I love singing for the kids with Pickleberry Pie! Being able to go and spread some music love throughout children's hospitals and facilities is so meaningful and important. I have an older brother with cerebral palsy and he was a kid that was in and out of hospitals his whole life. It can be very hard for the families and the kids who go through it. Having access to live music is not a luxury that is often available in those environments. I love that Pickleberry Pie is making an effort to fill that void by providing much needed music to children in care facilities. I'm so happy to be a part of it.
Pickleberry Pie is a wonderful organization that provides joy and the healing power of music to kids in hospitals as well as schools for kids with disabilities. I have seen children's eyes light up when Pickleberry Pie performers transform their day with songs. Pickleberry performers also brighten the day for parents and hospital staff. Pickleberry Pie performers are excellent, flexible, professional and caring.
Pickleberry Pie brings the healing power of music to children (and their care givers) in hospitals and special need facilities. We schedule performances of vetted musicians either in person or by zoom.
We have provided over 6,000 free concerts for kids in about 60 locations. It is a wonderful national organization that has a clear mission.
I am proud to be on the board of this dedicated non-profit.
It must be awful being a kid in a hospital. Strange things and people all around and your folks being worried and frightened. Picleberry Pie helps kids get through the anxiety and worry with musical programs for kids in hospitals. They provide a respite from the day to day routine. I first got involved when I thought "what a great idea!"
It's a national organization and contributions help it grow and brighten kids' days from coast to coast.
I have been involved with Pickleberry Pie since 2015 and a member of the Board of Directors for over 7 years. Pickleberry Pie has a beautiful and important mission: It brings the healing joy of music to children experiencing illness and to their families and caregivers. It does so by bringing professional musicians to hospitals and other health care facilities that cater to the needs of children afflicted with acute or chronic medical conditions. Pickleberry Pie’s genesis was 37 years ago, when two moms started a free kids’ radio station. Twelve years later, Pickleberry Pie began to bring the music live to children. Ever since then, Pickleberry Pie has been providing children and their family members with felicity and delight through joyful music. I am proud to be a member of Pickleberry Pie and to support its marvelous work in enhancing children’s physical and emotional wellbeing as they face acute or chronic illness. Bravo, Pickleberry Pie!
Pickleberry Pie sends smiles and laughter to children in hospitals. I have been sent to Johns Hopkins Hospital, among others, and experienced the joy of seeing the mood of an overburdened parent and hurting child change to delight when my puppets strike a funny bone. A doctor once moved out of the way saying, “She needs you much more than me.” I support Pickleberry Pie with my time and treasure. I ask the same of you.!
I have been performing as a children’s entertainer for decades. Pickleberry Pie is a nonprofit organization who serves people that can not get out of the hospital because of their medical conditions. One of the most valuable experiences I had with Pickleberry Pie is when I went to a pediatric hospital to perform. It was raining, so we had the concert inside. As I set up, the patients came into the room. All of the patients were escorted by a 1-1 assistant. Most of the patients were in wheel chairs, non verbal, and severely disabled. The coordinator of the event at the hospital watched me, and asked, “Are you okay with this.” I replied, “This is my wheel-house.”
Pickleberry Pie attracts all kinds of entertainers. I have almost 4 decades of experience working with special needs children as a special education teacher. The art of being able to perform for non-verbal wheelchair bound people is to see the spark light up inside each patient as the music starts, and making that connection is priceless.
Pickleberry Pie offers a wide range of entertainers who meet the needs of the patients.
I love Pickle berry Pie! As a musician it's great to share my various instruments and songs with diverse groups of children and get them moving and grooving... Pickle berry Pie makes it all happen.
I have been grateful for the opportunity to work and play for Pickleberry Pie as a musical performer at a variey of hospital and long-term care facilities. There is nothing quite like the feeling of bringing music, joy and great fun to children and their caregivers who endure daily health challenges. The group concerts and the interactive sharings with kids and their families are both so inspirational! The Pickleberry Pie organization is well organized and able to expand its wonderful reach.
I was singing a song called "Who's Good" for a small group of young, emotionally traumatized children. I would say, "Who's Good," and the kids would reply, "I am!" One girl did not say a word. When she was leaving, she stopped, looked me in the eye, and said, "I am."
Pickleberry Pie facilitates magic. Bringing live music to families in children's hospitals can make an obvious positive impact on everyone in the room. I have been making music for Picklberry Pie in hospitals around Chicago for years and feel blessed with the opportunity to make a difference!
As a recipient of support from Pickleberry Pie we have been more than satisfied with the performers that they have provided. Recently we had a wonderful group! During their visit, we had a full house and the patients, siblings, and parents really enjoyed it. Thank you so much Pickleberry Pie for sending wonderful musicians our way. We appreciate you bringing the fun and healing power of music to the our facility.
While I've only been involved with Pickleberry Pie (PBP) for a short time, my experiences have been quite positive. My started out by entertaining one of the wonderful groups supported by PBP. It is heart warming for me to interact with the children as they sing, dance and act silly during my performance. With great joy, that evolved into my volunteering to help out with administrative work. The people I have worked with at PBP are both personable, inspiring and committed to the organization's mission. I hope to continue my association with Pickleberry Pie for quite some time.
We here at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago cannot speak highly enough of Pickleberry Pie. Monthly, this organization sends us a musician to enter our patients, families and staff. They begin by playing in our outpatient clinics for our families that are waiting for appointments, or entertain the constant flow of people throughout the lobby. The musician then joins us for our Morning Jam with Jim show which is broadcast live on our closed-circuit TV network, Skylight TV. There is a rotation of musicians each month and every single one of them is professional, talented, engaging, and passionate. It is truly a one-of-a-kind program and helps to make a difference in our hospitalizes families' stay.
I am a singer / songwriter and love to perform for the children. At a recent performance I ended with the Beatles, "All You Need is Love". It was a special needs school and the children were wonderful and you could see in their own way they were soaking in the tunes. As I was taking down my gear I head a little voice in the back sing "all you need is love". It was a tender moment for me and validated why I love Pickleberry Pie. Thank you Irene Light for allowing me to entertain the kids. I look forward to each performance and each one has special memories that I will not soon forget. Love Always, Guitar Larry
I am a performing songwriter and have had the good fortune to have been associated with PJ Swift and the Pickleberry team of volunteers for more than 20 years. One of the Pickleberry volunteers, Irene Light coordinated a number of concerts and hospital visits for me in the DC and VA areas this November, for which I am most grateful. Not only are the volunteers passionate about what they do, they also provide an invaluable service to many children who are hurting or in need. I am thrilled to be part of this great non-profit organization.
I am musician that has had the pleasure of working in 4 different Children's hospitals in the Chicago area through Pickleberry Pie. I've seen firsthand how a little respite from the constant focus of illness can lift the spirits of not only the patient, but the whole family of the patient. It has been wonderful to work with Pickleberry Pie!
I a singer/songwriter, storyteller and writer for young people. I have worked for Pickleberry Pie this past year in two children's hospitals in Los Angeles. It is a wonderful organization that brings entertainers into children's wards and hospitals. They are very professional and a pleasure to work with. I like it that they care enough about the children to make sure, when you go into the hospital, that you do not refer to the children's illness and that you stay sensitive to performing material that is uplifting and in no way reminds the children of their condition. Music, songs, stories, magic, all the performing arts are healing and uplifting. It is a real credit to PJ swift and Pickleberry Pie that they recognize this and have made it possible for so many children nation-wide to have live entertainment while they are in hospital. It is so important. THANK YOU.
Pickleberry Pie Inc is by far the very best volunteer organization that I have ever had the pleasure of working with...Their primary focus is always to provide good and, most importantly, fun entertainment for the children...
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These last several years, I have had the privilege of playing music for the children, sometimes along with their parents, at various facilities in the D.C. and Baltimore area. These children just want to be able to smile and music is the common language that reaches them...Without the never-ending support of Pickleberry Pie Inc., much of this would not have been possible. Today's economic situation is making it increasingly difficult to find funding, but the demand is also greater, and perhaps more important, than ever.
I am a singer/songwriter/performer for children and worked with Pickleberry Pie Very Special Concert Series for several years in both Los Angeles and San Francisco (I now live in New Zealand).
I am not sure who it benefits the most: the young patients, their parents and families, the staff or me!
All I know is that the "playroom" is suddenly filled with smiles and singing and sometimes even dancing! The children and adults keep rhythm with shakers and sticks (which are left behind for the children to keep). The joy is "infectious" and pain, fear and stress seem to miraculously disappear (at least temporarily).
And for those who could not make it to the playroom, I visited individual rooms afterwards and I can't tell you how rewarding it is to watch a child who is bedridden forget their troubles for a while through the healing power of music or being read a story. And how many times have been told by a parent what a relief it is to see their little one smile and sing?! Pickleberry Pie is a godsend.
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I was first introduced to Kids Public Radio several years ago as a children's artist and when I heard of the Pickleberry Pie Very Special Concerts Series (artists performing in hospitals) I was eager to get involved as I was aware of the healing effects of music on young hospital patients, their families and the hospital staff. I have been with The Very Special Concert Series in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles for over five years now and can testify firsthand to the powerful and joyful effects these "musical" visits have on the children, bringing smiles and laughter and a sense of fun and comfort to what is often for them a painful and scary situation. Kids Public Radio also brings sunshine and smiles into the lives of many families, without commericals!
I've worked with Pickleberry Pie for several years and value their professionalism in coordinating my hospital visits and hospitals tell me how pleased they are working with Pickleberry Pie too.
My visits amuse parents and hospital staff as I transform children into magical performers. Children love prizes and I bring plenty that are perfect for everyone from toddlers to teens so the fun continues after I've gone. I remember one smiling 7-year-old boy said something seldom heard from children in the hospital. He turned to his mom and said, "I don't want to go home."
I live vicariously through the performances given at the East Coast Pickleberry Pie hospitals and special needs schools. Over the past eight years, entertainers have been sending me glowing feedback about the happiness they have created during their shows and bedside visits.
I get to see the photos that have been taken with physically challenged kids "dancing" in their wheelchairs; the child who keeps practicing the magic tricks taught to her by one of our devoted magicians and the girl who "needed" one of our performers to be there for her after surgery and during recovery from her chemo treatment. Of course he came!
These are the types of performers we have.....ones with talent, creativity and heart.
It's an incredibly satisfying feeling to share music with hospital kids, to see the room transform into an almost magical place, where ailments are forgotten and the pure spirit of the children is honored and celebrated. We bring shakers, rhythm sticks, kazoos, and bells to help make a bigger band, and even the nurses, doctors, and cleaning staff join the families in singing and playing. I believe it's therapeutic. The Child Life staff has told me many stories about how a Pickleberry Pie performer was a catalyst for real change for the better.
I have been playing in hospitals and special needs classrooms on behalf of Pickleberry Pie for about 5 years. Not only is the positive effect of our performances visible in the smiles of the children for whom we play, but also in the eyes of their families and even hospital care-givers. In fact, our regional hospital in Santa Barbara, CA (Cottage Hospital) just asked us to double the number of performances each month.
I'm incredibly proud to be an in-room representative of Pickleberry Pie and to bring all those smiles to hospitalized children and their families.
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I have participated in Pickleberry Pie hospital concerts for 3 years in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, CA. We also include 2 special education classes in Santa Barbara. This program positively affects not just the children in hospitals and special education classrooms, but entire families, hospital workers, and aides, as well. In situations of sadness, grief, fear, frustration, and exhaustion, the Pickleberry Pie team of musicians brings joy, humor, and personal connection to those in need.
I teach in a public school which serves students with severe diasabilites. Pickleberry Pie provides professional, high quality performing arts to our students who would otherwise never get a chance to experience the awe and wonder of a live show! The top notch performers tailor their acts to our special population, and are unfazed by their challenging behaviors. We love Pickleberry Pie!!
I began performing for children in Bay Area hospitals last year through Pickleberry Pie. The first thing I realized is how "golden" Pickleberry Pie is with the staffs at the different hospitals. The nurses and other staff members see the positive effects the performers have on the children and their families and no price can be put on that. In fact, their is no price as the hospitals pay nothing for this wonderful service. As a paramedic for the past 25 years and as a children's music performer, I have never experienced the appreciation for what I do more than when performing for sick children. I can't help but choke up myself when mother's start crying out of gratitude when my band comes in and starts performing for their child. My hope is to see Pickleberry Pie expand and be able to serve every children's hospital and pediatric ward across the country.
Pickleberry Pie makes a difference to the lives of children who are sick and need a lift. I have seen smiles and yes even laughter from sick kids. What moves me the most is when they start singing. I am proud of my affliation with Pickleberry Pie.
Hats off to Pickleberry Pie for their wonderful efforts in reaching out to kids in hospitals and special learning centers. Cathy & Marcy enjoyed several performances and workshops and recommend the program! www.cathymarcy.com
As a Pickleberry Pie performer, I have found the most important thing we do is bring a little joy in the lives of very young hospital patients... and their parents. The parents are always so very grateful that an otherwise dreary day has been lit by a golden glow as their child smiles, claps, and sometimes sings along, too. During bedside visits, both the child and his or her parents gets to forget for just a little while the stress of a hospitalization as we share together the joy of music. For tiny children, I bring puppets, shakers, bells. For older children, I give a very cool instant guitar lesson. Perhaps most memorable was a recent visit to a family whose two children (ages 1 and 2) were both spending their birthday in the hospital. How wonderful that Pickleberry Pie made it possible for these children to have a special birthday concert! I hope Pickleberry Pie will be able to bring the joy of music to sick children in many, many more pediatric wards throughout the nation.
Imagine you have a child being hospitalized with a serious illness. Wouldn't you want to do whatever possible to provide an uplifting experience to help alleviate the frightening set of circumstances with which your child is dealing? The Pickleberry Pie hospital project is doing just that by making quality music and story videos available on demand for children who are hospitalized. For 23 years this public charity has expanded its reach to 22 hospitals nationwide serving about40,000 children and their families yearly. Pickleberry Pie is an all volunteer organization with no paid administrator, no paid director, no overhead, or development costs. All funds raised suppport the kids directly. Everything Pickleberry Pie does is for free so that there is no charge for concerts, webcast, or other activities. There are 3 free webcast audio channels worldwide on the internet, all free of commercials. In addition to providing programs for hospitals Pickleberry Pie has programs for elementary schools teaching students songwriting and providing a radio channel where kids can do their own radio shows. The Pickleberry Pie hospital project will soon be made available to for the GetWellNetwork hospitals across the country. My colleague, Irene Light, has worked tirelessly to gain access to quality videos and DVD's for the program. I am a member of the Review Committee for Pickleberry Pie and have the difficult task of helping Irene choose the best videos possible for hospitalized children. All the videos Irene forwards to me are superb in the quality of the music and accompanying graphics. My job on the Review Committee would be easy if I could select every video Irene sends me, but on the other hand, it's good to know Irene has access to so much excellent material ,and all the choices I make will be good ones.
I have had the privilege to be involved with Pickleberry Pie Inc. for several years as just one of many visiting performers at the Children's Hospitals in the Los Angeles area. I cannot stress enough how much joy and emotional support these visits by all the artists bring to the families of these wonderful children are going through so much confusion and pain. The music is the medicine and it would not be available if not for this caring and loving organization. Dan Crow
Pickleberry Pie was invited to send a performer to the new theater at Miami Children's Hospital.The theater was filled with parents and teen volunteers and about 7 children from the hospital. One of the children, who was 5 yrs. old, was wearing a stocking cap; so she may have had surgery or treatments of some type. The girl's mother went up to our performer, Mary Jo Huff, and said that her daughter probably would not make it through the presentation because she had trouble sitting still for very long. She also shared that the child had lost her speech and had been non-verbal for months. Not only did the child sit through the 45 min. show but she also tried to imitate hand motions that Mary Jo was teaching for a song. Later on, she got up and danced. Her Mom got up and danced with her! Then the Mom went up to Mary Jo, thanked her for being there and said it was like a miracle. Mary Jo said that she hadn't caused this to happen. It was the music. It was an incident clearly showing how music can aid in healing! Mary Jo was so excited after the show that she had to call Pickleberry Pie me to let me know what had happened since she herself was so excited to be part of this breakthrough experience. It is reassuring to know that Mary Jo is part of the PickleberryPie/GetWellNetwork programming * and that the children can see her everyday as part of our story and music content. Hopefully this programming will lead to many more "small miracles."
I've been an active member of Pickleberry Pie for two years. Volunteering with this organization has been an amazing experience so far. All of the funds we've raised have supported kids directly. I've volunteered to provide entertainment in the form of stories, music, videos, and activities in order to make hospitals less frightening to young kids. Everything we do, we do for the kids. We've provided concerts for them and educational activities to provide them with inspiration and hope. This organization introduces children to the musical world and allows them to communicate through it.