COVID-19 has altered our lives completely. However, its impact is especially devastating to kids with cancer. With already fragile immune systems, pediatric cancer patients during this time often have to remain isolated at home or in the hospital. They miss out on critically needed social interaction with kids their age. Our monthly virtual Zoom events focus on connecting volunteers and patients with similar passions aim to bridge this gap. We hoped to take advantage of the fact that Cancer Kids First is youth-led to provide the best and most needed service to patients and their families.
Background
About This Program
Our Patient Interaction and Event Directors host these monthly Zoom events and, most often, our Events team volunteers are the attendees.
Each Zoom is crafted to be catered to the patient. Zooms feature discussions, Q&A sessions, and games. Some of the past Zooms we have done include a card-making tutorial for a patient who loves art, STEM quiz games for a patient who is interested in that field, and Spiderman Kahoots for a patient crazy about superheroes.
After each Zoom, google forms are sent out to receive feedback on how future Zooms can be improved. We've explored different games to draw in both the patient and volunteers in a virtual setting. One of our favorites includes virtual charades!
A patient's mom said, "Theo had an absolute blast [after the Zoom]! He seriously loved it! It was so awesome to see his smile! Y’all rocked it! I’ve never seen Theo smile so big after a zoom call!
