Young patients at Women’s & Children’s Hospital are entertaining themselves with new Playstations, movies and game thanks to Child’s Play, an international charity that has sent millions of dollars of toys and games to children’s hospitals around the world.
Child’s Play has been working with Women’s & Children’s Hospital for under two months, but have already received as many as 90 different items from a wish list generated by sick children and hospital staff, with boxes of gifts arriving daily.
“We’ve had a really nice response,” said Dena Sterns, a child life specialist at the hospital. “I think people don’t realize when they want to make donations that these are things we have needs for; that’s what the kids want to do.”
The games are especially helpful in lifting the spirits of children in isolation, who cannot frequent the hospital’s community play rooms. Carts of televisions, video games and DVD’s are brought to the children in their room so they can play and enjoy their down time.
The hospital has always had carts for the kids, but the new donations are allowing them to replace games and movies that get quickly worn from all the use. “It’s nice to be able to tell the kids that we’ll get another one because they’re donated, before we had to wait until they came in. Now when things are overused and exhausted we can replace them with something new [from the wish list],” Sterns said. Sterns said many of the donations they’ve received have come from out of the area, likely people who have moved away but still want to contribute to the community.
Child’s Play has raised more than $885,000 in its three years of operation for children in more than 40 hospitals nationwide. The charity was created by gamers in an effort to show another side of gamers and combat negative press, the organization’s web site says.
Those interested in donating to Women’s & Children’s hospital can view their wish list here. While the initial response has been promising, there are still hosts of items on the list waiting to bring some added joy to a sick child’s life.