How to Start an Evan's Box

Interested in starting your own Evan's Box? It's so easy! Here are the steps to follow.

1. See if there's already an Evan's Box near you!

If there is, you can help keep that one full. Or you can start your own at another local hospital, funeral home, or pregnancy resource center. 

2. Reach out to your local hospital, funeral home, or pregnancy resource center.

The first thing to do is call and ask for the grief/bereavement counselor in the labor and delivery department. This person deals directly with the families that lose a child. Your contact does not have to have a specific job title or job description; it just needs to be someone who is able to be responsible for the box. Make sure you emphasize you have micro items in your box for babies delivered between 12 and 22 weeks gestation. 

If your local hospital's labor and delivery department is not willing to accept an Evan's Box, you can try reaching out to someone in the emergency department. Outside of the hospital, three places to try are pregnancy resource centers, funeral homes, and your local Ronald McDonald House. 

3. Find a box with a lid and fill your box!

You can find patterns to download here. You can also sew or knit some items as well. When looking for yarn, yarn that is labeled for babies is the safest choice. Our favorite is Lion Brand Baby Soft. The size of the box you choose and how fully you initially fill your box will determine how frequently you will need to refill it. Your box needs to contain all three main items: hats, wraps, and blankets. Sets are great but not required. Of the three, hats are the most important. 

4. Request a decal!

When you're ready to take your box to your location, request a decal from us. (It's free!) In order to do so, you'll need to provide the name and address of your box's location, as well as the name and contact information of your contact there. We'll mail you a decal as well as an information and contact card you can take with you to the hospital. Please do not take a box without a decal. (Note: we are not able to accept decal requests that do not include the first and last name of your location contact, as well as his or her email address or phone number.)

5. Deliver your box.

When you take your box, please make sure it has the Evan's Box decal on it so when you want to refill it, you can say, "This goes in Evan's Box," and staff will know where to put it. It will also ensure that the box is easily identified and not lost. Additionally, don't forget to fill out and take the information and contact card so the hospital knows to call you when the box is running low. This card will also explain what Evan's Box is to the hospital. Finally, take a photo at drop off! We'd love to feature you on our website and social media. 

6. Confirm delivery.

Confirm delivery with us on our website so we can add your hospital to our list! It's very important that we know where all our Evan's Boxes are. 

Additional notes:

If you want, ask friends or local groups to help you keep the box full! From time to time, check in with the hospital to see if the box is running low. If you have a lot of help with your box, or are easily able to keep it full, you can reach out to the emergency department at the same hospital and ask if they could also use a box there as well. It's fine to have two boxes at one hospital. Don't forget to spread the word! You can recruit friends to help keep your box full, encourage others to start their own boxes, let people know they can also give monetarily or send something from our Amazon Wish List, and follow us and share our posts on social media.