It’s one of the most anticipated events of the year at CHoR…the Spirit of Children Halloween party in the hospital.
Each year, national costume retailer Spirit Halloween’s charitable foundation, Spirit of Children, makes sure kids don’t miss out on the Halloween holiday fun while in the hospital. Yesterday, representatives from Spirit helped patients paint pumpkins, pick out costumes and more at the party planned just for them.
This year’s party fell on 10-year-old Zuri’s first day in the hospital.
“I heard about it when I was in my room and I was really excited about it,” said Zuri as she painted a Halloween mask.
Zuri loves Halloween, mostly for the candy, of course. She picked out a light up skirt and “really cute” mermaid wig at the party for her costume this year.
Three-year-old Yalanni has been getting in the spirit for a while by watching all the cartoon Halloween shows. She’s been at CHoR for 2 weeks and her family was thrilled about the opportunity to get out of the room for some fall fun, like decorating foam pumpkins. Yalanni couldn’t choose between the vampire or devil costume, so she got both! It’ll be a last-minute decision which one gets the nod for Halloween night.
The spooktacular celebration is one element of Spirit of Children’s support, which extends all year long. Since 2010, Spirit of Children has raised more than $1 million for Children’s Hospital Foundation to benefit our child life program.
Child life specialists are integral members of the hospital team, offering comfort, education and care for kids of all ages. This includes helping pediatric patients and families cope with health care experiences, providing engaging activities to assist kids in meeting medical goals, and making sure special moments are celebrated.
“Our team is so grateful for the support of Spirit of Children. While being hospitalized at any time can be challenging for our patients, being admitted over a holiday brings its own set of disappointments. The annual Halloween party that our partners at Spirit put on with our child life team provides families with the chance to create memories and participate in holiday traditions that they might otherwise miss out on,” said Bethany Fisackerly, child life manager. “Additionally, Spirit’s financial generosity enables our team to continue to provide these types of opportunities throughout the entire year, helping kids just be kids.”
If you’re still in the market for Halloween supplies, consider picking them up at Spirit! Use this 10% off coupon at local Central Virginia Spirit Halloween stores or enter the code GIVING24 online until October 31, and another 10% of your purchase will come to child life at CHoR.
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