A group of women from St. Clair County are making a substantial donation to St. Louis Children’s Hospital this week, once again bringing joy to sick children as part of a tradition now reaching its seventh year.

Peggy Gehrs lives in Millstadt and has developed a strong relationship with the hospital over the years.

In 2008, her son Adam Hubbs was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. From then up until 2013, as she described, he would wind up at Children’s Hospital for several months at a time to recover from various complications or other issues.

As she spent so much time alongside her son there, Gehrs got a good feel for the atmosphere and environment of the hospital.

When his health improved significantly and her life became a bit more stable, Gehrs felt a push to give something back to the hospital.

While she wanted to make some sort of donation, she also didn’t want to just join the usual annual wave of charity.

“I decided that Children’s gets so many donations at Christmas time and around the holidays and things, that I wanted to give back in some way, but I wanted to pick a time that wasn’t Christmas or Thanksgiving,” Gehrs said.

She decided to make her own Easter baskets for some of the kids, filling them with toys, school supplies and other necessities for staving away boredom and keeping spirits high while cooped up in a hospital room.

The project started out modestly, with five baskets she made herself and delivered to the hospital.

Over the years, the project has grown significantly, with 10 of Gehrs’ friends joining the cause to produce 135 baskets for patients at the hospital every year.

“It’s just grown into this feel-good mission of just trying to do something for the kids that makes the day a little better and a little different than the day before,” Gehrs said.

Gehrs and her friends gathered at her house Monday to put the baskets together, and they plan on delivering them Thursday in preparation for Easter.

As she explained, however, the week before Easter is just when the baskets themselves get put together. The process of gathering all the toys and other goodies that go into the final product lasts all throughout the year.

Each member of the group contributes to the baskets in some way. Gehrs noted that one of her friends, a retired school teacher, buys a variety of books so that each age-range of boys and girls can have something suitable and interesting for them to read.

Similar thought goes into the toys and other goodies included in each basket.

“I have an amazing group of friends that jumped all over this project, and everybody is happy to contribute, and everybody kind of has their own niche,” Gehrs said.

The donations are entirely self-funded, with Gehrs and her friends taking advantage of sales throughout the year to gather what they need.

Regarding the toys the group tries to include, Gehrs made specific mention of Nerf basketball hoops as a particularly sought after item, both serving as a fun outlet for kids and as a decent activity to help with physical therapy.

She emphasized that the spirit and purpose behind the gift is important all on its own, however.

“I think people sometimes get caught up on ‘Is this a good item to put in there’ or ‘Would someone like this?’” Gehrs said. “And I always bring it back to, all you’re trying to do is bring a smile and make the day different from yesterday or tomorrow or the next day because the days are so long, and they can be so boring. You’re just trying to bring a little something to somebody that could use a little pick-me-up.”

Gehrs’ sister Linda Berberich also spoke briefly about the project and the effort these friends have put into it over the years.

Berberich said they have the process practically down to a science, particularly while the baskets are being put together and wrapped up for donation.

She also recalled high praise Gehrs shared for her friends. As Berberich described, Gehrs spoke about how long it can take for people to respond to a group text about an event, but her friends are always incredibly quick to respond when the Easter donations need attention.

Gehrs herself expressed tremendous gratitude for her friends and everything they do for this project.

Both Berberich and Gehrs also talked about the future and growth of the donation effort. Per Berberich, Children’s Hospital has previously asked for even more baskets in the past – upwards of 400 – but that simply isn’t feasible for the 11 individuals in this group.

The subject of sponsors and other contributions for the project has also been entertained, and while Gehrs has been hesitant to go out and solicit donations from local businesses, she has considered the possibility of contacting larger companies such as Nerf or Crayola to see if they might be willing to provide some of the more common items in the baskets.

That, as Gehrs said, would help free up some group funds to put toward other items they would like to include.

Regardless of whether or not that outreach to larger businesses is successful, Gehrs expressed hope for the donation effort to continue and expand as she recently retired and has more time to put toward making sure children in need have a good Easter.

“I do have a kid who was very sick for very long, and I do know that the days are just so long and they’re sad and they’re boring,” Gehrs said. “I feel like, all that we’ve been given, we need to give something back, and we just picked this particular project. And I’d love for it to grow.”

Those interested in contacting Gehrs about the Easter baskets can email her directly at hubbs.peggy@yahoo.com.