This didn't exactly happen today...but it did happen on a Monday, and it was within the last month, so I think that counts.
For those of you that don't know, I volunteer at the Children's Hospital in St. Mary's here in Rochester. I'm there every Monday from 1-3 (give or take) doing arts and crafts with patients, siblings and parents. It's pretty much a dream come true for me because I was practically raised on arts and crafts (and a little love), and even as a 26-year-old woman, there's something about a popsicle stick snow flake that I can't walk away from. Add glitter and it's a total loss cause for me. Which is why there's truly no better place for me in the hospital, than the afternoon craft hour in the children's ward.
I signed up, with the hope of helping these kids forget that they were sick, or dying, or feeling ill, if only for a few minutes. I thought if yarn and pom poms and glitter glue can make me happy (I know, I'm a nerd), maybe it would help make these little kiddos smile.
Sometimes it does...
...sometimes it doesn't ;)
But a few Mondays ago, it fell into the "sometimes it does" camp, in a big way.
When I get into the office, I'm given a list of patient names and room numbers, and then I set out on a little mission to invite them all to the activity room for the afternoon craft. When crossing in front of the activity room, I hear, "Oh! I know! We could have Sarah do it!" I stopped in my tracks, laughed and said "Have Sarah do what?" Since the last time they said this, I had to cut down poster board to specific dimensions with only a ruler (not a yard stick), and make 15 calendars. (yuck) But this wasn't anything like that.
They asked me to make a poster of Denard Span. Apparently, Denard Span's biggest fan was a patient in the pediatric wing. I had no guidelines...no tips...just a couple of pictures of the Twins player printed out on computer paper. So I went nuts. It was all red, white and blue, with baseball bats and balls (bedazzled with glitter glue) all over the place. It was no masterpiece, but I was pretty impressed ;)
A lot of times, I have no idea who these special craft projects go to. I don't get the joy of seeing the child's face...or knowing their back story...or sitting down and chatting with them. I just craft my heart out, and that's the end of it.
Except for a few Mondays ago.
I made the poster, the staffers carted it off to the room, and then I ran the normal afternoon activity. It was pretty low census in the hospital, so I actually had started disinfected playroom toys, when a woman walked by me in the playroom, on her way to the office.
I heard:
"Thank you so much for that poster. He loves it. He absolutely loves it. It's perfect. Did you make it?"
"No. Actually, our volunteer made it."
"A volunteer, seriously?"
"Yeah, she's right behind you. She's awesome with crafts."
And then the mom walked over to me. She thanked me for the poster, and told me how much it meant to her son. Turns out, he wasn't just Denard's biggest fan, but he had also gotten a phone call from Denard Span that day, telling him to get better and keep fighting, and that he'd like to have this little guy down to the locker room on game day so that he could meet some of his (Denard's) "friends".
They asked me to make the poster, so that it would inspire him to keep fighting. So that he could look at it from his hospital bed and get inspired. I was thrilled to be able to do that for him.
And if the story ended here, I would have been happy. I got a tearful hug from a happy mom, and really felt like I made a difference.
A few minutes later, while I'm still disinfecting toys...I feel a tap on my shoulder.
"Excuse me..."
"Yes?"
"Are you the lady that made that poster?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Thank you so much!"
That's about the time that he gave me a huge hug, squeezing as hard as his little arms would let him.
We talked all about Denard Span for the next 10 minutes or so. He told me about the phone call, and the upcoming visit to the dugout...about how Denard was even going to come to his hospital room. He was just SO excited. I couldn't help but smiling. Then he told me how much he loved the poster, and how, "Mom said, if I keep my room clean, I can hang it up in my bedroom when I get out of the hospital."
And that's when I realized, volunteers get so much more than they give.
I made a difference in a child's life that day...
and for that, I'm entirely thankful.
For those of you that don't know, I volunteer at the Children's Hospital in St. Mary's here in Rochester. I'm there every Monday from 1-3 (give or take) doing arts and crafts with patients, siblings and parents. It's pretty much a dream come true for me because I was practically raised on arts and crafts (and a little love), and even as a 26-year-old woman, there's something about a popsicle stick snow flake that I can't walk away from. Add glitter and it's a total loss cause for me. Which is why there's truly no better place for me in the hospital, than the afternoon craft hour in the children's ward.
I signed up, with the hope of helping these kids forget that they were sick, or dying, or feeling ill, if only for a few minutes. I thought if yarn and pom poms and glitter glue can make me happy (I know, I'm a nerd), maybe it would help make these little kiddos smile.
Sometimes it does...
...sometimes it doesn't ;)
But a few Mondays ago, it fell into the "sometimes it does" camp, in a big way.
When I get into the office, I'm given a list of patient names and room numbers, and then I set out on a little mission to invite them all to the activity room for the afternoon craft. When crossing in front of the activity room, I hear, "Oh! I know! We could have Sarah do it!" I stopped in my tracks, laughed and said "Have Sarah do what?" Since the last time they said this, I had to cut down poster board to specific dimensions with only a ruler (not a yard stick), and make 15 calendars. (yuck) But this wasn't anything like that.
They asked me to make a poster of Denard Span. Apparently, Denard Span's biggest fan was a patient in the pediatric wing. I had no guidelines...no tips...just a couple of pictures of the Twins player printed out on computer paper. So I went nuts. It was all red, white and blue, with baseball bats and balls (bedazzled with glitter glue) all over the place. It was no masterpiece, but I was pretty impressed ;)
A lot of times, I have no idea who these special craft projects go to. I don't get the joy of seeing the child's face...or knowing their back story...or sitting down and chatting with them. I just craft my heart out, and that's the end of it.
Except for a few Mondays ago.
I made the poster, the staffers carted it off to the room, and then I ran the normal afternoon activity. It was pretty low census in the hospital, so I actually had started disinfected playroom toys, when a woman walked by me in the playroom, on her way to the office.
I heard:
"Thank you so much for that poster. He loves it. He absolutely loves it. It's perfect. Did you make it?"
"No. Actually, our volunteer made it."
"A volunteer, seriously?"
"Yeah, she's right behind you. She's awesome with crafts."
And then the mom walked over to me. She thanked me for the poster, and told me how much it meant to her son. Turns out, he wasn't just Denard's biggest fan, but he had also gotten a phone call from Denard Span that day, telling him to get better and keep fighting, and that he'd like to have this little guy down to the locker room on game day so that he could meet some of his (Denard's) "friends".
They asked me to make the poster, so that it would inspire him to keep fighting. So that he could look at it from his hospital bed and get inspired. I was thrilled to be able to do that for him.
And if the story ended here, I would have been happy. I got a tearful hug from a happy mom, and really felt like I made a difference.
A few minutes later, while I'm still disinfecting toys...I feel a tap on my shoulder.
"Excuse me..."
"Yes?"
"Are you the lady that made that poster?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Thank you so much!"
That's about the time that he gave me a huge hug, squeezing as hard as his little arms would let him.
We talked all about Denard Span for the next 10 minutes or so. He told me about the phone call, and the upcoming visit to the dugout...about how Denard was even going to come to his hospital room. He was just SO excited. I couldn't help but smiling. Then he told me how much he loved the poster, and how, "Mom said, if I keep my room clean, I can hang it up in my bedroom when I get out of the hospital."
And that's when I realized, volunteers get so much more than they give.
I made a difference in a child's life that day...
and for that, I'm entirely thankful.
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