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In 1998, I was invited to dress in a fur costume to entertain the
children at the Celebration of Champions, an event for kids battling
Cancer sponsored by Rady Childrens Hospital. I was the "love bear",
a brown bear with a big red heart on its chest. I had the most profoundly
inspiring day. You cannot imagine the feeling when a small child
sees you! I was standing about 30 feet behind a small family, when
the youngest boy, about 3 or 4 years old, turned around and spotted
me. His eyes lit up and a giant smile came across his face. He yelped,
dropped his father's hand and began running toward me at full gallop.
I braced myself as he threw himself into my arms, giggling and grinning.
The rest of his group followed, and soon I was covered with kids.
It was an awesome experience!
At
the same event, a teenager came over to me for a hug, and started
weeping softly. I let her cry for awhile, and then asked why she
was crying. She said she was crying for her brother. "Is he here,
I asked?" "No, he died last year. But every year we came to this
celebration with him, and this time we came to honor his memory".
With that, we both started bawling, she for her lost brother, me
for the generosity of her spirit. I was deeply touched.
After the event,
I was sitting with the other animals, Steve and Pete, recovering
from the heat (It is HOT in those costumes!) and someone said, "Wouldn't
it be great if we owned these costumes, so we could do this more
than once a year?" Wouldn't it, indeed. A dream was born!
Over the next
year I often thought about that day. Here was an opportunity to
do something that not only benefits the children, but deeply touches
and moves the volunteers. Kids are entertained and loved, and volunteers
are touched and inspired.
I began asking
friends if they wanted to be a part of it. I got all yesses! Gail
made phone calls, Carol donated a costume, and Jerry created a website
for us. Pete and Steve each purchased their own costume. Sharon
took photographs. We began doing events in July 2000. The Joan Kroc
Village for Homeless Families, the Polinsky Center, and the ChildHelp
facility for abused children were our first.
In 2000, Father
Joe invited the Big Animals to entertain his homeless children on
Christmas Eve. Foster teens from the San Pasqual Academy wore the
Big Animals costumes for the first time that night. So began a relationship
with these foster teens that continues to this day. It is especially
poignant since these teens lives have often not involved a lot of
love or trust. By entertaining the little children, they are learning
the awesome power of giving of oneself and enhancing their self-esteem.
This is perhaps the most important educational lesson of all!
Since 2000,
our 40-50 yearly events bring joy to approximately 4,000 children
annually! In 2009, Big Animals for Little Kids became a 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization. Now in 2010, we have expanded completely
out of our donated space (Thanks a million for your generosity and
patience, SB!) and we are seeking expanded quarters.
We are a resource
for volunteers and children. We supply our volunteers with costumes
and supplies. They supply the love. The kids win, the volunteers
win, it's a beautiful thing!
Frank Fernicola,
Founder
Big Animals For Little Kids |
How the Big Animals for Little Kids Impacted
the Life of a Child
My son received
an unexpected visit from the Big Animals for Little Kids while
he was in the ICU recovering from brain surgery. Frank Fernicola
and the "animals" were doing an event near Children's Hospital
when they learned that Adam was in the hospital and decided to
stop by.
I was at my
son's bedside when I looked up to see a large white rabbit, a
big brown dog, a magician and a face painter heading straight
for us. I whispered to my son, "Look who's come to see you." Tears
rolled down my face as Adam's face lit up like the fourth of July
as these larger than life animals circled his bed. It was in that
moment, I knew the surgery was a success and it was also in that
moment that we were all about to learn just how much a random
act of kindness disguised as a rabbit, dog, magician and face
painter would have in the life a child.
Across from
Adam's room, there was a room that had been transformed to resemble
a little girls' bedroom. The hospital curtains replaced with tie-died
ones, the bedspread and sheets were bright pink and on the glass
walls were posters of princesses. Lying in the bed was a fragile
little girl with a Hello Kitty bandana wrapped around her head.
Her mother was sitting next to her and they were both fixated
on what was happening across the hall. There was laughter coming
from our room, happiness had taken over and Adam was having his
face painted. I was so overwhelmed with relief and joy; I stepped
out of the room for a second. That mom from across the way jumped
from her daughters' side and headed towards me.
She asked who
was in the room and I shared they were my friends - the Big Animals
for Little Kids. Her eyes welled and her voice crackled as she
began to tell me that her daughter has been at Children's quite
awhile, in the ICU for several weeks. She went to tell me that
when her daughter saw those "animals" walking down the hall and
into my son's room, she smiled. This was the first time her daughter
had smiled in a very long time. "Do you think they would come
see my daughter?" she tearfully asked me. Without hesitation I
replied "of course they would." This mom was overwhelmed with
grief, her daughter was dying of cancer and all she knew was those
'animals' in my sons' room were making her daughter smile.
I stood in the
doorway of Adam's room as the rabbit and the dog made their way
around the nurses' station and through the doorway to this precious
little girl. I could see her face glowing with excitement. The
killer of this child had fled, there was no cancer, and there
was no death. There was simply joy and laughter. As pure as freshly
fallen snow, love and life consumed that room. I don't know how
long they stayed; I just stood in the doorway of Adam's room full
of gratitude for the moments of escape the Big Animals for Little
Kids had just brought us all.
The curtains
of that little girl's room were closed two days later; she had
passed away.
Kelley Carpenter
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