Care in a Box
Nothing can ever compare to the love and bond of a sister. There’s comfort, compassion, and care in everything that a relationship like that presents. Sisters are there in the best of times and especially in your darkest days. They also do whatever it takes to make your dreams a reality. For Jeanine Dillinger, that holds more truth than she ever thought it would.
Cancer found Jeanine’s baby sister, Karen, at the young age of 30 years old after the birth of her first baby. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the only cancer battle that Karen faced. Her cancer would make its return 10 years after that. “She faced a lot of struggles in her battle against cancer and she wanted a way to give back to her cancer patient and cancer survivor community,” Jeanine said.
From this dream of providing care to cancer patients and survivors, LoveHerHugHer was born. Jeanine and her two sisters created the idea of a cancer care box. The idea was born in 2019 while all three sisters were in St. Louis at their mom’s house. In 2020, the sisters worked extremely hard and were finally able to launch LoveHerHugHer. “We’ve provided thousands of care packages ever since we’ve opened,” Jeanine said.
LoveHerHugHer provides many different options when it comes to their quality subscription boxes. Their varieties range from radiation boxes that provide specific radiation products such as moisturizers and lip balms, to basic care packages with things such as tea, slippers, and blankets. “A lot of the products that we provide in our boxes come from what Karen used in her battles,” Jeanine said. “Something that I think makes our business so special is that Karen actually makes some of the products herself. So you’re actually getting some items that are homemade. All of our products are meant to treat the mind,
body, and spirit.”
When LoveHerHugHer was just beginning, each sister contributed to the dream by putting $2,000 into the business to purchase everything that they needed for the boxes. “Our investment was returned and we’ve actually grown since last year and doubled our outreach. We’re even looking to expand into men’s care boxes this year,” Jeanine said.
With the company’s impressive growth, the sisters are looking into launching into bigger branding. “We do everything ourselves so we’ve really had to learn everything,” Jeanine said. Jeanine said that because of their growth, this might be the year that they have to let go of some of the reigns and consider the possibility of bringing in more people to assist them. “It’s hard because you never want to hand over your baby, but it’s definitely something we know is a possibility we’ll have to consider,” Jeanine said.
But it’s not just the cancer subscription boxes that make LoveHerHugHer so incredibly special. The business also gives back in any way it can to the cancer patient and survivor community. A portion of each box goes to the American Cancer Society. They also participate in many fundraisers and events that are in support of the fight against cancer. In February, the sisters are participating in Women Rock, Inc.’s fundraising event Drink for Pink to help cancer patients with a lot of their expenses.
LoveHerHugHer just recently held a big fundraiser for Texas Oncology. The sisters prepared 25 boxes for them and Texas Oncology fell in love with them. They now want to offer these boxes to their patients. Jeanine is aiming to raise $500 to be able to provide them with those boxes.
With the impact that LoveHerHugHer has had on cancer patients and survivors, it’s not hard to see why they have become so loved and admired in the cancer community. With each subscription, every person will feel the love and care that comes in their box.
If you would like to donate to LoveHerHugHer, you can visit loveherhugher.com