know a little bit about that. Finally, yesterday I was able to make it back to Levine Children's Hospital for another donation. We delivered 4 boxes of clothing. There were Halloween onesies and Thanksgiving onesies in yesterday's boxes. They were so cute. Our next and last donation of 2009 will be made in December. We have 7 more boxes here that will be delivered around the 9th of December.

Thank you all so much who have donated to this cause. You have really made a huge difference in so many people's lives. I hope that next year brings a great success as well.

More Clothing Donated Today.

Well it's been 3 months since I've dropped of the clothing donations to Levine Children's Hospital's NICU. I went back today with 3 more boxes of clothing from preemie to 3 months. I still have plenty more here to be donated but the hospital is unable to store any massive amounts of clothing. My next drop will be in September.

I was able to speak with Dr. Chiu today during my visit. She was one of the doctors there that cared for Carly. She was sweet, kind, and nice. She always stopped to talk and made the NICU feel more like home. She was there caring for Carly the night she slipped into the arms of Jesus. It's always nice to see someone who had a connection with my daughter. It gives me a feeling that's really unexplainable.

On another note the NICU is going through a renovation. It looked completely different. It's really nice though. They have a new waiting area now that's nice and big for parents and family to sit. New flooring and new walls. It's very modern looking now. I know all the new upgrades will make parents much more comfortable!

I'd like to thank everyone again for all the donations, help, and prayers for this drive. Don't forget, this isn't the first and last drive. This is going to be an annual drive in memory of our daughter Carly to help the Levine Children's Hospital NICU here in Charlotte, NC. We will start collecting donations again probably around October for donation in 2010. Look for more updates on donation drops in September.

Thanks again!

Rachel and Ryan

Let Me Introduce You To Liz...

Liz is a mother of an angel baby. Liz has seen my blog and has been inspired to do a drive for the NICU her daughter was in for the 34 hours she was with her parents. She's running her drive till the 23rd of July, the day her daughter was born. Please take a moment to stop by her blog and show your support by either getting the word out for her, helping by donating, or even praying that her drive will be a success. You can visit her site by clicking here.

Thank You To Everyone That Has Made This Possible!

Well yesterday was the big day. I dropped off all the donations. Our first stop was CMC-University where we donated 10 items, second was CMC-Northeast where 14 was delivered, then we made our way over to Presbyterian Main where we donated 60 outfits. And lastly the Levine Children's Hospital where everything started. We got to the Levine Children's Hospital at around 2pm. We donated a total of 220 outfits and about 200 hats and 100 booties. There was enough outfits donated to Levine so that each child could receive 2 outfits each.

I know I told everyone that I would take pictures of the big day, but I totally forgot my camera and wasn't able to take any. It was great though. It was the first time I have been back to the NICU since Carly passed away. I was able to speak to one of her old doctors, Dr. Hicky, and see another in passing. I also got the chance to speak to Tony, one of Carly's NNP's while I was there.

Well after making all those stops yesterday and shipping out the 2 packages that we did the other day i still have a closet FULL of clothing. I will go back to the Levine Children Hospital every three months till everything is donated. I will then start the drive again this January 1st 2010.

I would like to thank everyone who helped out by donating clothing. By your efforts we were able to help more babies than ever expected. And through your help we will be able to help babies for the rest of this year. I would also like to thank everyone who donated monetary donations. You money has helped to purchase more clothing to help more families. You money has also help to pay for shipping cost to send the donation packages to Duke University and NC Children's Hospital. Thank you to those of you who couldn't donate anything but helped us by telling others that could help. Thank you to everyone who prayed for this drive to be a huge success. You prayers truly meant a lot to us. God truly blessed this drive 10 times over, so thank you. You all are what made this possible.

I'm so sorry about not having any pictures. I feel so bad about that. I feel like I could kick myself. I promise you that when I make another drop of donations this June I won't forget my camera, and every time following, especially the BIG donation day March 9th of every year.

Again, THANKS!!!!

Rachel and Ryan

More Updates!

I'm still not finished taking photos yet, so if you don't see your donation don't worry, it coming!

Today I shipped 60 sets of clothing to NC Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC and 50 sets of clothing to Duke University Hospital in hopes that they arrive on the 9th of March.

I have everything for CMC Levine Children's Hospital packed up and ready for delivery. I also have a box packed for CMC University Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital Main. I still have to pack a box for CMC Northeast Hospital, and Mission's Hospital. With all of that going out I still have enough to make a donation every 3 months to CMC Levine Children's Hospital. I will hand deliver to all of these places except for Mission's. I will mail theirs.

On another note, now that my drive is coming to an end for the year (sorta) I would like to turn you attention to 2 other drives still going on. This first drive will be ending in April and the 2nd drive is going to keep going until enough donations are received then deliver to her local hospital.

Please check out this site. Samuel's Legacy Drive.

Please check out this site as well. Ethan's Gift.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!

Thank you all who have supported this drive by donation of clothing, money, prayers and even just helping to get the word out. With out God and every one's help and support this drive would have never done as well as it has and the families going through a NICU stay may would have not had something for their child to wear. so again a hundred times over, THANK YOU!!!!!

Thank You Michelle Jowers From Birmingham, AL!

Michelle and her church plan on starting a preemie clothing drive this April. While they are waiting for April to get here Michelle and her husband decided to help us with our drive. Thank you so much for your help and support.

Thank you Amber Hoberg from Live Oak, TX!

Thank you Amber for donating these items. Your help and support truly means a lot!

Thank You Rhonda Barrick from Newell, WV!

Rhonda donated these items. She crocheted these hats shown here. Her sister was also born a preemie. Thank you so much for your donation. It will be greatly appreciated by that special family!

Thank you Angela Dotson from Wise, VA!

Angela has donated these items in memory of her twin angels, Lylian and Ashton Dotson. Thank you so much for your help and support!

UPDATES!!!

First of all I do have more clothing here to take pictures of, but haven't had the time yet. I've been working quit a bit of overtime at work, so I've been a little slow at getting things done recently.

So far we are at 1000 sets/outfits, more if you count each onesie in each set individually. If I counted that way it would be at least 2000 or more. I called Levine Children's Hospital today to let them know that I would be there at 2pm on Monday the 9th. I told them how much we exceeded our goal of 200. They were shocked to hear the numbers. They actually don't have enough room to store that many sets of clothing. I'm only able to take 110 sets in this Monday. So I called Presby Main across the street from them and they are taking 60 sets. I also called two other hospitals here in North Carolina, Duke University Hospital and The hospital in Chapel Hill. One is taking 60 and the other is taking 50. Obviously I'm going to have a TON of clothing still here. So here is my plan, I will make a trip to CMC Levine Children's Hospital every 3 months to make a new donation until all the clothing has been donated. If you still have clothing that has been or needs to be mailed that's fine. I'll just store it along with the others until June of this year. If you were wanting to donate but haven't bought anything yet I want to ask you to hold off until I post again for the need of more clothing.

This drive has done much better than I ever expected. Looks like we will just be able to bless families all year round huh?

Thanks Stacey Melliere from Columbia, IL!

Stacey has sent these cute outfits. I have to admit I fell in love with the spring outfit with the rainbow pants. It has to one of the cutest outfits I've seen yet.



Not only did Stacy send these outfits she also sent me a little angel holding a baby. It's the most precious thing ever. Thank you!

Thank You Julie Bird from Riverton, UT.

Julie has sent these cute little onesies to support the babies in the NICU. Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to help with this project.

The Warner's from Bellerica, MA....

Thanks to Kari, Carl, and Jacob Warner for sending these cute outfits. You help and support is greatly appreciated.

Thanks Camille Austin of Albemarle, NC!

Camille Austion sent these cute onesies and receiving blankets. Thanks for your support!

Thank You Anonymous!

I have no idea who donated these cute onesies. I went to check my mail the other day and this bag was in my bax and these onesies were in the bag with no name. So thank you!

Thanks to Finny's Greens!!!

Finny's Greens is a baby clothing company that specializes in echo friendly products. All of their products are 100% organic. They have donated these 4 onesies along with gift boxes for each individual onesie. Thank you so much for your help and support. To visit their website please click here.