When 13-year-old Hannah Savas asked for a big birthday bash with more than 100 guests, her parents seized the opportunity. In lieu of gifts, guests each donated five dollars to Children's, raising more than $700. "Everyone had fun," says Hannah. "Now my friends want to fundraise at their parties."
The party's semi-formal attire and lavish menu caused Hannah's dad, Peter, to name the party a "faux mitzvah." The Savas family isn't Jewish, but the event was a coming-of-age event for Hannah. "I learned it's important to put yourself in other people's positions," she says. "There are kids who are really sick and need the money to get well."
Jane and Peter Savas think it's important to teach their six children about philanthropy. So this summer, Halley, 8, and Madison, 10, donated their lemonade stand profits to Children's. Recently, the family delivered three large boxes of new Disney movies to Children's patients. "We wanted to help out our neighbor's son, who's hospitalized at Children, as well as other patients," says Jane.
With her neighbor, Jane also helped run a salon Cut-a-thon, where proceeds from that day's haircuts were donated to Children's. The event raised $6,000 and included a silent auction, bake sale and car wash staffed by the Savas children. Jane thinks all families should fundraise. "If you don't have a lot of money," she says, "your time is equally important."
Across New England, families like the Savas family are putting their unique stamp on events to support the hospital. High school senior Barry Kriegsman has harnessed his love of running to raise funds for Children's. As a Holliston High School cross-country team member and a former Children's patient, he combined his passion for running with his desire to give back. The result: the Holliston 5K Road Race.
This year, the second running of the race drew 200 registrants and raised more than $5,000. Barry takes pride in knowing these funds help pay medical costs for needy patients. He remembers when he came to Children's for help and was diagnosed with epilepsy. "Hyperventilation triggered my seizures" says Barry. "I started running to increase my stamina when I was in grade school." Now seizure-free, Barry plans to continue overseeing the race even after he goes away to college next year.
To learn more about fundraising for Children's, contact Angela Freitas at 617-355-8289 or angela.freitas@chtrust.org.
Martha Eliot Health Center celebrated its 40th anniversary at a gala event at the Westin Boston Waterfront. The celebration's theme was Caring for your family...Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. More than 350 people attended the event, which featured an anniversary video, a special award presentation, dinner, dancing and live music.
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The Reverse Vending Machine has been installed in the Café, making it easier for our patients, families and staff to become part of the hospital-wide environmental initiative, LEAF (Leave Earth a Future), by recycling bottles and cans. The proceeds from the recycled items go toward the cost of renting the machine. "We even have employees bringing down bags of recyclables from their units that have been collected throughout the week," says Shawn Goldrick, director of Food Services. The machine accepts bottles and cans that are sold in the Café, but there's also a bin next to it to ensure any beverage containers that won't go through the machine still get recycled.
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At Children's, the fun and excitement of Halloween is shared by kids and grownups alike. Patients dressed up and trick-or-treated throughout the hospital and whole departments were transformed into everything from magical worlds to construction zones. Here, patients take a trick-or-treating break and the work crew from 10 South celebrates a job well done.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Kyle Snyder and team mascot Wally the Green Monster stopped by Children's before game one of the World Series for the dedication of the hospital's new Fun Center: a portable gaming and multimedia console donated by the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation and Major League Baseball.
The Art for Kool Kidz program partnered with the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) for a Wearable Art Workshop in October. A presentation of the MFA's Jewelry by Artists exhibition inspired 20 patients to make their own set of jewels during the two-hour workshop.
The Pawprints Program just celebrated a big anniversary. Since the program began five years ago in 2003, it's grown to include eight dogs that visit 10 inpatient units and other floors Tuesdays through Fridays. This is the first event to celebrate the volunteers and the Pawprints dogs.
Two Children's neuroscientists have been named recipients of the 2007 NIH Director's Pioneer Award, which supports biomedical scientists exploring bold new ideas. Out of a total of 449 scientists who applied for the awards, Takao K. Hensch, PhD, and Frances E. Jensen, MD, both of Children's Department of Neurology and Neurobiology Program, were among 12 scientists to receive the $2.5 million five-year grant.
Hensch's research focuses on how the brain is shaped by experience during critical periods in infancy and early childhood, when the brain is especially adaptable and able to rewire itself. Defects in this process could link to developmental disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and ADHD. Hensch and colleagues discovered that they may be able to re-activate this period of plasticity in adulthood. Jensen's research focuses on mechanisms of brain injury and epilepsy in the developing brain, with specific emphasis on newborn infants. Jensen is also exploring how seizures early in life alter circuits in the brain, resulting in learning deficits, neuropsychiatric symptoms and autism as childhood unfolds.
The House staff Association of the Boston Combined Residency Program at Children's will start its annual hospital-wide T-shirt sale on November 1. If you get your order in before Thanksgiving, you'll be able to get yours delivered before the holiday season. This year's sale will take place online. Contact Michelle.Niescierenko@childrens.harvard.edu with questions.
Children's recently finalized the purchase of 2-4 Brookline Place. After the demolition of the current property, a new eight-story building will be constructed with "green building" elements, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification will be sought. The building will be used for administrative offices and medical and clinical office space. The ground floor will continue to offer retail uses. Children's is currently studying parking needs.
Children's has been providing employment for and medical services to the residents of Brookline since opening its doors in 1914. "We are delighted to be able to invest in the community and we intend to continue to be the hospital for the children of Brookline, an active employer and a good neighbor," said James Mandell, MD, president and CEO.
Recently, Children's researchers held their first inventor's day event. The Intellectual Property Office brought together medical device inventors, clinicians interested in medical device development, venture capitalists, engineering design firms and fund-givers in order to foster a collaborative environment.
Two Children's Hospital Boston physicians were selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to be appointed as HHMI investigators. Hematologist George Daley, MD, PhD, associate director of the Stem Cell Program at Children's, and neurologist Elizabeth Engle, MD, head of a Children's laboratory dedicated to studying eye-movement disorders, will join 10 other Children's researchers who were formerly appointed. The Institute has committed approximately $150 million to 15 researchers dedicated to bringing their research to the patient's bedside. Daley and Engle were chosen from a pool of 242 applicants.
This year's education fair for patients and families hosted 30 two- and four-year colleges and GED programs in the main lobby and Patient Entertainment Center. The event, sponsored by the Center for Families, the Teen Advisory Committee and Child Life Services, gave patients a chance to stay on top of their education goals.
The Blood Donor Center would like to congratulate the winner of the Red Sox Raffle—tickets were issued every time a blood donation was made to give donors a chance to win Sox tickets and 15 gallon donor Joey Marano took the prize. Congratulations also to the three winners of the $250 American Express gift cards: Tom Mulligan: 21-gallon donor, Martha Rush-O'Mara, 3-gallon donor, and Jim MacPhereson, 8-gallon donor.
More children have surgeries that require blood transfusions in the summer and holiday months than at any other time of year, but the number of blood donations decrease. The Blood Donor Center needs your help to ensure there is enough blood for our patients. The center is open Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., as well as select Sundays for platelet donations.
Questions? Call us at 617-355-6677 or email Annie Mulvihill at anne.mulvihill@childrens.harvard.edu
Experiment with a virtual neuron to see what conditions are needed to make it fire and see what happens when you connect it to other neurons. This interactive feature also offers step-through animations that illustrate how electrical currents move down the neuron and how signals are passed on from one neuron to another. www.childrenshospital.org/research/Site2029/mainpageS2029P23sublevel51.html
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