GKTW Day 4: The Castle of Miracles and a Halloween Party

I started my volunteering this morning at 8:00 in the Castle of Miracles with Karina. We had never been there before and had no idea what to expect. The place was truly magical! There were numerous attractions for families. First was the Star Fairy. Every ill child who comes to GKTW is called a ‘wish child.’ Every wish child is given a gold star that they can write their name on. The star is then placed in a treasure chest so that the Star Fairy can take it and hang it up in the Castle that night. Since the castle was built in 1996, there have been over 100,000 stars placed on the ceiling of the Castle and in the newly built Star Tower. Using an iPad, families can come back and find their star on the ceiling among the thousands of stars. The amount of technology, and the illusion it is able to create is incredible! A second major attraction in the Castle is the Pillow Tree. This is an interactive tree that kids play with in order to “grow” their own pillow. When the program is over, pillows for every child in the family “appear” in a stump next to the tree. The younger children especially seemed to love getting cute new pillows that they could carry around with them.

After making pillows or giving a star to the Star Fairy, children have a lot more options for playing in the castle. There were coloring sheets, Mr. Potatoheads, train sets, and an Enchanted Forest slide. One of the most endearing moments of the morning was watching Alexandra and her sister Marlena build ten Mr. Potatoheads with Karina. Not only was this simple game fun, Marlena did an astounding job of looking out for her mentally handicapped sister. She would congratulate Alexandra, hold her hand, and kiss her forehead as they worked. Watching the two of them was the highlight of my morning.

This afternoon we all decided to prepare for our coming evening shift. Tonight was the Halloween party and we all wanted to go in costume to volunteer. We also had learned that GKTW would be providing us dinner most nights so we needed to return some of our groceries. Though buying materials and making a costume meant forgoing a nap, Sarah J. and I were able to make awesome Superman and Spiderman costumes!

Tonight, we arrived at the Halloween party early so we could take a few group pictures and have dinner. We then went to a general volunteer meeting where they explained to us the rules and what we would be doing. Just like Candyland, there would be several stations of crafts, activities, and candy for the children. At my station, a volunteer from North Carolina and I would be helping children decorate capes and masks. At first, we had a lot of boys at our station but kept losing girls to the fairy wing making station right next to us. However, by making an abundance of pink masks and bringing out glitter pens, we were able to outfit almost every girl we saw.

While working the super hero table, I had the opportunity to meet a young man named Jordan. He was 15 and was in remission from cancer. We talked about Florida, our hometowns, and life plans. He shared with me his former desire to be a police officer and how that goal changed. He now wants to become a social worker to help families who are fighting cancer. For a 15 year old, he seemed very resolute. I admired his determination and desire to use his experiences to help others. It made me think about how I draw upon my own talents, abilities, and past to help others in my upcoming career. I hope to be able to use my role as an older sister to a child with special needs to improve my bed side manner as a doctor.

High: Helping a family find where their daughter's star was hung in the Star Tower. The location had been incorrectly labeled on their paperwork so it took nearly 30 minutes to see the star. When we finally found it, the family was so happy and the girl was beaming.

Low: A volunteer from another college group was not able to work at the station she requested. She ended up helping children make cars at the table next to mine. I never saw her smile throughout the entire night. Unfortunately, I cannot say that I would have been any less moody had it be me. I would like to think that I would be more flexible, but I just don't know. It made me really focus on the importance of putting our mission ahead of my feelings and wishes. We need to try and make every child fee special and try to bring a smile to their face.

Bucket Fill: Today, Erin did a magnificent job with the kids. She was passing out candy near me and seemed to be having a wonderful time. She would dance to the music with the kids, learn their names, and greet every family with a huge smile. Good job Erin!