The 2026 Easter for Eli season has officially come to a close, and this year showed once again how far Eli’s legacy continues to reach.
What began 12 years ago with a few baskets has grown into a multi-state, coast-to-coast effort carried by families, volunteers, donors, drivers, and local teams who continue to show up year after year.
This season, Easter for Eli delivered more than 7,200 baskets and bags to children and families spending time in hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses, NICUs, rehabilitation centers, and pediatric care facilities across the country.
By the end of the 2026 season, Easter for Eli had reached 94,729 lifetime basket and bag deliveries, along with more than $90,000 in gift card support for families.
The road miles tell part of the story too. This year alone, teams traveled more than 4,000 miles to make deliveries happen.
Lots of miles, all for smiles.
The 2026 season included deliveries to hospitals and care facilities across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware, Tennessee, Maine, Nevada, and New York.
One of the largest early delivery runs included 1,800 baskets delivered across Pittsburgh, Akron, and Cleveland during a 5.5-hour winter whiteout. Another major route delivered 1,760 baskets across seven hospitals and two Ronald McDonald Houses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. That leg marked a major milestone as Easter for Eli officially passed 90,000 lifetime deliveries.
The DMV route brought more than 1,500 baskets to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia, including stops such as Kennedy Krieger Institute and Children’s National. Additional specialized routes reached rehabilitation and critical care facilities, including St. Edmond’s, Weisman Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital, and Voorhees Pediatric Facility.
This season also showed the strength of regional teams carrying the mission into new places.
In Nevada, Team EFE Vegas delivered 79 baskets and gift cards to UMC Children’s Hospital of Nevada in Las Vegas. In Tennessee, Team EFE RA delivered 300 bags to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. In Maine, Team EFE ME helped extend the mission into Portland, Bangor, Brewer, and Scarborough.
Ohio continued to be a major part of the 2026 season, with deliveries to Dayton Children’s, Cincinnati Ronald McDonald House, Akron Children’s Boardman, Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Cleveland Clinic Rehab, and Shriners of Ohio. Special newborn bags were also prepared for Mercy Health Boardman and UPMC Magee-Womens NICU.
The season included deeply personal and specialized deliveries as well, including 22 NICU baskets delivered by Team EFE Dursts to Summa Children’s NICU.
The 2026 road route closed in Buffalo, New York, with 300 baskets delivered to Oishei Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Buffalo.
Every number in this recap represents more than a delivery.
It represents someone packing a bag, loading a vehicle, donating a gift card, sorting items, driving through weather, organizing a route, or making sure a child in a hospital room received something that felt different from the rest of the day.
To every donor, volunteer, driver, family, and regional team who helped make the 2026 season possible: thank you.
Whether you filled a bag, loaded a trailer, gave financially, opened a collection location, delivered to a hospital, or helped behind the scenes, you were part of this year’s work.
The 2026 season brought Easter for Eli within reach of another major milestone.
More than 94,000 baskets and bags have now been delivered since the mission began.
The road to 100,000 starts now.
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