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AHS volunteers, from left, Sydney Janzen, Addyson Bennett and Sheri Quinton display Sunshine Cards on their comfort cart. Photo by Kelly Morris.
Sydney Janzen shares a Sunshine Card with Aaron Dragland, a new dad who stopped by the comfort cart in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to pick up a treat for babe and mom. Photo by Kelly Morris.
Tyler and Kathryn Loewen recently welcomed their first baby at Chinook Regional Hospital. The comfort cart delivered this beautiful handmade quilt along with a sunshine card. The new family were thrilled to pose for their first family portrait. Photo by Kelly Morris.
Story & photos by Kelly Morris
LETHBRIDGE — “We have the best job there is in the hospital,” says Sheri Quinton, an Alberta Health Services (AHS) volunteer, after a Comfort Cart shift at Chinook Regional Hospital.
Supported by Ronald McDonald House Alberta and the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation, the cart is stocked with snacks, drinks and comfort items for children and their families who are receiving care in hospital.
“We go around to units that have anything to do with children — it could be pediatrics, NICU, maternity, prenatal,” adds Quinton. “We just go and brighten them up by giving them complimentary snacks and drinks from Ronald McDonald House. We have stuffies and books and blankets and little hats.”
This fall, the comfort cart has been loaded with some additional cheer — Sunshine Cards from a Lethbridge elementary school are brightening days for many families.
The colourful drawings and inspiring notes of kindness bring enormous smiles to tired faces, and many moments of joy in a difficult time with many recipients simply sighing: “Aww!”
“There aren’t enough words to say what it means to the patients to get those little cards with the drawings and kind words on them,” says Hilary Holt, AHS volunteer coordinator. “It just kind of makes your day.”
One young boy, thriiled to be invited to choose a stuffed animal, danced with glee as he bounced back to his waiting parents. Soon his feet were excitedly swinging back and forth in his chair, suddenly less nervous to be in a hospital waiting room.
“People call us the ‘happy cart’!” says Quinton. “I can’t wait to come again next week.”
The Sunshine Cards are crafted by Grade 3 students as part of a community project where students learn how they can make a difference in their community. Read more about their creation from the Lethbridge School Division: Plaxton Grade 3 students contribute cards for hospital's Ronald McDonald Comfort Cart | Lethbridge School Division.
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