Jarrett's Joy Cart Spreads Holiday Cheer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 14, 2010) − The Jarrett’s Joy Cart Holiday Store, held at Kentucky Children’s Hospital on Dec. 7, provided pediatric patients with the opportunity to select holiday gifts for family members at no charge.

This is the ninth annual Jarrett's Joy Cart Holiday Store at Kentucky Children's Hospital, which has seen more than 500 patients.

"Being able to carry this on, and the legacy of the Joy Cart, is wonderful," said Jennifer Mynear, co-founder and volunteer adviser of DanceBlue and director of Jarrett's Joy Cart. "We can't imagine not doing it, and it has become somewhat of an institution. His memory lives on through many different ways, and this is just one of them."

Joy Cart Volunteers will be on hand to escort the children to the store to shop for up to four family members. The gifts are then wrapped by volunteers and delivered back to the patients so they can hand them out to their family members. Jarrett's goal was to instill in children the joy in giving to others and it shows on the faces of the eager young shoppers.    

"The children have so much fun 'shopping' for their family they forget that they are in the hospital for a short time.  It is fabulous that Jarrett’s Joy Cart volunteers can hold this event every year," said Judi Martin, Kentucky Children's Hospital Child Life Coordinator.

About Jarrett's Joy Cart

Nine-year-old Jarrett Mynear started Jarrett's Joy Cart in 1999. He spent most of his short 13 years in and out of the hospital battling cancer and saw the fear, loneliness and boredom that can ensue for young patients, no matter what their illness. For this reason, he started Jarrett’s Joy Cart, a program that provides new toys or gifts to children, ages 0-18 years, through weekly visits to Kentucky Children's Hospital in hopes of bringing a little joy to patients and their families. To date, over 25,000 patients have been touched by Jarrett's program. Today, this mission is directed by his parents, Jennifer and Doug Mynear, and continues with the help of many dedicated volunteers. Jarrett's story has had such an impact nationwide that there is a movie in development about his legacy.