GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — At Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, the holidays are hard on the patients and their families. However, thanks to some young elves from Hopkins Middle and High School, this Christmas became brighter.
On Tuesday, the students brought $9,000 worth of toys to the children’s hospital. Each year, the number of collected toys has continued to grow.
The toy drive was launched in 2014 by chemistry teacher Jason Babiak, after his son was hospitalized with leukemia.
“While we were here, he received toys and gifts to pass his time. And it gave him hope,” said Babiak. “And when I thought of that, I wanted to help others.”
One person who knows firsthand how these toys help make the patients’ stay better is senior Lily Vandenbosch.
“So, I was here for Thanksgiving. I was here for Christmas. I was here for New Year’s, Valentine’s Day. It was a long stretch of time, but Helen DeVos was able to give back and I was able to get toys just like this,” said Vandenbosch. “And being able to receive something like that, for me, meant a lot. For someone struggling in such a hard time. Being able to get something like that really just brightens a kid’s day.”
Besides being a Christmas gift, the hospital hopes that the toys will bring patients joy and normalcy all year long.
“One of the best parts of my job is, you know, because I help run the TV station and do the bingo, is when we get to bring the toys to the room and deliver them to the kids,” said Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital media specialist Geoff Westman. “And just to see the smiles and their faces light up when they receive a toy or a craft, a stuffed animal, any of those things and just the twinkle in their eye and the smile on their face. It warms your heart.”
The donated toys will also help stock the hospital’s Winter Wonderland Shop, which allows patients and parents to shop for free Christmas presents for their families.
The shop is a blessing for Leah Hoekwater and Jason Brown. The couple is currently spending all their time with their premature baby, and didn’t have time to shop for their older children at home.
“Just incredible that everybody donated this, you know, and they thought about the families here,” said Hoekwater. “We kind of are in our own bubble when we’re here not knowing that people are thinking about us, so it was incredible. And we are so thankful. It was just huge. When my daughter came home yesterday and saw the gifts under the tree, she was confused. She didn’t know she would have any.”
“It allows, I think, the family is a little bit of normalcy in that routine of what they would be doing if they weren’t here,” said Jeannie Brown, a child life specialist at the hospital. “And so those families can come down. It’s a stress reliever, I feel, coming down and just having a different environment. But also, I think it’s a little bit of self-care families actually are leaving the hospital room for a few minutes and doing something that they would be doing maybe if they weren’t here.”
The kids from Hopkins Public Schools are glad that they can help bring joy to these families.
“But something like this really just, it makes an impact and it makes a difference,” said Vandenbosch. “And even if you wouldn’t think that it does, it really does change a kid’s perspective, especially when they’re in the hospital like this.”
