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enCouraging Love and Lots of It!
The Importance of Being Loved, Giving Love, and Feeling Love This Valentine’s Day
Most people think of Valentine’s Day as a day that is celebrated only if you are in a relationship. While this may be true for many couples, Valentine’s Day is so much more than fancy dinners and expensive gifts. It’s about the act of loving, and being loved in return. Everybody loves to be loved. The feeling of knowing that there is someone out there who cares about you can make all of the difference, especially when going through a difficult time. There is no better feeling than knowing you are not alone and that somebody cares.
This Valentine’s Day, we sent love to children who need it most- those who are currently battling illnesses in the hospital. Through our Valentine’s Day Send a Smile, Send a Bear campaign, we provided over 40 sick children a cuddly friend to show them that they are appreciated, loved, and never alone. These bears become a source of comfort for the child and a part of their medical journey every step of the way.
Throughout 2016, over 2,400 bears were sent to hospitals in the tri-state area to show that these children are never alone, and that they are loved! Recently, enCourage Kids began to expand our bear program by sending 60 bears to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles this holiday season.
Doug Leffin, Child Life Specialist at CHLA, shared, “The children at CHLA have a wide variety of medical needs, but they each have their own unique responses to their hospital experience. Your special gifts really made an impact and created a place for the children to feel a bit safer and more supported during their hospital stay. That is worth so much to the children, their parents, and the staff!”
These teddy bears are much more than just a physical object for each patient to hold. There’s a mutual emotional understanding that somebody who loves and cares for them has given them a bear, then the bear is with them from the start. Sharon Granville, Director of Child Life Services at the Phyllis and David Komansky Center for Children’s Health NewYork-Presbyterian /Weill Cornell wrote about them in such a way that truly emphasizes the importance of love for these kids.
“We primarily use the enCourage Kids bears for our pre admission tour program, each child who comes in for a tour receives one and the child life specialist uses the bear with medical play to help teach about anesthesia and any bandages a child can expect to wake up with.The bear encourages bravery and comfort by providing an emotionally safe way to learn about new healthcare experiences. Play is a child’s work so for a child to have a ‘vehicle’ to do so empowers him/her to explore, learn and master new experiences. I personally love the size of the bear, its perfect for medical play, big enough to examine and bandage while being a great size for hugging.”
Because it’s not all about receiving chocolate or flowers- it not about that kind of love on Valentine’s Day. It’s about being kind and giving love, showing that the feeling of love means so much more than being in a relationship. That special feeling of love is shown, and received throughout acts of kindness towards others. That feeling of love is shown through appreciation, and the act of caring for one another. Because when you show someone you love them, you feel love in return.
Chocolates, cards, flowers, and gifts all have a price tag. While our bear has a small price too, the ultimate end of a child feeling loved, cared about, and having a friend with them to hang on to for another day of hope- that’s priceless.
