Hospitalized Children Receive Visitors Bearing Baskets of Hope

Louisiana, January 20, 2015 (Newswire.com) - The doctors at the local orthodontic practice, Devereux & Nguyen Orthodontics work daily to improve the oral health of children and teenagers, but they’re also aware that their patients’ problems, although important, aren’t life-threatening. Each year during the holiday season, the practice aligns itself with the organization Basket of Hope, which coordinates the delivery of gift baskets to children with cancer or another serious illness.

“Our practice cares about the health of young people, and we wanted to extend our caring to young patients with health problems that are beyond our orthodontic focus,” said Dr. Jack Devereux. “This holiday season that just passed was the second time we participated in a Basket of Hope campaign, and we find it so meaningful and rewarding.”

The gift baskets are filled with age-appropriate toys, games, crafts, inspirational books and other items to help lift the spirits of the children. Because of medical bills and missed work, their families typically have little disposable funds or time to buy holiday gifts. Beyond the fun toys they receive, the gift baskets symbolize to children and their families that the community cares about them and is rooting for them to get back on their feet. In other words, the baskets symbolize hope during tough times.

This year, the entire team of doctors and staff at Devereux & Nguyen Orthodontics made contributions and gathered gifts for the baskets. Once the toys, games, and other gifts were all in, the offices hosted events where staff in good holiday spirits assembled everything together in beautiful, one-of-a-kind baskets.

“This year for us was much bigger than the previous one,” Dr. Devereux said. “Our first year we assembled 20 baskets. This year we put together 50. We had 75 staff members and doctors participating, and some of us were invited to accompany Basket of Hope representatives to make deliveries to children at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans.”

Basket of Hope, a national organization, presented Devereux & Nguyen Orthodontics with a plaque to recognize the practice for contributions to the cause, and pictures of the practice’s assembled baskets were featured on the Basket of Hope Facebook page.

Devereux & Nguyen Orthodontics serves the Northshore area with practice locations in Covington, Hammond, Slidell and the Southshore area with locations in Harvey, Metairie, Houma, Luling and Chalmette. The practice also has two Mississippi locations in Gulfport and Picayune. They serve the orthodontic needs of both children and adults using a number of different techniques, including traditional metal braces, ceramic braces, and Invisalign.

Basket of Hope is a national nonprofit that delivers gift baskets to children with serious illnesses and their families. Its mission to provide materials that nourish them mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

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