Kids Open Sweet Shoppe for Valentine’s Day Fundraising

The children at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital will open their annual Valentine’s Day Sweet Shoppe, where they sell cards, candies, balloons, and more to the staff at the hospital.

The days leading to Valentine’s Day, the kids have been packaging candies, arranging flowers, making cards, and selecting balloons to sell. “One of the benefits of the Sweet Shoppe is that it gives the kids a chance to participate in regular activities, like their friends in school,” says Margaret Chastain, manager of pediatric health related services at Ranken Jordan. “It’s tough to be in the hospital, especially for so long like many of our kids, so celebrating like this makes them still feel included.”

As part of their Care Beyond the Bedside philosophy, the Sweet Shoppe is an integral part of therapy. “The literal arranging of the items or even tallying up the orders, is all part of their therapy,” says Margaret. “Maybe their therapist wants them to follow instructions, so the kids follow the instructions to put three candies in a bag, for example.”

All of the money raised at the Sweet Shoppe goes right back into programming for the kids.

The Sweet Shoppe is open Thursday, Feb. 13, and Friday, Feb. 14, from 11 a.m.-Noon and 3-4 p.m. All visitors must sign in with reception before proceeding to the Sweet Shoppe.