Making Positive Change Simple

Together, we turn an act of kindness into a big community win as we all help young children!

Get Involved
A young boy smiling and giving a thumbs-up gesture, standing in front of two large clear plastic bins filled with stuffed animals and plush toys. The boy has short brown hair, is wearing a grey button-up shirt with horizontal stripes and blue jeans. Behind him is a yellow wall with a decorative black antler-shaped coat rack and a backpack hanging on it. There is a door with glass panels behind the boy, and the room has a wooden floor.

Why We Do What We Do

Stuffy Strong is a heartfelt program created by a local 6-year-old that allows children receiving care in the Emergency Department at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center to choose their own stuffed animal from a special “Animal Menu” during difficult moments.

The “menu” refers to Stuffy Strong’s animal selection process, where children receive a restaurant-style list of 6 different animals and choose one to accompany them during they hospital stay.

They can choose from either a dog, cat, snake, unicorn, lizard, or lamb.

Why not be handed just any kind of stuffy? “Because they may not like it.”

It all began with a simple thought from a child who wanted to help other kids.

One day when he was sick he said, “If you were in the hospital, a snake would make me feel better.” And he said to Mommy, “I have an idea.” “What if we created a menu of stuffed animals so sick kids can pick what they want?”

That thought became the Stuffy Strong Animal Menu-giving kids a choice and comfort when they need it most.

From his perspective, he wants kids to be able to choose something, give them comfort and be happy. The idea of being able to choose versus just picking any random stuffy is what makes an even bigger impact. When a child goes into the hospital, so much is out of their control, and choosing gives them a sense of control, which can help reduce a child’s anxiety and stress in the hospital.

A printable pet comfort program and animal stuffed animal menu with animal icons next to each description, including puppy, cat, snake, unicorn, lizard, and lamb.
A young boy with brown hair, wearing a light blue shirt and jeans, stands outside smiling and holding a paper and a green apple in one hand. He is surrounded by numerous paper Amazon packages on the ground. There is a mailbox on a wooden post, green bushes, and a white textured wall behind him.
A boy kneeling on the floor and smiling at the camera surrounded by various plush toys and stuffed animals in plastic bags and containers.
A young boy with brown hair, wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and denim shorts, pushes a large plastic container with clear sections filled with various items, while an adult man in glasses, a dark blue polo shirt, and khaki pants looks on inside a medical center.

Community Impact

ATLANTIC CITY — There is one local expert who knows exactly what kids need.

No, it’s not a teacher, pediatrician or even a "CoComelon" video on YouTube. It’s not a parent, either.

It’s a 6-year-old boy with more than 120 donated stuffed animals.

Jackson Richards, of Northfield, is the founder of Stuffy Strong, a pediatric comfort program that gives children receiving care in the Emergency Department at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center a stuffed animal of their choice.

And like all great foundation presidents and founders, the concept came suddenly to Jackson — when he was sick on a snowy day.

“If I were in the hospital, a stuffed snake would make me feel better,” he said. “And I said to Mommy that I have an idea: What if we created a menu of stuffed animals so sick kids can pick what they want?”

The “menu” Jackson refers to is Stuffy Strong’s animal selection process, where children receive a restaurant-style list of stuffed creatures and critters to accompany them during hospital stays, giving them a choice at a time when they may not have much control over their treatments, food or free time.

“From his perspective, he just wanted kids to be able to choose something, give them comfort and be happy,” said Stephanie Richards, Jackson’s mother. “But his idea was so unique because they’d be able to choose versus just being handed any random stuffy. When kids go into the hospital, so much is out of their control, and choosing gives them a sense of control, which can help reduce a child’s anxiety and stress in the hospital.”

Jackson has experienced hospitals through his own birth and the births of his siblings. But it was his mother’s conversations with him about children who are hospitalized for other reasons that got him thinking about what they might be feeling.

“They are probably sad and scared, but probably happy when they are feeling a little bit better as they get out of the hospital,” Jackson said.

Knowing how much the idea meant to her son, Richards went all in on her support.

“The first step was emailing AtlantiCare with his idea to see what they thought of it and if they would accept donations,” Richards said. “We connected with their Community Engagement Department and were so grateful to AtlantiCare for believing in his idea and helping bring his idea to life.”

The first delivery quickly became more than a drop-off.

Richards said she wasn’t expecting so many hospital staff members to come down to meet Jackson. But when they did, Jackson took the lead, explaining how he came up with Stuffy Strong and why he wanted to help children.

His personality, Richards said, came through as he made the staff laugh.

“Thank you, Jackson, for bringing comfort, smiles, and courage to our youngest patients,” AtlantiCare wrote in a statement in June after Stuffy Strong’s initial donation. “Your kindness is making a difference one stuffy at a time.”

But it wasn’t solely AtlantiCare that believed in Jackson’s idea — it was his whole community.

When Richards organized an August yard sale and lemonade stand to raise money for new stuffed animals, neighbors, strangers and friends began donating even without purchasing items or drinks.

“They simply loved Jackson’s idea and wanted to support the program,” Richards said.

One man asked whether he could bring back a stuffed animal to donate. Richards explained that the hospital requires new animals for health reasons and instead showed him the QR code for Stuffy Strong’s Animal Wishlist.

The result has been containers full of packaged unicorns and lizards, slithering snakes and puppy friends, adding up to more than 120 stuffed animals delivered to children.

Richards remembers one AtlantiCare employee who saw Jackson during a donation drop-off and became emotional after hearing his story.

“She literally cried and said, ‘God bless you. Do you know how many kids you are helping? Thank you so much for what you are doing. Keep going,’” Richards said.

For Jackson, though, the impact is easier to understand than the logistics of running a pediatric comfort program.

He’s just happy.

“Really happy because I want the kids to feel better,” he said. “I want them to feel better, so I feel happy too knowing they are feeling better.”

And if he could speak directly to one of those children, he wouldn’t give them a grand speech.

“Hi. What’s your name? Do you like your stuffy?” he said.

Jackson’s work with Stuffy Strong hasn’t changed what he wants to be when he grows up. He still hopes to become an animal rights activist and a zookeeper, hopefully working with his favorite animal, the rainbow boa, more closely than through plush fabric.

Outside of Stuffy Strong, Jackson does what most 6-year-old foundation founders do: He builds Lego sets, rides his bike and spends time with his family.

But he’s consistently brainstorming Stuffy Strong’s expansion, and if he could add another animal to the Stuffy Strong menu, he’d choose a frog because “they are cute.”

For Richards, watching her son turn a small idea into something that has already comforted more than a hundred children has reinforced a lesson she hopes other parents will take with them.

“I would tell them that no idea is too small if it helps even one person,” she said. “That’s one more life touched or changed. Just like one more donation is one more child comforted and helped versus none.”

The family doesn’t know exactly what Stuffy Strong will become. But they hope to keep growing, eventually reaching other hospitals and communities.

For now, they’re focused on continuing to fill the menu.

“We need more donations,” Richards said. “The sky is the limit. One donation helps one more child when they need it most.”


A young boy with brown hair, smiling and giving two thumbs up, standing between two large clear plastic bins filled with stuffed animals. He is wearing a striped button-up shirt and jeans, in a room with a beige door, a brown sofa, and a wall with hooks holding four backpacks and some bags. The caption indicates he is participating in a charity program collecting stuffed animals for children in a hospital.
A man and a boy shake hands at an outdoor event with a lemonade stand. The stand has signs indicating lemonade is $1.00, and a large signboard with information about funding a program for stuffed animals. Two women and a child are sitting in the background, and there is a stroller nearby.
A person standing in front of light-colored curtains holding a large handmade sign. The sign displays the total amount of money made, $465, from selling 42 new stuffed animals which include cats, dogs, unicorns, snakes, lambs, and lizards, and indicates that the money was used to purchase 42 kids' items.
A young boy sitting behind a lemonade stand with a sign advertising lemonade for $1. The stand has a yellow tablecloth and various signs and pictures, including a donation box. There is a large cup of lemonade on the table and a blue canopy overhead. The background shows a street with parked cars and trees.