Kate’s Kart is celebrating 15 years!

Through 22 hospitals, 37 Karts and 100 volunteers, we have gifted over 400,000 brand new books. We are so honored to have the support of so many over the past 15 years.

Join us on social media as we look back on how far we have come, how much we've grown and show gratitude for everyone who had made it happen.

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2023 Crayon & Colored Pencil Drive

Join Kate's Kart in providing a comforting diversion to hospitalized children through your gift of Crayola Crayons & Colored Pencils. Our goal is to collect 7,000 boxes of crayons and 2,500 boxes of colored pencils. Donations will be accepted 10am-2pm Mon-Friday at the Kate's Kart Office or they may be shipped direct from your favorite online store.

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Become a County Champion!

Kate’s Kart is seeking passionate, volunteer County Champions in the 14 outlying counties we serve to assist in the effectiveness of book distribution, to support the mission of Kate’s Kart in your local hospital and to increase community involvement in your county.

More info and application

Amazon Wish List

Shop our Amazon Wishlist to help keep our Karts stocked with the most popular book picks. Your donation of books will be sent directly to us, and will touch the lives of children experiencing life in the hospital. Every donation counts as we give away over 3,500 books each month to brighten the lives of hospitalized children and their families!

Amazon Wish List

Torch Awards

We are honored to have received the 2021 Torch Award for Ethics from the Northern Indiana Better Business Bureau. This award is the most prestigious honor BBB can present to an organization for their dedication to integrity and ethical practices.

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Shop Kroger & Support Kate’s Kart

If you shop at Kroger, supporting Kate’s Kart is easy! Simply link your Kroger Plus Card to our organization, and from that point on, a percentage of your purchase will be donated directly to Kate’s Kart! Kroger Community Rewards requires re-enrollment every year. The time to re-enroll is NOW!

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Our Mission and Why We Do What We Do.

Kate's Kart is all about books...and smiles!   It's a simple idea, really.   Through the gifting of a brand new book, it is our goal to brighten the day of a hospitalized child.  Whether that child is scared, hurting or just bored, it is our mission to make his or her day just a little bit better.  Books are a powerful tool and can help the child feel comforted, distracted and loved in an environment that may be just a little bit overwhelming.

 

Kate's Story More about Kate's Kart
Kate Kate

Nova A

We are so thankful for the incredibly gracious charity – Kate’s Kart! Our baby girl barely survived a traumatic birth experience. Due to her critical condition, we were not able to touch or hold our baby girl for the first several days. The only thing we could do was talk, sing and read to her. The night she was born, the nurse brought us a few books from Kate’s Kart. That was the first experience we had with our daughter. Miraculously she continued to improve each day. By the end of our stay at Dupont Hospital, our daughter had compiled a collection of over 30 books, thanks to Kate’s Kart.  Kate’s Kart will certainly be a memorable part of our NICU stay, one that we are very grateful for.
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Samantha W

My Daughter was born unexpectedly 7 weeks early, Kate’s Kart was such a blessing for me while she was in the NICU. I am a very active reader and enjoy all books, one thing I loved doing was reading to my daughter even when she was in my belly. I always looked forward to getting a new book from Kate’s Kart and I always waited excitedly for them to come to our room. If I wasn’t in the room when they stopped by they would always leave me a book, I loved the surprise waiting for me. Kate’s Kart helped me so much during such a hard time and I want to personally thank you so much. God Bless all of you at Kate’s Kart

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Cassie A

Our daughter was born a micro preemie at 28 weeks, so her lungs were not as strong as most babies. When COVID hit our world, she ended up contracting COVID pneumonia and was in the hospital for 8 days. From the minute we were admitted to the ER we received a Kate’s Kart book from a close friend who is a nurse in the PICU. The adorable touch and feel book put a smile on our sweet girls face who was having a hard time breathing. It was a great distraction from all the pokes and fighting with the nose cannula. Every day she looked forward to mommy or daddy reading her a new book that she now keeps in her bookcase at home and will forever cherish. We love being able to give back to this charity and hope it brings a smile and joy to other littles as well! We are very grateful and thankful for this organization.

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Lita L

On April 10, 2018 I had an emergency c-section to have our beautiful baby girl. She was 11 weeks early due preclampsia. Ryann was born at 2lbs 3oz. She was in the NICU for 8 weeks. Every time we would visit during her stay we would come into the room to a new book. We would sit there and read it while visiting. Her last week our other daughter (Emily, 7yrs old) got to finally visit her baby sister. While visiting she read every book out loud to baby Ryann. It is these priceless moments that make you realize how blessed you truly are.  Kate’s Kart gave us that glimpse of happiness while reading the cute little books. Thank you!
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Brianna M

December 2017, about a week before Christmas, our daughter began to have wheezing spells at night. Our pediatrician had us bring her in. My husband went alone and I went to work. We both just thought it was related to a cold, so we felt only one parent needed to be present. My husband called me about an hour after the appointment and said our daughter was being admitted to the children’s hospital at Parkview North for a possible RSV diagnosis and to monitor her oxygen levels in case they dropped. No parent wants to hear that news over the phone…or in person. She was only 4 months old too. The staff were great and helped walk us through everything. No RSV thankfully. Just some bronchialitis. We were there a couple days. At one point, I had to go to work for a couple hours. While at work, my husband texted me and stated our daughter just recieved a free book and she was loving it! He said they had read through it a couple times already and now was doing tummy time while staring at some of the pages! It lifted both our spirits to see our girl smiling again and being herself as well. She also didn’t cry the next time the nurses walked in, so that was an added bonus! Thank you so much for providing us with a little relief and distraction during a very worrisome time for us new parents! We still talk about it and share this story with friends and family! Our Kroger card is linked to your organization and we have attended every event and donated books throughout the past year! We couldn’t be more thankful for what you do!
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Jalen B

Jalen has been a HUGE supporter of Kate’s Kart donating over 1120 books to date.   It all started when he got his tonsils out and received a book.  Since that time he has “paid it forward” and then some!

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Johnny S

Johnny was born on July 6, 2017 at Dupont Hospital in Fort Wayne, IN. He was born at 31 weeks and was 2lbs 9oz. When he came into the world, his Dad and I were scared beyond words. I didn’t get to see him for 24 hours and I remember the first time going in to see him, I asked his Dad where the book “Muddy Paws” came from…he said he wasn’t sure…The next day, another book arrived…and by this time, we were both curious, so we asked his nurse. She told us the story behind Kate’s Kart and we couldn’t believe the generosity behind it. We had a 52 day NICU stay and accumulated 30 books. We can’t thank Kate’s Kart enough for providing us with a new book to read to Johnny just about every other day or so. Johnny enjoys being read to and I’ll make sure to share the story with him when he’s older.

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Ibad F

Our first daughter was in the NICU for 2 nights. My wife and I were both a wreck during this time. As she got better we were given a great children’s book by Kate’s Kart. I remember reading this to her and seeing how intently she was listening and looking at my wife and I. This was the first time I knew everything would be alright. This was a wonderful gift. Thanks for this moment that will always stay with me.

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Justin G

My 3 year old son had to come to the ER, which was pretty scary for him and for me. Soon the nurse came in and asked him if he’d like to pick out a book which he was so excited about. Reading it to him really helped calm both our nerves. Thank you so much for what you do.

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Julie F

One of the first times my daughter had to go to the hospital and stay for several days, Kate’s Kart came around and offered my daughter a book. Considering we didn’t have a chance to grab anything from our house, we didn’t have anything to entertain our daughter as tests were being ran and strangers walked in and out constantly. There was a book I read to my daughter, Hope, at our house everyday. To our great surprise, Kate’s Kart had that exact book!  Hope was super excited and made the transition from ER to actual hospital stay that much less stressful. I actually asked the woman what was Kate’s Kart about and when she told me the story behind that, I almost cried. It is very much the little things that make a difference. This is one of those things.

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Your Dollar Goes Twice as Far When Donated!

Over the years, we have learned that there are specific books which are quickly chosen off the karts and bring the most joy to the children. In a hospital environment which can be very scary and foreign, book with characters that the children know and love bring the most comfort.

When you donate dollars, we are able to purchase the books in the most demand. We know which specific type of book is needed at the time and will be placed immediately on the karts to brighten the day of hospitals children.

Plus, due to arrangements with book sellers and publishers, Kate’s Kart is able to purchase books tax free and at a 20-60% discount from a normal consumer. This means your donated dollar can buy twice as many books.

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So, You Want to Donate New Books? Here’s How!

We understand that many people love to go shopping and like to get their children involved in purchasing books. We ask that you keep these few things in mind when donating books:

  • All books must be brand new and recently purchased
  • The more interactive the book, the better.   These include:  touch and feel, lift the flap, musical books or books with attached toys
  • We (and the kids) prefer high quality interactive books that will provide distraction for an extended period of time
  • Look to our wish lists for examples of books to buy
  • Please do not write in or attach any type of sticker to the book
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