Easter for Eli

Bringing Smiles One Basket at a Time

Established in memory of Elias “Eli” Garrett, Easter for Eli delivers thousands of Easter baskets and gift cards annually, bringing joy to children who are hospitalized over the Easter holiday.

This dedicated group of volunteers works year-round to collect gifts and raise funds, creating more than 10,000 baskets each year. Before Easter, the team hits the road, traveling from their home base in central PA to visit hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, and more.

Easter for Eli expanded to New Jersey in 2023, and Virtua Health is very proud to be its partner hospital in South Jersey. Eli’s dad Martin Garrett, who leads Easter for Eli, explained the importance of this ever-growing initiative:

“Each year, the Easter for Eli family puts in thousands of miles traveling to over 30 hospitals and facilities in 8 states within 3 weeks prior to Easter. Additional states (13 and growing!) are also covered by what we like to call our #TeamEFE members nationwide, reaching as far north as Canada and Maine, as far south as Florida, and west into Oregon and Nevada. We hope that one day soon, we will be able to share Eli’s joy in every state! We cannot thank the participating hospitals, staff, and especially Child life departments enough for also being part of #TeamEFE. Without all, of you what we do would be worthless.”

We are grateful for the kindness of this devoted group, and we proudly celebrate Eli’s memory with his family and friends.