Lifting the Spirit of Children

How You Join Generous Corporate Sponsors to Brighten Hospital Stays.

Being in the hospital can be hard for anyone.

For young children, though, fear and anxiety are even more heightened. And, if a stay occurs on a holiday, it can really tarnish something special and fun in their lives.

That is where you and the Spirit of Children come in.

You probably know Spirit of Halloween as the company that sells Halloween costumes and decorations. But since 2012, the company has also joined with McLeod Health Foundation donors, like you, to brighten hospital stays for our region’s children.   

The company has donated more than $165,000 to support various initiatives within the McLeod Children’s Hospital’s Child Life Program and provided an abundance of costumes, accessories, and other party supplies free of charge to help our patients celebrate this holiday.

“Spirit of Children and other donations supporting the Child Life Program make an incredible difference for our children and their families staying in the hospital during October,” says Cory Prescott, the McLeod Child Life Coordinator. “Our pediatric patients can pick out costumes for the parties that we offer, and they are often thrilled to choose something that brightens their day.”

Since Halloween costumes can be expensive, your support helps bring joy and fun to many more patients than the Child Life Program’s budget would allow on its own. Thanks to you, siblings of patients even get to pick out their own costumes.

Spirit of Children is about so much more than just costumes or party accessories.  Studies have shown links between patients’ mental wellbeing and recovery outcomes. So, the smiles you bring to our patients’ faces represent more than just a happy moment during a difficult period -- you are literally helping them get better.

“Putting on a Superhero costume helps our patients feel just brave enough to get through the hard things they have to experience in the hospital,” Cory concluded. “And that can make all the difference.” 

Image shown above: McLeod pediatric patient Anthony McCrory remained brave during his hospital stay thanks to gifts from McLeod Foundation donors and Spirit of Halloween.