Labconco joins in: Wednesday Night Live at Children’s Mercy Hospital

By Diane Williamson, Senior Application Specialist

On November 26, 2014 in Blog

Wednesday nights are special for some very special children at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. Every Wednesday night from 6:30 to 7:30, small groups of adults bring arts and craft projects or special entertainment to share with the patients and their families at the hospital. The hospital invites volunteers from local community groups, corporations, and organizations to host the weekly event, and recently a group of Labconco associates was lucky enough to host this activity!

Representatives of Labconco’s Human Resources department, Kory Johnson and Kiki Bennett, along with Carrie Criss, the hospital’s Volunteer Coordinator, educated our Labconco volunteers on the process, what to expect, and how best to interact with the children. With instructions provided, we were armed with paint, brushes and aprons, and we all had one goal in mind: to help bring joy to the patient-children who came to participate!

As the children entered the room, Labconco volunteers greeted them with warm smiles, provided them with a personalized apron, and asked them to pick out a wooden craft that they might enjoy painting and keeping for their own. Some picked a treasure chest, a picture frame, or a jewelry box, while others chose a canoe or a train. Once they made their choice, we helped them get set up so they could get busy painting.

It was heartwarming to see smiles on their faces and a twinkle of pride in their eyes as they worked on their individual masterpieces. We soon found out that there were some pretty good little artists in our midst! For privacy reasons, we cannot show pictures of our little Picassos, but these pictures of the work they did speak for themselves. Fantastic!

The time flew by, and before we knew it, the fun was over. It was without a doubt a very rewarding experience for all. We treasured the opportunity to interact with these sick children, to help put a smile on their faces and a little joy in their hearts. At the same time, we got to help them take their minds off of their illness and pain. It was a priceless feeling.

To offer our simple gift of time and generosity, and in the end receive the best gift of all, a warmed heart, was a true treasure, not unlike the ones that might someday be hidden in some little child’s painted treasure chest!

Labconco is working on plans to participate in Wednesday Night Live activities in the future as another way of supporting our community, starting right here in Kansas City.

See also: Cart for the Cure