PICTOU
Forty-three volunteers formed an assembly-line operation Friday to put a smile on a child’s face.
Pictou United Church hosted a Ryan’s Case for Smiles event with a goal to make 500 bright-coloured pillowcases in six hours. They’ll be delivered to the Aberdeen Hospital and the IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax for children who are admitted for care.
Kay Desborough organized the annual event, which has made more than 2,000 pillowcases in the past few years for the cause. A total of 1.7 million pillowcases have been delivered to 363 hospitals in Canada and the United States in a cause that involves a multitude of similar groups.
Ryan’s Case for Smiles is solely dedicated to helping sick children cope with the stress of their illness and injuries. It was started by Cindy Kerr more than a decade ago when her son Ryan was in the hospital and she brought him a pillowcase to brighten his room and put a smile on his face.
Desborough said Ryan’s Case for Smiles tells its volunteers that a whimsical pillowcase can give children an emotional boost while resources and tools help families better understand and cope with the experience.
The children are able to pick their own pillowcase and take it home with them after their hospital stay.
Desborough said she is pleased with the volunteer turnout Friday and the community support the project has received. Fulmore Pharmacy donated empty pill bottles that would be filled with unscented soap so volunteers can wash the pillowcases before they are sent to the hospitals. Once they are washed, ironed and folded they are placed in sealed plastic bags donated by Sobeys.
Each pillowcase package also contains a card with information about Ryan’s Case for Smiles as well as contact information for families who need support while their child is in the hospital through social work and psychological departments.
More information about Ryan’s Case for Smiles can be found at www.caseforsmiles.org.
