Jarrett’s Holiday Store celebrates 25 years of making patients’ spirits bright

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 16, 2025) — The playroom in Golisano Children’s at UK is lined with tables, each piled high with toys, games and other goodies that would brighten any child’s Christmas morning. Across the room, there are more tables, stocked with scarves, mugs and cologne — gifts that might seem more suitable for grownups.

That’s exactly who those gifts are for. This is Jarrett’s Holiday Store, and annual event organized by Jarrett’s Joy Cart. In here, pediatric patients can “shop” for gifts for their parents, grandparents and siblings; a team of volunteers helps the patients shop, then they wrap the gifts and deliver them, bagged and tagged, to the patient’s room, ready to open on Christmas day.

This beloved tradition started in 2000 by Jarrett Mynear, a patient at the hospital who wanted to help spread a little joy to his fellow patients and his families. At that point, he had been operating the Joy Cart for a year; every Tuesday, he and his mother Jennifer would load up a cart full of toys and go room to room, letting kids pick out a toy. When the holidays rolled around, Jarrett wanted to spread a little joy to the families too.

“He wanted to find a way for patients to give back to their family members,” said Jennifer. “His vision was to let the kids get a feel for what it means to give back.”

Jarrett died in 2002, but his family keeps his legacy going. Every year, Jennifer, her husband Doug and a team of volunteers set up the Holiday Shop in the playroom with gifts purchased with donated funds. Everything from toys for baby siblings to hats and gloves for grandparents are available for patients to select at no cost. If the patient isn’t well enough to come to the playroom, the volunteers load up a cart and bring the store to them in their hospital room. Kim Chitwood has volunteered with the Joy Cart for years and knows exactly how special it is to receive a gift from the Holiday Store. Her son Jared was a patient at UK Golisano Children’s in 2017.

“They put him in his wheelchair, brought him in here and he was able to shop for his whole family,” she said. “He had not been in a store for months, and I’ve never seen a smile so big on his face. He got a jewelry box for me.”

Jared died a year later. Kim still has the jewelry box and remembers how happy and proud he was to give it to her. She started volunteering with the Joy Cart so she could help other patients and families feel the same joy.

“People maybe don’t understand how hard it is to have a child in the hospital,” she said. “It can be a lonely place, so just being able to be get out of your room, even for just a few minutes, to shop and feel a bit normal. I love being a part of this.”

Now in its 25th year, Jennifer looks back on how the Holiday Shop has grown over time. She estimates the Holiday Store will give out about 1,000 gifts.

“When we first did the Holiday Store, there were more than 30 patients,” she said. “This year we’ll see about 150-plus patients, shopping for their whole families.”

The joy spread by Jarrett Mynear is the stuff of legend, one that 19-year-old Abby Smith grew up hearing in her hometown of Georgetown. A sophomore at UK, Abby volunteers at the UK Golisano Children’s DanceBlue Hematology/Oncology Clinic, another part of Jarrett’s legacy. One of Jarrett’s final requests was to find a way to raise funds for the pediatric oncology clinic. The idea for the DanceBlue Marathon was born — an annual 24-hour dance marathon put on entirely by UK students that has raised over $25 million for the clinic since 2006. Abby first got involved in DanceBlue when her high school held a marathon. When she arrived at UK, she was thrilled to find other ways to get involved and help share the joy.

“Jarrett was the most amazing, joyful kid,” she said. “And getting to share his joy changes your perspective. It gives you a new sense of what joy is and to be truly grateful. I get to spread a little Christmas to those families who don’t really want to be here. This is our way of making sure the kids get to have a Christmas and let them be involved in their family and not just feel like they’re being taken care of all the time.”

“A good number of volunteers now come from DanceBlue, which is amazing,” said Jennifer. “They started dancing, and they love volunteering. They learn about Jarrett and the Joy Cart and want to get involved in the whole hospital.”

The joyful legacy of Jarrett Mynear circles back to his mother, who beams with happiness as she helps patients shop.

“That’s my favorite part; it genuinely touches these families and seeing the excitement in kids because some of them have never had a chance to give a gift, a special gift, to their loved ones,” Jennifer said. “And it’s exactly what Jarrett wanted.”

Kentucky Children’s Hospital is now Golisano Children’s at UK. Read about this change and the historic $50 million gift that will transform health care for Kentucky’s kids: ukhealthcare.com/golisano.