Patients and Hospital Professionals:
On behalf of the little ones at Texas Children’s Hospital, thank you for the wonderful handmade SoaringQuilts and SoaringPillows that were made especially for our patients. They were a wonderful example of love at work. You can see that the backbone of Soaringwords is using positive phrases to inspire the ill children and their families. It was such a pleasure to see all of our volunteers busily visiting with our children and their families. As Soaringwords recognized when a child is ill, his or her entire family is in crisis. Having a soft snuggly blanket helps to make the hospital feel a little more like home and also make the families very happy. In addition, a message is sent to the parents. That message is that people care about their children and are willing to take the time to make their stay in the hospital brighter. Thank you for thinking of our patients.

Individuals like you enable us to fulfill our vision: to provide the finest possible pediatric patient care, education and research to all the children who come to us for help. Your interest, encouragement and support are vital to Texas Children’s Hospital and to the ambitious goals we have established. Thank you again for your thoughtfulness.
--Pat Dolan, Director, Texas Children’s Hospital

On behalf of the doctors and nurses in the Pediatric Emergency Service at The Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian—Weill Cornell Medical Center, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to Soaringwords for visiting our unit, and for reading to the children and spending time with them. We also appreciate your beautiful and talented SoaringMurals and art-work filled with warm colors and a bright theme. Caring for a sick or injured child is always a challenge, but being able to share a bit of happiness, and to see the faces of the children light up when they receive attention and care is the greatest gift of all. We wish you and your family the very best. I look forward to working together on similar projects in the future.--Shari L. Platt, MD, Director, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian, Weill Cornell Medical Center

On behalf of the children, families and staff here at New York Presbyterian/NY Weill Cornell, we would like to thank you for your donation of 100 SoaringQuilts and 100 pillows. The event was a great success; together the U.S. Trust employees and the school children were very artistic, creative, and caring in sending thoughtful messages to the children here at the hospital. As you know, donations like yours help to brighten each day for many children who come to the hospital. It is comforting for a family to know that members of our community are thinking of them and wishing them well. This generosity will help make a difference to our patients and families during a complex time in their lives.

Once again, thank you for thinking and caring about the children and families at The Phyllis and David Komansky Center for Children’s Health at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.
--Gwyn Giaquinto, CCLS, Inpatient Pediatric Unit, Child Life Program-Department of Women and Children’s Health Nursing, NY Weill Cornell Medical Center

“What a thrill to have a visit from the Soaringwords volunteers at West Jefferson Medical Center! The quilts and pillows were beautiful and so helpful in making our pediatric patients feel comfortable and “at home” while spending time in the hospital. Our community has faced tremendous hurdles in the past year which we could not overcome without helping hands reaching out to us from all over the country. The pediatric patients and families, as well as the staff, were touched by the generous volunteers coming all the way from New York to spread a little join in New Orleans. Thanks so much for your kindness! --Erinn Remy, West Jefferson Medical Center Dept. Pediatrics, New Orleans

My name is Deniese Alejandro and am the auntie of 5 day old UCSF cardio ICU patient Shaun. I was asked to contact you by his parents Ericka Sasser and David Rios. They truly appreciate the quilt that was donated to Shaun this week. Ericka called me crying trying to express how thoughtful this was and wondered how she could tell your organization thank you from the bottom of their hearts! I told her I would look you up and I found you. So thank you again and we all look forward to learning more about your organization.
--Sincerely, Deniese Alejandro, Ericka Sasser, David Rios and Shaun Sasser

We would like to thank you and the wonderful children who came to visit the patients yesterday. The quilts and pillows were thoughtful and the patients loved them. I know the children are grateful for you taking the time to put together an event like this. The children who decorated them should be proud of their work. Thank you again.
---Rechelle Bonaparte and Jennifer Ricca, Child Life Specialists, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center

Hello. My daughter is 13 and is at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NYC. Today is her third day here and she really wants to go home. Then, a lady appeared with this beautifully soft quilt asking if my daughter wanted one. She loves it and said "I feel so loved." She really loves the drawings and how soft the material is... So do I. I want to thank you very much for helping my daughter make it through this ordeal. She is being diagnosed with epilepsy while here and we have a long row to hoe, as they say. She will always have this quilt to remember something good coming from here!
---Best wishes, Louise

The SoaringQuilts and SoaringPillows serve as a life line connecting healthy kids to hospitalized children in a personal and meaningful way. These beautiful red and white patchworks quilts and pillows transform a cold and sterile hospital bed into a cozy and warm place for ill kids.
---Michelle Brauntuch, President of the Child Life Council of Greater New York and the Child Life specialist at Englewood Hospital

Thank you for sharing the Soaringwords/ AE community service program with our patients. I know that the quilts and pillows touched hundreds of families with kindness and joy. Many newborns will be going home wrapped in the beautiful red and white blankets with such nice words of hope. Many of our patients do not have money to buy a layette—those lovely gifts will be so very appreciated. Our pediatric patients do not get a lot of visitors. The quilts, pillows and messages meant so much to them. God bless you and the people at AE Networks for choosing our patients for this special project.
---Sincerely, Neusa Alshukn, Director of Volunteer Services, Metropolitan Hospital

Educators and Youth Leaders:

The Soaringwords project allows our students to learn how to make worthwhile contributions to society through the use of technology and their own creativity. Our students use these hands-on tools to inspire other children to feel better... and also to make themselves feel better too. Let us teach them how to communicate the universal language of compassion. Julia Pietri, Principal, PS 152

I have never witnessed the love of life and the desire to help others as I did from my students on Friday. I am extremely proud to be the Principal of such a warm, sensitive, considerate and caring group of young men and women. Through this experience, I am confident that each student has gained a greater understanding of the power of healing.

I would like to sincerely thank Soaringwords and the A&E Networks for allowing my students and staff to have been part of such a wonderful and poignant event. Prior to your visit, my students and staff were excited at the prospect of making a difference in the lives of others. As we have all grown through this experience, we look forward to continuing to participate with Soaringwords in the “Power to Heal.” ---Sincerely, Ms. Norma M. Pérez, Principal at I.S. 528

Over the past three years I have had numerous opportunities to follow Lisa Buksbaum into hospital rooms and lounges and to bring my students into the lives of hospitalized children. At first we were all a bit scared of doing this important mitzvah, because being in the presence of seriously ill children is painful. Lisa is a powerful role model who made the visiting the sick experiences seem like the most natural and fun activity that my students could possibly do.

When tragedy struck our community, and a girl in the kindergarten class suddenly died of a seizure, Lisa inspired many of my students to do healing Soaringwords projects that allowed the families and ill kids to know that other children cared about them and were sending them love. She talks about her own experiences with death and illness in a way that children can understand and appreciate. Through her actions and words, she is inspiring the next generation of youth leaders to become leaders in their own right.

All of the students visited with ill patients and presented SoaringMurals to the NY Weill Hospital. Soaringwords runs an annual SoaringLights for Chanukah program where ninth graders mentor second graders. Soaringwords has worked with the High School community inspiring the teens to create Soaring Joke Books and Soaring Flip Books to donate to hospitalized children at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Over the past three years, many of my students have chosen Soaringwords for their bar and bat mitzvah community service projects. They are proud to bring something they learned in school to all of their family and friends at their celebration. These projects include decorating quilts and pillows to send to hospitalized kids in Israel and New York, creating murals for hospitals in America and Israel, creating messages and artwork, and decorating T shirts and hats for hospitalized kids. Many of these students are now volunteering with Soaringwords throughout the year.
--Shoshana Jedwab, Middle School Jewish Studies Coordinator, Abraham Joshua Heschel Middle School

Soaringwords rocks. When I was 3 years old I had a heart transplant and had to live in the hospital for a long time. Now that I am in High School, I feel proud helping other kids feel hopeful. I like making SoaringMurals and other cool things to give to kids in the hospitals. It makes me feel like I can actually help another person.”
---Sean M., 14 years old, Soaringwords Youth Leader

Dear Ms. Buksbaum:
On behalf of the students and staff of the Stuyvesant High School site of the Manhattan Occupational Training Center/ P721M, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to Soaringwords.

During your visit each student was given the opportunity to create page for the Soaringwords website. Students were told that their work would be used to cheer children and their families who are coping with long term illness. It was really exciting for each student to receive a Soaringwords Certificate of Appreciation and have their photo taken with their artwork and messages and the awards.

Since our students have developed disabilities and multiple physical challenges, your participation with them on that day provided these young adults with a rare opportunity to be the source of inspiration rather than the recipients.

All of us look forward to seeing some of their work on your website and I know that they will be proud to know that they helped make other children feel better. We thank you for sharing your wonderful program with our school. We hope that you continue to stay in contact with our students.
---Sincerely, Neil Coffina, Program Coordinator, Manhattan Occupational Training Center/ P721M

I learned that when you help sick children feel better, you get this happy emotion that never leaves you. -Narabs A, Hudson County Boys and Girls Club (Jersey City, NJ)

The Soaringwords activities made me feel like a hero. –Gregory S, Hudson County Boys and Girls Club (Jersey City, NJ)

When decorating the quilts, we each picked a square and drew what we felt in our hearts-Alyssa D, Hudson County Boys and Girls Club (Jersey City, NJ)

Now someone might feel good because of what I did! The Soaringwords activities made me feel happy! It was all about the teamwork. -Gregory, James Jordan Boys and Girls Club

I enjoyed the Nia Dance Jam, it was funny and crazy. I hope Soaringwords comes back. -Basia, James Jordan Boys and Girls Club, Chicago, IL

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