Comforting Cancer Patients with Homemade Warming Packs: A Heartfelt Tradition

Every holiday season, lots of people look for ways to give back. Personal experiences often spark this urge to help.

This year, Kendra Johnson and her family are keeping up their tradition at Memorial Hospital in Las Cruces. They’re making warming packs for cancer patients.

Kendra’s a cancer survivor herself, so she knows firsthand how comforting these packs can be. With her kids, Atleigh and Tristan, plus a young man named Ani, she’s putting together 350 warming packs to help those facing treatment.

It’s a project that blends community, learning, and a personal touch. There’s something special about that mix, isn’t there?

The Heartwarming Tradition

Kendra’s story started back in 2017 with her cancer diagnosis. Her kids were only five and two at the time.

When her treatment ended, she and her daughter wanted to give back to the center that helped her heal. They started making warming packs, filling them with rice for heat and comfort.

Over the years, they’ve added socks and foot cream to their donations. Still, the warming packs are always at the heart of their holiday giving.

A Family Effort

This time, Kendra’s project includes her two kids and Ani, a young man she home schools. They cut fabric, sew, and fill each pack with rice.

Everyone’s got a job to do, and they’re picking up new skills along the way. Kendra, who used to teach school, sees it as a pretty great homeschooling lesson—math, sewing, and learning to give back all rolled into one.

Community Support

Cruces Creatives, a local maker space, plays a huge role in making this possible. They provide space, sewing machines, and donated fabric for the project.

Having several sewing machines and irons lets the family spread out and work together without getting in each other’s way. It’s a real team effort.

Learning and Growing

The maker space also gives the kids a chance to meet other adults working on their own projects. They get to explain what they’re up to and why, which helps with their communication skills and sense of community.

Threading the sewing machine needle turned out to be the trickiest part for the kids. But each one found their own strengths as the project went on.

Generosity and Gratitude

Kendra first bought three 50-pound bags of rice from Shamrock Foods on North Main. Now, Shamrock Foods donates the rice, which makes a big difference for the family.

This kind of generosity shows how much the community cares about helping others, especially during tough times.

A Personal Connection

The project means a lot to Kendra’s family. Ani’s mom, Dr. Rama, works as an oncologist at her own clinics, Rio Grande Hematology.

Kendra’s kids have seen cancer up close—their mom survived it, and their grandfather is fighting it right now. Making these packs lets them help in a way that really matters to them.

The Impact of Giving Back

Kendra wants her kids to understand the value of giving back. She says this project isn’t just about money—it’s about showing up, putting in the time, and following through.

By working on this together, her kids are learning life skills and what it means to serve their community. That’s something you just can’t teach from a textbook.

Kendra Johnson’s story really shows what community and family can do when they come together. She and her family make warming packs for cancer patients, offering comfort in a way that feels both simple and deeply personal.

They’ve gotten a big boost from Cruces Creatives and Shamrock Foods. It goes to show how much a little help from local organizations can matter.

Kendra’s kids are picking up useful skills along the way. They’re also learning what it means to give back, which—honestly—seems just as important as anything else.

Want to know more about this project? Check out the Las Cruces Bulletin.