The Tabernacle Sun
“She always has ideas in her head. Things that she wants to do.”
That is what Tabernacle resident, Kristen Lehmann, said about her 10-year-old daughter Shayna. Her most recent idea may be her best yet.
Hoping to help kids who are in the hospital, Shayna, with the support of her parents, Justin and Kristen, reached out to Virtua through email in early April asking what programs they had in place for kids to help other kids.
They responded in quick fashion, but not with just a place to send a check, or a list of bureaucratic nonsense that you might expect; they wanted Shayna to come in and discuss her ideas with them.
“I think it was within two days of Shayna reaching out to them, they had contacted her asking what her ideas were and if she wanted to discuss them,” Kristen said. “I just thought it was so cool how quickly they got back to her and that they wanted to listen to what she had to say. They said her email made their day.”
Virtua, with four hospitals in this area alone, had many fundraising programs in place but none that specifically focused on kids helping other kids. Shayna’s idea was bigger than hosting a few fundraising events; she wanted to help build a program with that specific purpose.
“It is inspiring when kids are passionate about helping others,” said Rose McManus Coleman, vice president of Virtua Foundation. “Virtua Foundation is delighted to work with Shayna, and we are grateful for her family’s partnership. Shayna is one of the young leaders in our community who has stepped forward with great energy and compassion for others.”
Shayna presented several ideas for how she would like to raise funds to help support programs such as Child Life at Virtua. The goal of the program is to ease a child’s fear and anxiety about being ill and in the hospital, or when a loved one is ill. Child life specialists provide emotional support for families, and encourage development of children facing challenging experiences, particularly those related to health care and hospitalization.
Her first fundraiser will be to donate her hair to the charity Wigs for Kids. Shayna will be cutting 15 inches of her hair and asks the community to sponsor her efforts by donating dollars for each inch of hair she donates. Her hair will be cut June 13 at Salon Luxx in Medford.
“She’s excited to cut her hair,” Kristen said. “She keeps saying she’s ready and wishes the appointment would come sooner.”
Ultimately, Shayna hopes to progress into a role where she spends a lot of her time in the hospital with other children.
“That’s what she wants to do. What she’s most excited about is the opportunity to spend time with the children and their families,” Kristen said. “Just help them in anyway that she can.”
Donations can be made at http://virtuafoundationpartner.virtua.org/pages/caringkids,
