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During the 2025 grant cycle, UVA Health awarded more than $297,000 to 38 nonprofit organizations across Northern Virginia and Culpeper, aligning with our strategic plan by supporting our most vulnerable populations. Grant awardees are partners who provide resources that address identified needs within the communities we serve. In keeping with this mission, Boxes of Basics has been awarded a $5,000 Healthy Spark grant for their efforts in improving access to care.

Their goal is simple but powerful: remove clothing insecurity as a barrier to a child’s ability to thrive. “By ensuring children have what they need to show up confidently and comfortably at school and in daily life, we're addressing a critical social determinant of health," explains Sally Vermilyea Crockett, Program Director, Boxes of Basics. "Both UVA Health and Boxes of Basics are working toward healthier, more stable futures for children and families.”

Gifting Comfort and Dignity 

Boxes of Basics provides full, seasonal wardrobes to children in need across Northern Virginia, with each child receiving a carefully curated box of new clothing tailored to their size, preferences, and specific circumstances. The children they serve come to them through a network of more than 150 referral partners including social workers, school counselors, faith leaders, and other nonprofit organizations who work directly with families facing hardship. Every box is packed by a volunteer who thoughtfully selects and wraps each outfit so that opening it feels like receiving a present. 

Last year, they packed more than 3,000 boxes, an almost 40% increase from the year before, demonstrating the growing need in our communities that drove them to apply for the grant, an opportunity to strengthen the quality and completeness of every wardrobe they provide while ensuring they can continue meeting that rising demand. “This grant is truly a tremendous gift for our kids — because of this grant, we’ve been able to maintain consistency and quality even as our volume increases,” Crockett adds. 

So far, the've used the grant to buy new undergarments and shoes for the children they serve. Crockett explains: “The outcome we hope for, and are already seeing, is that every child who receives a box opens it to find not just clothing, but dignity. Having properly fitting shoes and new undergarments allows children to participate fully in school and daily activities without embarrassment or discomfort.” 

‘Confidence and Sense of Belonging’

Many families in our communities quietly struggle with rising housing costs, food insecurity, and limited resources. Clothing is often one of the first areas where families are forced to cut back. “This grant helps ensure children in our community have access to the basic essentials many of us take for granted, supporting not just their physical comfort, but their confidence and sense of belonging,” Crockett concludes. 

Supporting our communities in this way is one of several avenues in advancing our UVA Health mission by improving access to care and inspiring hope for all Virginians and beyond.