Collinsville teen ’ s pillowcase project brightens pediatric hospital rooms Story and photos by Glenda Sanders
Community
Joy to to
You You
Collinsville teen ’ s pillowcase project brightens pediatric hospital rooms Story and photos by Glenda Sanders
Giving back to the community comes naturally to Collinsville teen Joy Catherine Kitchens , whose pillowcase project is bringing smiles to the faces of some of the pediatric patients at Mississippi ’ s only children ’ s hospital .
Through her missions project , “ Joy to You : Creating Joy One Pillowcase at a Time ,” the 15-year-old is working to add a little color to intensive care unit rooms at Blair Batson Children ’ s Hospi- tal in Jackson , now named Children ’ s of Mississippi .
She hopes the handmade pillowcases add a little bright spot of color to the ICU rooms , while of home , giving
Joy Kitchens demonstrates sewing skills at the Meridian Maker Faire , held this spring at the Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum at the Soulé Steam Feed Works in downtown Meridian .
reminding the children them hope and bringing smiles to their faces so they may feel less scared and more comfortable in the hospital .
“ I hope it is giving them joy cause I know being in a hospital room is very gloomy and sad , and it is very depressing every now and then when you are in there for such a long time ,” Kitchens said . “ So having something that is a little bit more colorful might bring a little more joy to their life to help them get through it .”
With assistance from her mother , Amy Kitchens , she started the service project two years ago after a family member ended up in the ICU following surgery at Children ’ s of Mississippi .
“ We had a family member that was in the ICU ward ,” she said , “ so we decided to start making these pillowcases to go to the same ICU ward .”
Kitchens had noticed while visiting the hospital that the patient rooms were drab and thought they could be depressing for a pediatric patient who has no concept of what ’ s ahead or is facing a lengthy hospital stay .
Initally , she and her mother made a batch of pillowcases and delivered them to the ICU floor nurses , who distributed them to patients or put them in the family room for parents to pick out one for their child .
“ We just kept on doing it because the nurses ’ faces were so excited to see the pillowcases every time we came in there to give them to the patients that we couldn ’ t just stop , so we decided to keep doing it ,” Kitchens said . “ We make about 12 a month and in all there ’ s been about 300 .”
Each pillowcase is handmade by Kitchens and features either a bold patterned print or a whimsical design , such as dinosaurs , trucks , cupcakes , giraffes or cartoon cats .
“ Usually we just mix and match it and see which one looks the best together , and we make sure we do equal boys and girls for everyone ,” she said . She uses themed holiday fabric for Thanksgiving , Christmas and Valentine ’ s Day .
26 • MERIDIAN LIFE