The Cherese Mari Laulhere Child Life Program at MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach, is committed to bringing fun and normalcy back to the lives of pediatric patients by emphasizing the importance of play during the healing process and planning special events for the holidays. One of the ways the Child Life team is so successful at reducing anxieties and fears is thanks to partnership like that with The Bandai Foundation.
“The Bandai Foundation has been a key partner of ours for more than a decade,” says Rita Goshert, director, Cherese Mari Laulhere Child Life Program, MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach. “They’ve helped us further develop many of the programs we use to help patients through their treatment and reintegration back to school or home life.”
Since 2012, the Bandai Foundation has been donating funds to the Hospital School Program, Music Therapy Program, and several playrooms for hospitalized patients to use while they’re undergoing treatment. Each of these programs play a key role in providing a fun, welcoming atmosphere for hospitalized children.
Understanding that hospitalization often takes children out of school, the Hospital School Program helps patients achieve their academic and educational goals during their hospitalization by collaborating with teachers and counselors to obtain schoolwork and materials. The Music Therapy Program is focused on using the soothing power of music to help patients through the healing process. The donations that Miller Children’s & Women’s has received from Bandai have been extremely helpful in getting equipment and materials needed for these programs to continue providing patients with support through their treatment and education.
In addition to the monetary donations, the Bandai Foundation volunteers during special events that the Child Life Program sets up for the patients of Miller Children’s & Women’s. These events, such as Beach Day or Santa’s Workshop, are tied to holidays to help patients celebrate while in the hospital.
“Along with donations, the Bandai Foundation participates in our special holiday events to physically interact with patients and brighten their days with gifts, toys, and activities,” says Goshert. “These events are really popular and having Bandai’s support means we can give our patients an even better experience.”