Project Cheer: A Holiday Tradition
Every December, Chelsea and Shekar Srinivas head to Target with an unusual mission: fill a shopping cart with toys for children spending the holidays at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. And they mean fill it.
“It’s a lot of toys,” Shekar says. “The cart is full and overflowing.”
For a couple of hours, they walk the aisles thinking about children they’ve never met: What would a toddler enjoy? What might appeal to an older child? What could bring a little more joy to a holiday spent in the hospital?
The tradition began about a decade ago with Shekar and his late partner, Allison, who had cystic fibrosis and knew firsthand what it was like to spend time in the hospital as a child. After Allison passed away, Shekar kept the tradition going. When he met Chelsea in 2023, she embraced it too.
Now, the tradition is entering a new chapter. Shekar and Chelsea welcomed their daughter at UCSF in 2025, and last December, at 8 months old, she joined them for her first hospital shopping spree. Chelsea looks forward to the day when their daughter is old enough to help choose gifts herself, learning that the fun of the toy aisle can also come from picking out something special for another child.
That spirit is at the heart of Project Cheer, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals’ annual holiday giving campaign. For families whose children are receiving care during the holidays, maintaining cherished traditions can be difficult. Project Cheer helps bring the season to them, providing gifts and opportunities to choose something special for their children, create moments of celebration, and focus on being together.
For Shekar and Chelsea, the experience of choosing just the right toys for young patients has become part of the joy of giving. This year, UCSF hopes to give families that same opportunity by encouraging donations of gift cards. A gift card can give a parent the chance to fill a shopping cart of their own, picking out the toys and gifts they know will bring their child the most joy.
And Chelsea hopes people know that making a difference doesn’t require an overflowing shopping cart. “Every gift, even $50 or $75, can make such a difference,” she says.