Founded in 1981, Hugworks (originally Celebration Shop, Inc.) – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization - is dedicated to providing emotional support and healing through Therapeutic Music Entertainment and Music Therapy. Director of Programs & Founder, Jim Newton began by providing programs in a wide variety of settings with youth and young adults, primarily in churches where he led concerts, youth weeks, retreats, and camps. In 1983, Jim was impressed by the tremendous response of children, families and staff at Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He had never sung for hospitalized children before, but was invited to do a program there by a church youth sponsor who had lost a child to cancer two years before. Jim had a powerful experience that day and immediately recognized that music could have a tremendous healing impact with children suffering from severe, chronic and life-threatening illnesses. With the blessing and support of the Board, he was soon spending full-time in the children’s healthcare arena.

Since the early ’80s, with the help of individual donations, foundation and corporate grants, and public sale of recordings, members of the Hugworks team have toured children’s hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and special medical camps. They have provided their songs of healing and hope for children and families with medical and emotional challenges throughout North America and a number of foreign countries. In late 2008, Hugworks began Music Therapy services.

In addition, over 133,000 audio cassettes, CDs and songbooks have been produced and distributed to supplement the live programs. Hugworks’ healing impact is multiplied through thousands of Music Therapists, Child Life Specialists, Music Teachers and other healthcare/education professionals who make use of these resources in their work to help ease the pain and fear of their clients/patients/students every day