From Patients to Volunteers: Meet the Duo Driving Craig’s Comfort Cart

With a cart full of essentials and lived experience, two volunteers are making the early days at Craig a little easier for new patients. 

If you have seen Elliot and Cole in the hallways, you have seen the Comfort Cart, a rolling bundle of practical items and small joys that ease long days. The cart creates a natural reason to pause, choose an item or have a short conversation if that feels right. Cole says it offers “a break in the day to chat a little bit if they want to. If they don’t, they can go about their day,” and that is fine, too. Elliot and Cole are not only volunteers with the Comfort Cart, but also peer mentors, which means they have lived experience with brain or spinal cord injury. 

Cole was an inpatient in Craig’s Brain Injury Program in 2023. “I was treated so well here. It was massively impactful,” he says. “I told my doctor I’d find a way to volunteer and be involved for years to come.” 

Elliot was at Craig more than a decade ago, but he felt the call to return and help others while also supporting his own well-being. “It helps me overcome a lot of challenges in my life,” he says. “It supports that feeling of being important.” 

The Comfort Cart, sponsored by PCL Construction, circulates on each patient floor once a week, with special attention to new admissions so patients can choose items they might not have. Toiletries are popular, and the cart also carries cards, games, books, lap blankets and other donated items that make a hospital stay feel a little more comfortable. 

“The Comfort Cart is geared toward making a patient’s stay as easy and convenient as possible,” says Jill Stelley Virden, Director of Volunteer Services and Gift Shop. “Thoughtful consideration went into selecting each item, and the cart is scheduled to circulate through the hospital with the help of our amazing volunteers, Cole and Elliot. Their warm and caring smiles are among the greatest treasures of the Comfort Cart.” 

Elliot and Cole are intentional with their conversations. “We stay far away from giving them advice or anything like that,” Elliot says. “Just being a peer and letting them know that, yeah, it happens.” 

Elliot says that the Comfort Cart fan favorites are simple and sweet, but the stuffed animals are particularly popular. Even when the patient doesn’t need any items, the visit still matters. “They just enjoy someone who is not a doctor, not a family member, coming to say hello,” Cole says. 

Cole shares the same approach. “You’re not alone in the circumstances that are going on,” he says. “There is encouragement and relatability for people who can chat with you that will help during some of the hard times.” 

They meet people where they are. Some days a patient is ready to talk. Other days a wave at the door is the right speed. “Maybe next week, they’ll talk more,” Elliot says, describing the importance of patience and presence. Often, conversations open up once patients realize the visitors with the cart are Craig grads themselves, which Cole describes as “a kind of big exhale and more willingness to chat.” 

Patients and families aren’t the only ones who enjoy seeing this duo throughout the hospital; staff also appreciate the visits. “Some days are harder than others at Craig,” says Katelyn Cochran, rehab tech II at Craig. “The volunteers are always so cheerful while bringing the Comfort Cart around to the patients. It’s nice getting to see your patient snuggled up with a new fuzzy friend or using a fun pillowcase to bring a little flair to their room.”

Working the cart together has also become its own source of connection. “Each week, I feel like we get a little bit closer,” Cole says. Teaming up helps engagement, since different patients may naturally connect with one or the other, and both are ready to talk when it helps. 

Volunteering gives something back to Elliot and Cole as well. When asked how he feels after spending time with Craig patients, Elliot does not hesitate: “So happy. I feel like I have purpose.” 

Cole agrees and thinks of the small moments that can carry someone through a tough week. Offering “a little glimpse of happiness on some of the dark days is really huge,” Cole says. “So it’s cool to be able to provide that a little bit.”