Relay Queens deliver joy to Children’s
Published 11:08 am Monday, October 14, 2019
- Relay Queens Miss Carlee Desmond, from left, Young Miss Relay Mattie Whittle, Little Miss Relay AnnaBella Northcutt Tiny Miss Relay Emersyn Hamm and Wee Miss Scarlett Kate Stockdale with Children’s of Alabama staff while delivering Halloween costumes and dolls. (Not pictured Junior Miss Relay Alyssa Zeigler). (Contributed)
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer
The Relay For Life Queens had tremendous response to their recent Halloween costume drive.
On Oct. 9, the Queens delivered more than 150 costumes to Children’s of Alabama hospital.
Coordinator Sunny Mays said the group was very thankful for the “tremendous” support.
“Our community out did themselves,” Mays said.
She said some donations were also from people outside of Chilton County. The queens also coordinated collecting “My Life As” survivor dolls for girls at the hospital fighting cancer.
“Each of the queens was going to buy one of the dolls,” Mays said. “Then people started hearing about it and donated those as well.”
There were 29 dolls by the time the queens made the delivery.
The doll was designed to be a child cancer survivor and help children during their journey.
Some, like the Martin Family, chose to participate because of the impact cancer has had on their family and to honor those family member’s memory.
Child cancer survivors in Chilton County also donated to the drive.
Many local groups, such as the Jemison High School Leo Club, also collected costumes to donate.
The donations exceeded the expectations of the children’s hospital.
“They were just shocked at how much we had given, how much our community had given,” Mays said.
All patients at Children’s will have the opportunity to pick a costume (if they can leave their room) or have one brought to them.
On Halloween, the hospital will have a hall decorated and set up with trick or treating stations.
“If they can’t have candy, they give them a small toy,” Mays said. “They know what they can have and what they can’t have.”
She said it gives them a chance to enjoy an activity they ordinarily would have missed because they were in the hospital.
Mays said the Relay For Life Queens try to do something for Children’s each year in September in observance of childhood cancer awareness month.
“We always contact Children’s to see if there is a need for something that we can do,” Mays said.
The Relay for Life Queens are Miss Carlee Desmond, Junior Miss Alyssa Zeigler, Young Miss Mattie Whittle, Little Miss AnnaBella Northcutt, Wee Miss Scarlett Kate Stockdale and Tiny Miss Emersyn Hamm.
The Relay For Life pageant is a fundraiser for the West End Baptist Church Relay for Life team.
