The young patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta don’t stop arriving just because there’s a coronavirus pandemic.
Unfortunately, the teen volunteers — VolunTEENS — at Children’s were forced to.
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But that doesn’t mean they stopped entertaining and interacting with kids, however, or that they stopped supporting the staff.
“We wanted to create a program that would engage our VolunTEENs throughout the summer while fulfilling needs within the hospital,” volunteer coordinator Katherine Medlock said. “This opportunity is an eight-week program that offers our returning teens the chance to give back to the hospital from afar.”
So the VolunTEEN program went virtual this year.
Fifty teens from previous programs answered Medlock’s call to return in an online capacity. The volunteers ensure the kids at Children’s still feel like kids and stay entertained during a time when both visitors and group activities are limited.
“Our hope is that the VolunTEENs’ optimistic attitudes are felt throughout the hallways, even with visitor restrictions in place,” Medlock said.
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For the kids, the volunteers put together crafting kits, read virtually to patients, conduct donation drives and even write jokes that are read by staff via closed-circuit television.
Credit: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Credit: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
The staff broadcast from Seacrest Studios Atlanta, which was donated by the Ryan Seacrest Foundation and is at Children's at Egleston hospital.
For the staff, the teens put together goodie bags and make encouraging and uplifting signs that are hung in the hospitals.
This year's program began June 1 and ends July 24. Medlock said she hopes the 2021 VolunTEEN program will run in-house as usual. If you know a teen who would be interested, the application process will begin in early February 2021. Teens must be 15-18 years old to participate and must commit to one day a week for five hours. Click here to learn more and to apply for VolunTEENS.
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