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June 18, 2004/Sivan 29 5764, Vol. 56, No.39
A caring closet
LEISAH NAMM
Managing Editor
Nurit Shachar, Hebrew/Judaica specialist of the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Preschool, collects tzedakah from preschoolers for The Caring Closet at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Children, from left, are Aerin Schnaid, Zachary Quen and Ashlyn Bradshaw.
Photo by Leisah Namm
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A visit to a hospital's radiology department is typically not a pleasant experience for a person of any age, much less a child.
To make these visits more bearable, children of the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Preschool help fund The Caring Closet at Phoenix Children's Hospital.
This closet holds a variety of toys - from Beanie Babies and light-up necklaces to "sippy" cups and neon light sticks. When a child visits the radiology department for treatment such as X-rays and MRIs, he or she chooses a toy from the closet.
"Kids come from home to have sometimes very invasive procedures that can be very scary," says Heidi Ross, a certified Child Life Specialist at Phoenix Children's Hospital's radiology department. "The Caring Closet makes it so they have something positive to look forward to - picking out that prize that they get when they're done."
The idea for The Caring Closet originated in 2002 after JCC Preschool parent Jody Stachel learned that her niece Samantha was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. A fellow mother shared an article with Stachel about a couple collecting toys for young patients of a Phoenix hospital in memory of their child, and Stachel decided she wanted to do the same. She brought the idea to Phoenix Children's Hospital last summer in honor of Samantha, who is now 9 years old and "doing very well."
For several years, the JCC Preschool collected tzedakah and donated it to a different charity at the end of each year, says Stachel, who had at least one of her two children - Jonathan and Allison - at the preschool from 1995-2002.
In 2002, she approached Preschool Director Joanie Charnow with making the Phoenix Children's Hospital the recipient of the children's tzedakah. Charnow agreed.
Doug Daniels, owner of the Closet Factory, donated the materials and labor for the building of the closet. One parent paid for bins, another painted the outside of the closet. The Caring Closet began distributing toys in summer 2003.
The preschool raised $1,200 during its first year Stachel says. She estimates $2,500 would keep the closet filled throughout the year. "I want the closet to be filled all the time," she says.
To make a donation, send a check made out to Phoenix Children's Hospital - Child Life Department (with a notation of Radiology Caring Closet) to Phoenix Children's Hospital Child Life Department, Attn: Nancy Southall, 1919 E. Thomas Road, Phoenix 85016.
To find out more about The Caring Closet, call Stachel, 480-213-9883.
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