Bring healing art to kids in medical crisis

Here is a tale about true radiance as witnessed at one of CHAP's partner hospitals.  I pass a patient in the hallway who has her hair in the most beautiful twist.  I complement her and she, in turn, tells me she likes my skirt and reveals that she has the same skirt in her wardrobe at home.  I invite her come to the Family Room to do art with us.  She responds favorably, but I don't see her for a couple hours.  When she does return, she arrives with her husband.  He is pushing the wheelchair behind her.  She sits down at the table and quickly dives into a jewelry project.  She has an amazing sense of style.  She starts laying out orange, crimson red and canary yellow beads.  Vibrance seems to be the order of the day.  With great clarity, she describes to me her vision.  Originality prevails and within minutes we are doing amateur wire wrapping.  All the while, she shares little parts of her private story with me.  She wants the look of fringe or a tassel on the bottom of her dramatically long necklace.  We pull out the headpins for making earrings and we tinker and scheme about how to achieve the goal.  This lady exudes radiance and gratitude.  She openly expresses her delight to have this opportunity to make something.  She has sewn all her life, but this is the first necklace she has made.  She beckons her husband to the table.  She encourages him to make a necklace for her.  He works quietly.

At the end of our hour together, she is bursting with joy.  She made a stunning one of a kind piece for herself and she is so proud of her husband.  She, in her hospital gown, wants to document her creation.  She puts it around my neck and asks me if I am willing to pose for a picture.   I tell her I cannot wait to show my co-workers the design she came up with.  She tells me where to stand and directs her husband to move a cart of books out of the shot.  She takes this picture of me.  She was incredible and she was amazing to spend time with.  As I was leaving the floor, I passed her and her spouse in the hallway.  She was seated in her wheelchair, wearing both the necklace she engineered and the purple necklace her husband made for her.  She was sharing her experience with her nurse.  She walked towards me and hugged me good-bye.  This will register as one of the most unforgettable CHAP moments.  It was a powerful intersection of art (in the hospital) and . . . Humanity.

Children's Healing Art Project (CHAP) provides over 9000 unique healing art experiences each year to children and their families in medical crisis, working in partnership with community hospitails and organizations.

We invite you to donate on GlobalGiving's Bonus Day today, Wednesday, May 13th, from 6am PST to 9pm PST.  Your generous donation during this time will be matched ensuring that CHAP can continue to bring our renowned art programs to children and families in medical crisis - always free of charge.

CHAP thanks you for your continued support!