Final 28 ‘Captain Poodaman’ care packages to be delivered to Arnold Palmer Hospital

The Labor Day delivery will complete a Central Florida initiative that assembled more than 300 care packages for children and families

Orlando Health’s Children’s Pavilion The 189,000-square-foot facility will unite over 30 pediatric specialties in downtown Orlando, opposite the Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. (Loren Bray/WFTV)

By Brody Wooddell

ORLANDO, Fla. — The final 28 Captain Poodaman Care Packages from a Central Florida community initiative will be delivered Monday to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

Mrs. Brevard Colleen Jameson is scheduled to make the Labor Day delivery at 1 p.m. at the hospital, completing an effort that began with a Sept. 1 packing event in Palm Bay.

More than 300 care packages were assembled and personalized at the Ted Whitlock Community Center as part of the initiative led by Palm Bay resident and childhood cancer advocate Jason Collins, director of communications and external relations for Forever Captain Poodaman, the Ahmad Butler Foundation.

More than 300 packages delivered across Central Florida

Jason and Brittany Collins delivered packages Sept. 2 to Nemours Children’s Health, AdventHealth for Children and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida.

The Arnold Palmer Hospital delivery was initially expected to include 22 packages, but organizers said six additional packages were added, bringing the total to 28.

Jameson participated in the Palm Bay packing event and helped collect donated books through local businesses and fellow pageant titleholders.

Packages designed to provide comfort

The care packages include combinations of handwritten notes, superhero capes, comic books, books, toys, activities, treats, sensory items and other comfort items.

The final delivery will also include new blankets donated by Children’s Blankets of Love in North Carolina.

Organizers said the packages are intended to provide comfort and a distraction for children and families facing difficult medical treatment.

The initiative honors Ahmad “Captain Poodaman” Butler and is part of the Ahmad Butler Foundation’s broader work supporting children and families affected by pediatric cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

The final delivery is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 7, at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, 92 W. Miller Street in Orlando.

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