I recently attended a birthday party for a beautiful 3-year old. I didn’t know her, but her family generously purchased a Chelsea Hicks birthday party. They had seen the benefits of Chelsea’s Closet when their daughter was a patient at Doernbecher, and they wanted to give back at the CHF Masquerade Ball. So they bid on a party during the live auction and purchased a fun-filled birthday event where CHF provides costumes and accessories from the closet, lunch and ice cream.
I was so excited when I volunteered to help at this party. I love going to the hospital with Chelsea’s Closet and I thought this would be another way to see the smiles and joy it brings, but alternatively with healthy kids skipping and playing outside. Amazingly, it wasn’t any different than at the hospital. It was another reminder to me that kids are kids….and they LOVE to play.
Chelsea and her family were my neighbors for several years. Which means I would occasionally find Chelsea playing in my bonus room or riding her tricycle in my garage. She would play on the soccer field while we watched her sisters and my daughter practice or compete. One time when I went to their house and I was talking to her mom, Alison, Chelsea asked, “Can I just run around and play on the grass?” That’s how I remember her. Not the sick little girl, but the one who was always playing.
I’m so happy to help an organization that continues her legacy. The therapy of play benefits kids who are sick, healthy, happy, sad, recovering, supportive, disabled, bored…or just well enough to run around and play on the grass.
Katie Curry
CHF Board Vice Chair
The Chelsea Hicks Foundation was created to inspire hope and healing to seriously and critically ill children and their families. When Jason and Alison Hicks watched their youngest daughter Chelsea go through 22 months of cancer treatment, they witnessed how her spirit and attitude were lifted when she had the opportunity to play dress up. After losing Chelsea to childhood cancer, the Chelsea Hicks Foundation was started to brighten the lives of children battling childhood cancer or other serious illnesses.
