Alliance For Kids is an amazing nonprofit that started in West Palm Beach, Florida at Palm Beach Children's Hospital and is now expanding nation-wide, we have provided our programs to over 20,000 patients already. Alliance For Kids provides so many great innovative programs, one that is very well loved is the Monkey For Me program. This program provides an ultra soft monkey shell, stuffing (with a heart included), coloring book, birth certificate and about me page and crayons all in a nice reusable tote. The patients can then have the monkey to hold and be comforted by all throughout their hospital stay. That is just one example of the wonderful programs Alliance For Kids provides. I am so proud to be a part of this organization and so excited to see what more we can achieve.
Another program that is extremely innovative is our Super Serum Animation Series. We are in the process of creating 15 procedural prep videos at 15 diagnostic videos to help explain in kid terms, what a little patient will be experiencing during their hospital stay. The videos are a mixture of 2D and 3D and help walk the patient through exactly what will be happening including terms the doctors and nurses will use and sounds. Being prepared for what is going to happen helps ease the stress and scariness of the hospital, even if it is just a little bit, which is always our number one goal.
This charity just continues to come up with new and innovative ways to support the children at Palm Beach Children's Hospital in West Palm Beach, FL. One of the long-term hospitalized patients recently had a dream that he was rapping at his concert and all of his hospital "family" was in the audience wearing t-shirts with his name on it. Alliance for Kids made it happen for him. They got a small venue with a stage; found a donor to reproduce the t-shirt that he envisioned in his dream; and 50+ members of "his family" were there to cheer him on (plus everyone in the restaurant!). A local TV station learned about the concert from the Alliance for Kids facebook page and came to the hospital to interview him - it ended up on a national spot. A local studio also has given him studio time time to record his songs and it most likely will be produced on a label. AWESOME!
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I worked as a volunteer with Palm Beach Children's Hospital for 6 1/2 years. The last year I spent time working with Jane Miller and Alliance for Kids with the goal of promoting the Child Life program at the hospital. I have helped with the Monkey for Me program in setting up a booth at community events to allow the public to "purchase" a "monkey for me" bag so that every newly admitted patient will receive a welcome gift upon arrival. Each donor gets to sign the monkey's birth certificate saying they were the donor. The program has been well received and our patients learn that people they don't even know care about their welfare.
In November 2013, I was given the opportunity to become part of the Child Life team as a Child Life Assistant. My job is to work with the volunteers for Palm Beach Children's Hospital and work with the generous donors in our community. Being on both sides with Alliance for Kids and the Child Life program has given me an even greater appreciation for the work the Child Life team does. Without Child Life none of the donations would get to the patients; volunteers would not be directed in how to work with the patients; playrooms might go unattended; new programs such as the Bravery Bands, or the Monkey for Me, or ceiling tile painting would not materialize. The Child Life team is responsible for all of the special activities planned for the patients, ie Teddy Bear Clinic, Princess Parties, Halloween events, Halloween party & parade, Christmas Party, concerts, High School Student Council visits - activity with the patients, book drives, and so much more. This charity directly benefits the patients and their families at Palm Beach Children's hospital on a daily basis. It is awesome, and I am grateful to be a part of it.
Alliance For Kids is an exceptional nonprofit organization that I am so proud to be a part of! Childhood hospitalization can be stressful and scary. Playing and just being a kid take a back seat to the daily demands of procedures and medications. Alliance For Kids is devoted to helping the Child Life Team at Palm Beach Children's Hospital make each child's hospital experience as normal and positive as possible. Many times kids don't even want to leave because "the hospital was so fun!" Alliance for kids helps make many activities possible like the annual Halloween party, and Superhero Carnival, while also providing many daily services like bedside activities and visual boards for teen patients. We also hope to create awareness of the importance of Child Life and raise funds to hire more Child Life Specialists for the children's hospital.
Alliance For Kids has been so incredible at Palm Beach Children's Hospital. They are so devoted to making each and every child's experience at the hospital a positive one. From big events like the Annual Superhero Carnival to the small interactions that put a smile a the children's faces, this organization is sincerely focused on the children and their families. This extremely creative and dynamic team of individuals caters directly to the children and I am so incredibly proud to be a part of this growing organization!