Featured Student : Volunteering at Children’s Hospital | By Hannah Chatwin
As kids, the most important part of our day was playtime. Playing meant being imaginative, running, laughing, learning how to make friends and how to interact with the world around us. As we get older, we learn that play is as important as we always thought it was — it teaches kids how to socialize and interact with others, as well as be imaginative and creative. Because so many of us grow up constantly able to play and learn, we don’t always realize the consequences of not getting to do so.
Volunteering at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado has given me the opportunity to re-experience play and come to better understand the meaning behind it. I have been volunteering over the past few months on the oncology floor where I work in the playroom and directly with patients to facilitate play and help them in any way that I can. Without a doubt, it has been one of the most fulfilling, enjoyable, and at times heartbreaking, experiences of my life.
As a volunteer at Children’s, my job is to normalize kids’ lives as much as possible. The playroom is meant to be free of all medicine — no medical procedures or medical talk is allowed. Rather it is meant to be a space where kids can be kids again and enjoy themselves. We aim to create an environment where, even for an hour, they forget that they are sick, that their parents are stressed and that they’re scared. We try to do whatever we can to make them feel better and to feel “normal” if even for a short period of time. And honestly, getting to be the person helping them is one of the best feelings in the world. I’ve handed a child a toy and seen their face light up because they’ve been lying in a hospital bed for three days. I’ve sat on a hospital floor for an hour slamming toy trucks into each other. I’ve laughed for an hour straight playing Headbanz, Candyland and Trouble. And as simple as it all seems, every time I do something so seemingly small like this, I know I must be helping these kids in some way.
Being a part of this network of people, many with fulltime jobs and lives of their own, who all take time out of their days to help sick kids and contribute to their community, has been an amazing experience. And while at times it can be hard when you’re forced to see or remember that the kids you’re with are sick, overall, you’re left knowing that what you are doing has positively influenced others. It is so easy to get caught up in our own lives — homework, grades, jobs, the future — and having a time set aside to do something for others is such an amazing opportunity. It has been so clarifying and refreshing to step outside of my own life to make an impact on someone else’s, even if it is as simple as giving a child a toy.
Photo courtesy of Children’s Colorado
My name is Hannah Chatwin and I am originally from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, but have lived in Highlands Ranch, Colorado for about 7 years now. I am a junior here at CU Boulder where I am double majoring in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) and sociology, as well as pursuing an honors thesis. After graduation, I plan to either attend medical school or possibly graduate school; either way I am hoping to do some sort of pediatric-focused clinical work or research. Outside of class, I work in a lab on campus focusing on the microbiome, coach gymnastics at a local rec center, and volunteer at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Apart from that, I love to hike, travel, and spend time with friends and family.