The morning of February 14, 2019 was full of sweetness. For A Day came to the Cancer and Hematology Center at Texas Children’s Hospital to celebrate a very special Valentine’s Day event with 30 children – 20 girls and 10 boys – along with their families.
We were grateful to have Mary Donewar there as a volunteer assistant. Mary is a nurse who is also a mom of two boys, a 4-year-old and 18-month-old. As Mary helped us set up the room, two little girls eagerly watched us through the window, their eyes sparkling with excitement. They couldn’t wait to pick out their princess costumes!
Thanks to our donors, three tables were set up for costumes: one with all different types of glittery tiaras, one with superhero capes and matching masks, and one with gorgeous yarn wigs generously donated by The Magic Yarn Project. One large table was set up with assorted Valentine’s Day crafts and another had princess makeup kits and nail polish sets.
Our crafts included Valentine foam frame magnet, DYI Valentine’s cards, stickers, owl valentine, penguin valentine, and fun heart stampers.
One of our crafts involved writing and decorating a Valentine letter. Some children wrote letters to a doctor or nurse to whom they were thankful. Other children wrote letters and drew pictures to their parents. One 4-year-old boy wrote his entire six-letter name in the card he made for his proud mom. And, in the spirit of this day of love, one little girl did not forget to pen her letter to her own little valentine on whom she had a crush.
Help was not only provided by wonderful volunteers; kinship and camaraderie abounded as the children, along with their siblings, assisted each other with crafts. A 13-year-old girl had fun helping her 6-year-old friend spruce up her Valentine owl bag with carefully chosen heart stickers and stamps. A little boy was very happy with his super hero cape and mask. He love run around and see how his cape move around.
We were also delighted to have Miss Houston join us. Miss Houston Lesha Wincher was there to help with the activities. She also took photos with the children and their families. All the girls had a blast getting princess makeovers and princess manicures.
Thanks to an anonymous donor, an amazing and delicious Brazilian lunch of chicken, beef, rice, beans, and plantains was enjoyed by everyone. We were even treated to a surprise dessert, brigadeiro, a traditional Brazilian chocolate bon bon of condensed milk, cocoa, and chocolate sprinkles. It was scrumptious and added even more sweetness to our lovely event.
We want to thank all our sponsors (Goldfish Swimming School, Smile Sonrisa Dental, and Global Welding Services), donors, and volunteers who helped us to make our special Valentine’s Day event a fantastic success. Without each and every one of you, none of this would be possible. Thanks to your love and generosity, 30 children and their families had the best Valentine’s Day ever.
