Child's Play

Letters to Child's Play

• Last year’s gift from Child’s Play has continued to allow our patients and their families to normalize their hospital experience. The use of gaming and technology has a wide variety of applications in our setting including distraction, education and recreation. Having the resources available means that we can help make the hospital more comfortable, more familiar, and more enjoyable. Gaming allows our patients, siblings, parents and visitors to escape from the physical world around them often creating precious moments of social connection.Read Full Letter »

  — Jean Brannan, Nemours Fund for Children’s Health Corporate & Foundation Relations Specialist

• Random Acts, the students of The Instituto Libre and the community of San Juan del Sur are incredibly grateful to Child’s Play for awarding a generous grant to the Free High School of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.Read Full Letter »

  — Rachel Miner, Executive Director Random Acts

• Child Life Specialists are experts in child development and helping children navigate the stresses of the healthcare environment and therefore are most optimally equipped for helping merge these technologies into the healthcare environment to help improve patient and family’s experiences. However, Child Life Specialists do not typically receive the training needed to successfully navigate the growing market of technological advancement and how it might be therapeutically applied. In addition, clinical demands make it challenging to dedicate the time needed to successfully implement best practice regarding technology application.Read Full Letter »

  — Carla Oliver, MSW, CCLS Director Child Life Children’s Hospital Colorado

• Atlantic Street Center’s CoRe Gaming Group is an innovative mental health project tailored to increasing the number of youth accessing services by using video games as a therapeutic tool to help teach interpersonal skills, reduce stress, and stimulate emotional regulation. Read Full Letter »

  — Wilder Heath LMFT, MHP, CMHS,  CoRe Project Lead/Mental Health Therapist Atlantic Street Center

• This has been an exciting year for the iPads for Kids Program. Our partnership with Child’s Play allowed us to think bigger and better than we ever have before.Read Full Letter »

  — Christine Edwards, Senior Foundation Manager Bungie Foundation

• Thank you for blessing Lighthouse with the PS4 and GAEMS case combo. The children in our transitional housing program LOVE IT! The system is used on a daily basis. The portability of the unit is fantastic and game selection is perfect. It gets played by more than one person at a time.Read Full Letter »

  — Sarah Tuttle, Executive Director Lighthouse Family Ministries NW

• The increased gift this year has opened the door to explore opportunities for using virtual reality in our practice.Read Full Letter »

  — Lisa Warner, CFRE

• We are so lucky and grateful to have supportive people like you who care about sick children. I am so grateful and impressed by your generosity and good will. Your donations truly make an enormous difference to the well-being of our patients and I whole-heartedly thank you!Read Full Letter »

  — Renée Ethans, CCLS, Manager, Child Life Department

• One of the special things about our main Playroom is that we offer more games and activities than found on patient wards – it makes it a special place that separates it from their hospital rooms. Read Full Letter »

  — Sherry Treichel, Certified Child Life Specialist, Playroom Supervisor

• Mom said, “I don’t know what we would’ve done without you and these amazing toys and movies. Thank you for helping us!”.Read Full Letter »

  — Rosalie Favreau, Certified Child Life Specialist, Surgical and Burn Unit

• Due to the generous donations through Child’s Play, we have received numerous sound spa machines. Read Full Letter »

  — Cecilia Bellingham, Certified Music Therapist

• I pray to God every night and ask him to send us an Angel everyday. I ask for hope, I ask for healing, I ask for peace and I ask for joy in our lives. Today you are our Angel.Read Full Letter »

  — Ana B, GGB Parent

• We don't know where we would be without the ongoing and incredibly generous support of Child's Play. Technology is such an important medium for so many of our patients. It can take them to a world away from the hospital, and immerse them in games...Read Full Letter »

  — Janet Burke, Child Life and Music Therapy Sydney Children’s Hospital

• The game systems and games provide such an important source of distraction as well as a familiarity in a place that is often unknown to children. Having worked in various areas throughout the hospital, I can say with certainty (and again, sincere thanks) that these gifts that keep on giving are so appreciated by patients and families at Children’s Hospital HSC. Hip Hip Hooray for Child’s Play!Read Full Letter »

  — Winnipeg Child Life Specialist

• The DVDs donated to the Book Corner library have been greatly appreciated by children and their families. Your donation helped the library stock the newest and most popular movies. The children love having the opportunity to choose movies which have served as both a comfort and distraction during their hospital stay. Thank you again for your wonderful donation!Read Full Letter »

  — Winnipeg Library Tech

• Thank you so much to Child’s Play for making us, as Child Life Specialists, look like the coolest people in the hospital!Read Full Letter »

  — Winnipeg Child Life Specialist

• I have a couple of older boys that were not wanting to come talk to anyone about the domestic violence in their home. One of the boys saw Xbox and made his own appointment. I never would have guessed that a game system would be so helpful, but it has already assisted with two families.Read Full Letter »

  — Andrea, Children Services Coordinator, DV Shelter

• They are learning to take turns and share as well as play cooperatively. It also helps provide that time away from all of the little ones for teens who so desperately need to have healthy alone time in a place where privacy is limited.Read Full Letter »

  — Jodi, Shelter Manager

• The console is attractive and doesn’t take up too much space and will bring some certain joy to the children we serve through our office and our shelterRead Full Letter »

  — Nikki, Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Shelter Director

• This gift allows us to make the child as comfortable as possible. Hospitals can be scary places, and things like movies and video games give the children a sense of normalcy in what is not a normal situation for them.Read Full Letter »

  — Patti Brahe, senior vice president of Parkview Women’s and Children’s Hospital

• In 2012 our entire perception of Child's Play changed. Our son was admitted to the UNC Children's Hospital with a severe outbreak of Staph Scalded Skin Syndrome. For the first time we were on the receiving end of the donations that we had been contributing to for years.Read Full Letter »

  — Jay P. Parent

• Our department has had these items on our ‘wishlist’ for years, knowing that with them we can support our patients in new and better ways. Believe me when I say the donation we received could not have come at a better time. Not only will it provide our patients with support, distraction, and therapeutic play, it has already revitalized our staff morale.Read Full Letter »

  — Bethany L. Fisackerly, Child Life Specialist

• I walked in to a patient's room and he immediately started crying but when I mentioned that I had a Nintendo DS (from Child's Play a few years ago) to lend him, he smiled and calmed down immediately. His mom couldn't believe it as it was the first time she had seen him smile since arriving at the hospital.Read Full Letter »

  — Caroline, Kosair Children’s Hospital

• I don’t know how you all do this year in and year out but we are so incredibly grateful! I can’t think of a better partner to have to provide things for our patients that we would otherwise never be able to have.Read Full Letter »

  — Bethany Deines, Dayton Children’s Hospital

• He was smiling and very distracted throughout the procedure. What may have been a traumatic experience was positive due to the wonderful tool I had to utilize with him.Read Full Letter »

  — Brittany S, CCLS, Sanford Children’s Hospital

• It was frightening and painful, and nobody wanted to explain anything to a 5-year old. The thing that changed me forever, though, wasn't the surgery, it was the game cart.Read Full Letter »

  — Jessica

• Instead of focusing on the treatment I turned my focus to the game. It helped me escape the current world I was in and allowed me to feel like a normal kid again. That gift did so much more for me then just distract me, it impacted my personality and character.Read Full Letter »

  — John, Childhood Lymphoma Survivor

• When I tell them that we have video games for patients to play you can visibly see them relax. Parents are relieved to know that we can provide something familiar and comforting for their child during a stressful time in their lives.Read Full Letter »

  — Karen M., Child Life Manager, Children’s Medical Center of Dayton

• “OMG!” Marilyn repeated as she opened box after box of THE MOST AMAZING donation we have received. I can’t tell you how excited the Child Life Specialists are about this donation. You and the entire Child’s Play Charity group have totally outdone yourselves.Read Full Letter »

  — Marilyn C, Supervisor, Child Life Services, Shands Hospital for Children

• [The iPads] allow children who have been in car accidents to talk to their parents if/when the parents are transported to adult hospitals. You have no idea how this came as a very welcome gift for this program! Read Full Letter »

  — Bethany D, Dayton Children’s

• We always hear other Child Life programs talking about all the amazing apps for preparation, distraction, and fun they have downloaded on their iPads. We just sort of ignore them as we know our department could never afford one. Now we have 12 iPads!!Read Full Letter »

  — Victoria K,  Child Life Specialist, Methodist Children’s Hospital

• The Apple products will allow these patients (and their family members) the ability to connect with family & friends via wireless internet & Skype, listen to music, play games, read books and watch favorite videos while they recover from serious illness or injury.Read Full Letter »

  — Robert W., Child Life Specialist, UMass Memorial

• I've seen a lot of sick children, and I have heard them laugh, I've gotten hugs, and I've had some pictures drawn for me, but I have to say that the most telling sign of joy was remembering this boy's smile as we played and achieved together.Read Full Letter »

  — Alex

• Video games didn't save my life, and I didn't have a terminal disease, but they took what could have been one of the worst experiences of my life and made it my most positive hospital-related experience to date.Read Full Letter »

  — David

• I’m knitting this scarf for every sick child who has to endure what they do, for every child with cancer, for every child everywhere who’s had to be hospitalized for days on end and can still show so much courage, patience, understanding, and most of all grace in the most unbelievable and heartbreaking circumstances.Read Full Letter »

  — Misty

• Our year-long struggle with her treatments and frequent hospital stays have been enriched by the time we’re able to spend with her playing games in the hospital just as we would at home (only with better games and a larger selection).Read Full Letter »

  — Dave Berry

• I haven't had to set foot in a children's hospital since then, thank goodness, but having access to that Nintendo 64 for the time I was visiting my friend made the process incredibly easier, and playing Mario Kart with him gave me the feeling that my friend was going to be OK in a way that no amount of reassurance from my parents, or the doctors, could have provided.Read Full Letter »

  — Chris Stafford

• She was hospitalized for nearly a week and beat the entire main storyline of the game and even spent some time getting familiar with the dozen or so Arcade titles I had bought. According to the doctors, it was the quickest recovery she had ever made out of the many hospital stays she had made up to then.Read Full Letter »

  — Sean Brown, age 25

• There are large numbers of studies that show positive results from the use of interactive gaming consoles in treatment, but perhaps the most important aspect of it's use is that it makes these otherwise dull tasks enjoyable, and therefore increases the effectiveness of treatment, most notably in younger patients.Read Full Letter »

  — James Flannery - Physiotherapy Student

• ...games were a source of comfort and mental stimulation for my nephew when he was too exhausted to move and play.Read Full Letter »

  — Roxanne T.

• As you know, this is the first year we have registered with Child's Play and we were really overwhelmed by the kindness of gamers from all over the world.Read Full Letter »

  — Angela Harris - Royal Manchester

• That is a reality that Child's Play Charity is doing for our kids - adding a smile to their faces at a time when it is needed the most.Read Full Letter »

  — D. Bradley Leech - Children’s Mercy Hospital

• The Wii systems (including the new favorite of the floor, Rock Band) allows our older patients to enjoy their time at the hospital, forget the often (physically and emotionally) painful conditions/treatment and spend time with their brothers, sisters and visiting friends like they did at home.Read Full Letter »

  — James Brief, M.D.

• Your donations support seriously-ill children in hospitals by distracting them from their illnesses, and help them cope with fear, anxiety, and boredom.Read Full Letter »

  — Cameron Hosner - Children’s Hospital of Michigan

• She’s only 7 years old and is facing death every day. Something as simple as a game brought her so much joy, and she got to feel like a regular child again, if only for an hour. Please don’t EVER stop what you are doing with Child’s Play! Games and toys are important to children and their development, but they are truly essential to children fighting for their lives. Read Full Letter »

  — Colleen

• ...we spent the day trying to distract him from his pain while the doctor’s ran him though a series of tests. Part of the way through the day a volunteer from the hospital wheeled in a cart with a TV, a Nintendo and several games, and a dvd player. I can’t tell you how much it helped to get us through that day having the simple distraction of some video games.Read Full Letter »

  — Buddy - Father of Patient

• In addition, we bought a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit. This is a HUGE success and we will probably buy several more. Not only are they suitable for recreation, but they serve a therapeutic purpose as well. We have discovered that spinal cord injured patients can sit on the Fit’s balance board and work on core balance by playing the games.Read Full Letter »

  — Amy L. Frey, Hospital for Special Care

• I often found myself with nothing to do but worry. I would bring video games from home, or if I was lucky enough I'd get to use the video game cart they would drag around. I passed most of the time with Mario Kart 64 of Zelda Ocarina of Time.Read Full Letter »

  — Nathaniel, ‘Bendery’ Jordan

• ...even through I made so many trips to the hospital, even though I endured surgery which would leave me feeling ill for days afterward, the games room in the IWK had always been a sanctuary. Where I could play with other children who were like me; who were ill and away from home, but for a short little while, there was a little bit of normality in our lives.Read Full Letter »

  — Jenn K.

• They are full of videos, books, games, and video games. You can check out these things, library style, and take them back to your room to play with. These things are critical in keeping a kid's spirits up when he is undergoing the long, long cancer treatments.Read Full Letter »

  — Father of Former Patient

• To be sitting there with your child who can barely move for all the tubes and wires connected to him, who hasn't been able to eat for days and hasn't been home in weeks, who can't remember the last time he didn't feel awful and wonders if he'll ever feel good again, and have him laugh out loud when he crashes his go-kart in a video game... well, there aren't words so I won't try.Read Full Letter »

  — Alan

• They had an old pong machine, with the roller ball and dual screen. It is my first memory in the world of gaming, and one of the few, but very special, good memories I have from that ordeal.Read Full Letter »

  — Marshall Anderson

• I was expecting a sterile white-and-green wasteland, but instead I found myself in a brightly-colored, brightly-lit room with three or four un-inhabited stretchers and a clutch of children in hospital gowns playing Playstation.Read Full Letter »

  — Vicky Sherrouse