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Kids contribute to cause
By Lucille Hagege, The Suburban
Photo by Courtesy of Comfy Cozy Fund
Jake Shtern, 8, and Devon Weinberger, 10, at the first Kids' Committee meeting
of the Comfy Cozy Fund.
After 130 weeks of chemotherapy to battle Leukemia, eight-year-old Jake Shtern
is finally cancer free.but that doesn't mean he has stopped fighting the
devastating disease.
Shtern noticed that while he had lots of visitors and toys to distract him
during his hospital stays, many of the other sick children didn't have any of
those things to help them ease their suffering. For six months, he nagged his
mother Nathalie to find a way for him to help the kids, and that's how the
Comfy Cozy Fund was born, an organization that raises money to provide a homey
environment for the young patients at the Montreal Children's. Three years
later, the charity has expanded to allow other children to start raising money
for the hospital, too.
"We had a lot of kids asking 'Oh, I want to do something; Oh, I want to help,"
said Nathalie Shtern, of the Kids Committee, which is open to kids only.
"We wanted to have this committee just for the kids because we want to give them
a taste of what it's like to help others," said Nathalie, whose two girls Sara,
10, and Isabelle, 6, are already actively involved in the organization.
The children of adult Comfy Cozy volunteers had their first official meeting on
July 19. After sharing milk and cookies, the 40 children ranging from ages three
to 10 brainstormed gift and activity ideas they thought sick children might
enjoy. Other committee activities were writing letters to hospitalized children
and selling 1,800 chocolate bars door-to-door - an initiative so successful they
sold out in just two weeks.
Samantha Cohen, 10, and her nine-year-old sister Holly met the Shtern family
through school and decided to help by attending the Kids Committee meeting.
"I liked the meeting because I think it's nice to help sick children," said
Holly.
Samantha particularly enjoyed writing letters to sick kids because her asthma
attacks and food allergies have led her to visit the hospital many times.
"I wrote that I go to the hospital sometimes too when I have peanut allergies
and that maybe I would see them there," said Samantha, who hopes to be an
allergist or a nurse when she grows up.
The Comfy Cozy Fund will have their third fundraiser Aug. 20, in Hampstead Park
from 2 to 7 p.m. featuring inflatable rides, ponies, carnival games and lots of
food. Proceeds from this year's event will also go to the hospital's Asthma
Clinic.
For the event, the Kid's Committee will be in charge of the lemonade stand, with
each child taking 20-minute shifts with an adult supervisor.
"It's going to be a blast," says Jake who is looking forward to selling lemonade
and drawing the raffle. "I'm going to play for about 15 minutes then get to
work," he said.
Nathalie Shtern says the committee is open to any kid who wants to help, so long
as he or she is old enough to understand the cause.
To date, the Comfy Cozy Fund has raised more than $120,000 and helped equip the
Oncology Floor and Treatment centre with Game Boys, DVD players, art supplies,
private phones, slippers and much more.
Lise Gagnon, child life specialist at the Montreal Children's Hospital, says
Comfy Cozy's contributions have actually made her job easier. "The kids know
it's painful but a comfy environment can change the way they perceive the
procedure. If we can distract from the needle prick with a toy or something, I
see that it makes a difference.
"It can get pretty boring for children here, especially when their energy levels
are low because of the chemotherapy treatments," said Gagnon. "Organizations
like Comfy Cozy help make the children's memory of being sick a positive one."
For more information, e-mail [log in to unmask]
2006-08-09 11:36:23
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