SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Seventy-seven kids getting treatment at Golisano Children's Hospital awoke this morning to ornate Easter baskets, courtesy of the Maureen's Hope Foundation.

There were gifts like nail polish for the teenage girls, signed Syracuse University footballs for the boys, bibs for the babies and stuffed animals all around for the children and their families, said Susan Bertrand, the nonprofit's president and founder.

"Everyone does so much for the children during Christmas, but what about the rest of the year?" Bertrand said.

It's the 10th year of providing Easter baskets to the children, she said. Volunteers dropped the baskets off on Friday, and nurses snuck them into patients' rooms while they slept Saturday night, Bertrand said.

The nurses take special care not to rustle the plastic wrap and wake the sleeping children while they drop the baskets off, Bertrand said.

"I know what these little things mean," said Bertrand, who started the foundation after her sister's death to cancer in 2003. "I think a lot of the little gestures can really bring some smiles for people."

David, a patient at the children's hospital being undergoing treatment for cancer, got an early Easter surprise, courtesy of the SU mascot and four football players.

She said parents of young patients often don't expect to be in the hospital on Easter and might not have had a chance to put together a basket. So it gives her joy to think of families arriving for Easter and being surprised by the baskets in their children's rooms.

One young patient, David, is suffering from osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer.

He recently survived major surgery, Bertrand said, and was elated to see Otto the Orange on Friday carrying a Easter basket, accompanied by four SU football players.

It was the first time he had smiled in a long time, David's family told Bertrand.

"It's become a beloved program," she said.