Hope for the Holidays 2026

Me Fine coordinates individuals and community groups to adopt families at Duke, WakeMed, and UNC Children's Hospitals who would not otherwise have holiday gifts due to a child's medical crisis. Just as Me Fine provides a financial safety net for families in crisis throughout the year, our Hope for the Holidays program serves families who are in the midst of a new diagnosis, relapse, or unexpected hospitalization during the holiday season.

Me Fine will accept referrals beginning October 26 through November 23, 2026.

Instructions

Families must be able to pick up their gifts IN PERSON over the weekend of December 12-13, 2026. Me Fine will offer three gift pick-up locations in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. (Families can choose whichever location is most convenient to them.) *Arrangements can ONLY be made for EMERGENT SITUATIONS for alternative deliveries or the mailing/emailing of gift cards/gifts if families are unable to pick up their gifts in person.

How it works:

  1. Step 1 - Assess potential referrals through Me Fine's standard financial assistance lens: child in medical crisis + financial need is related to treatment.

    A medical crisis is defined as a patient who is currently Inpatient with a lengthy admission or is newly diagnosed or experiencing a significant change in their medical condition.

    **For Outpatients- patients must have frequent treatments/appointments (i.e. multiple times a week or month) to be eligible.

    For chronic conditions, the family is experiencing a deviation from their “new normal” post-diagnosis and significant treatment is required.

    The financial burden must be related to the cost of care or the cost of being treated and the child’s treatment is the primary driver of this specific financial need.

    Step 2 - If this criteria is met, you may refer the family through the form below. *Please note, Me Fine will only be able to prioritize families who have not been helped with the Hope for the Holidays program before. If Me Fine has questions in general or regarding the eligibility of the family for this program, we will contact you to clarify before contacting the family.

  2. THAT'S IT! Me Fine will confirm with you that we received the referral and will then contact the family to ask about specific items for their children's wishlists and to schedule their preferred pickup date/location.

Provide your contact information below, and let's get started!

Referral Application

Please use this form to submit your patient referral application. Once we have received your application, we may need to reach out to you for additional information.