The 13th annual Holiday Hugs program came to Children's Hospital on the 16th of Decemeber.  Volunteers, friends, family and Santa and Mrs. Claus, gathered to hand out presents, goodies and gift cards to the waiting patients and their families.

"For a lot of kids, especially our economically disadvantaged ones, this is their holiday," said Arletta Cockrell, clinical manager of the hospital's Medical Day Treatment Program.

Every child, and in some cases young adults, who this afternoon stepped up to the front of the festively decorated room at Children's Hospital to accept the donated gifts from Santa and and Mrs. Claus, received a Tim Tebow-worthy round of applause from staff and volunteers from the Universal Lending Foundation who put together the Holiday Hugs event.

Presents were piled high - sometimes even taller than than the children themselves.

"We bought and wrapped hundreds and hundreds of gifts," said Robin Smith, spokeswoman for the Universal Lending Foundation.

"Usually, we can wrap them from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. back at Universal Lending's headquarters (on East Evans Boulevard near South Monaco Parkway), but last Friday it took us until 2 p.m. It was a three-hour wrapping party."

That doesn't include the hours volunteers spent shopping for gifts.

"Every year, a lot of children want MP3 players, digital cameras and CDs," Smith said. "We had one little boy, for the second year in a row, all he wanted was a season pass to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. We bought passes for all of his brothers and sisters, too."

Holiday Hugs is gaining a national reputation among existing and prospective patients and family members, as well as becoming increasingly well-known in the Denver area.

"We use it as a selling point," said Arletta Cockrell, clinical manager of the hospital's Medical Day Treatment Program. "For many of the children and their families, this is the event of the year. A lot of kids look forward to this day all year. We are so grateful to Universal Lending. Holiday Hugs couldn't be better. It's perfect."

Original Article: Holiday Hugs Hit at Hospital (InsideRealEstateNews)