By, Francesca Scibilia
Children’s hospitals across the U.S. experience a shortage of toy donations every year. Many people think to donate during the holidays but at other times of the year, these hospitals receive little to no donations. By the time summer begins, they have to ration toys to the children so that their supply is able to last until the next holiday season. Hospitals use these toys as entertainment for patients or as small prizes when they have done something especially brave. They are a way to bring happiness to these children who are forced to spend many days in a hospital bed. For my Girl Scout Gold Award project, I have decided to fix this issue by working with the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital in New Brunswick, which has over 100 sick children staying with them at one time. To do this, I have been raising awareness of the issue and working to increase donations sent to the hospital. The QR code on the flyer will send you straight to the hospital’s Amazon wishlist where you can view a list of approved items starting at just a couple of dollars to send directly to the hospital for the children. I ask that you help bring some light into the days of the children in the hospital by scanning that code and donating an item and to please share this information with your friends and family.