Local School Children Learn More than ABC’s while Giving Toys to Florida Children’s Hospital Pediatric Patients

April 7, 2008 – The marriage of two letters in the alphabet created an opportunity for pre-Kindergarten students to learn the importance of helping those in need.  Park Maitland students attended a wedding for the letter Q and U on Friday, April 4th at the Quinn Strong Park in Maitland.  The goal is to help the kids learn about words like quack, quilt, and quite.  The Q and U nuptials are a tradition for Park Maitland students, but this year, students and their parents brought a wedding gift.  Not for the newlywed letters, but for patients at Florida Children’s Hospital.  For kids in the hospital, these toys bring a welcome distraction from their medical conditions.  “Kids can be laughing and having a good time while in the hospital getting better, it doesn’t have to be a scary place,” said Florida Hospital Child Life Manager, Traci Woods.

On Monday, Park Maitland students and their parents brought in car loads of toys, loaded them up in red wagons, and delivered them to the Florida Children’s Hospital playrooms.  The carts had everything from toys for infants, play Doh, and electronics (even a Nintendo Wii).  

Davina Spillmann, Childhood development assistant at Park Maitland said this event is a life lesson for her students. “Now is the best time to learn a habit that can last a whole lifetime,” Spillmann said.

Florida Children’s Hospital has a partnership with Disney to create the “Children’s Hospital of the Future,” and will be the first hospital to bear the Disney name.  The expansion and renovation will be complete in 2010, and will have 200 beds; private, family-centered pediatric rooms; a dedicated pediatric emergency department; an Advanced Center for Pediatric Surgery; destination pediatric programs including advanced surgery, oncology, neurosurgery, cardiology, transplant services, and full-service pediatrics; and an innovative health and obesity platform.


For more information, contact Florida Hospital Media Relations at 407/303-8217.

www.floridahospitalmedicalnews.com