Nobody at a bedside vigil wants to leave the floor long enough to find real food, and the vending machine gets old by day two. The nurses already know who’s running on crackers — give them something to hand out.
Leave Cafeteria Cards with the Charge Nurse
Buy five $10 hospital-cafeteria gift cards and hand them to the ICU or NICU charge nurse to give quietly to families who haven't left the building in days.
What you'll need
- Five cafeteria gift cards from the hospital's own cafe (buy them at the register)
- A rubber band and a sticky note: for families who need them
Pitfalls
- Go through the charge nurse or the chaplain — they know who's been sleeping in the waiting room.
- Don't ask to meet the families. Anonymous is the feature.
- Some hospitals route this through their family-assistance fund instead. Fine — same gift, better plumbing.
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. — Matthew 5:42