Smiles & Healing Is Our Mission
Since 2022, Smiles from Sarah (SFS) has strived to bring smiles and healing to children by expanding the impact and reach of child life programs and therapeutic play in hospitals.
Therapeutic play serves a vital function in children’s medical care, allowing child life specialists to give children tools to develop, cope, and communicate when confronted with illness, injury, or disability.
Therapeutic play can be the bandage to bind a broken spirit or the pill to alleviate anxiety and pain.
Partnering With Child Life Specialists
A hospital can be a scary place for kids and families. When a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) engages in activities with patients, they help children cope with their situation and build relationships. These connections allow the CCLS to advocate for the patient and become a critical part of the care team.
We support and enhance resources available to Child Life teams so more patients and families can benefit from them. We also help cultivate the relationship between the child and the CCLS. That starts with play!
Kit Project Success in 2025
We're off to an incredible start this year with 10 kit projects completed, resulting in over 1,600 kits assembled! In February, we joined forces with Allianz during their annual business summit. Employees paused their meetings to create 400 kits. These partnerships help us multiply our impact! Discover all of our Therapeutic Play Kits.
Largest Play Kit Project
At Deloitte’s Impact Day in June, volunteers packed 370 therapeutic play kits and launched three new offerings. With this largest single project, the total number of play kits created exceeded 3,500. These kits will bring joy to young patients, supporting critical relationships with their Child Life Specialists.
New Hospital Partnership
Boston Children's Hosptial is the fifth partner to join our Smiles from Sarah family. Learn more about our hospital partnerships.
2023 CORE Cause of the Year
Every year, CORE Foundation selects on CORE Cause of the Year. In 2023, that cause was Smiles from Sarah. Learn more about the award and our accomplishments.
2023 CORE Cause of the Year
Every year, CORE Foundation selects on CORE Cause of the Year. In 2023, that cause was Smiles from Sarah. Learn more about the award and our accomplishments.
2023 CORE Cause of the Year
Every year, CORE Foundation selects on CORE Cause of the Year. In 2023, that cause was Smiles from Sarah. Learn more about the award and our accomplishments.
SFS Day at Children's National
On March 20, 2026, we were excited to host our second annual SFS Day at Children’s National Hospital. Our team transformed the atrium into a hub of creativity and laughter with interactive activities and kit-building stations. Nothing compared to witnessing precious smiles first-hand as 100+ children connected with our 20+ volunteers and the fantastic Child Life team.
Celebrate a Child Life Specialist
Have you witnessed a Child Life Specialist making a difference? Whether it's a small moment or a lasting memory, we want to celebrate them with our GOES THE EXTRA SMILE RECOGNITION PROGRAM. Recognize your favorite Child Life Specialist today to help us honor their extraordinary contributions and inspire others!
Sip & Smile 2026: Save the Date
Thank you to everyone who joined our 2025 Sip & Smile fundraiser! Together, we raised $65,000 to support Child Life programs at children’s hospitals and raise awareness of the vital work Child Life Specialists do. Your generosity makes healing possible. Want to be part of the magic on October 3, 2026? Fill out this form or contact us at contact@smilesfromsarah.org to get involved.
Inaugural Child Life Symposium
In November 2025, we held our inaugural Child Life Symposium at Children's National in Washington, D.C. Twenty-nine specialists from six hospitals gathered for meaningful connection and collaboration. Led by Tawni Rochester, the event provided rare peer interaction that attendees called "energizing and deeply grounding." This gathering strengthened our mission: supporting Child Life teams to amplify their impact. It's only the beginning.
Smiles Spotlight
Smiles from Sarah Day | Children's National Hospital | March 20, 2025
Smiles from Sarah Day | Children's National Hospital | March 20, 2026
Our Impact
Providing Direct Funding to Hospitals
SFS provides direct funding to Child Life departments at children's hospitals to support therapeutic play activities. Learn More
Creating Therapeutic Play Kits
Designed for CCLS to engage with patients, our kits contain everything needed to inspire children while fostering coping, emotional expression, and playfulness. We've teamed up with groups of all types and sizes to build over 11,000 kits to date! Learn More
Raising Awareness
Through events and social media, we're raising awareness about the importance of the child life specialty and therapeutic play's impact on children, families, and caregivers. Learn More
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Sip & Smile Fundraiser
Strong Partnerships with Hospitals
Smiles from Sarah (SFS) partners with major children's hospital centers to support therapeutic play programs. In 2023, SFS secured three strong partnerships, providing a vital benefit to children while staying in hospitals.
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$20K in direct funding to their child life program ($40K total contribution)
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1K therapeutic play kits delivered
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In 2024, therapeutic play kit deliveries begin to CHOPs Specialty Care Center
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
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$20K in direct funding to their child life program
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450 therapeutic play kits delivered
Children's National
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$10K in direct funding to their child life program
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In 2024, therapeutic play kit deliveries begin
Inova J. L. Murphy Children's Hospital
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Strong Partnerships with Hospitals
A hospital can be a scary place for kids and families. When a Child Life Specialist (CLS) engages in activities with patients, they help children cope with their situation and build relationships. These connections allow the CLS to advocation for the patient and become a critical part of the care team.
We support and enhance resources available to Child Life teams so more patients and families can benefit from them. We also help cultivate the relationship between the child and the CLS. That starts with play!
Smiles Spotlight
Every year, CORE Foundation selects one CORE Cause of the Year. In 2023, that CORE Cause was Smiles from Sarah. Learn more about the award and their accomplishments.
Our team has truly never worked with a more supportive, thoughtful, and intentional foundation! We are so thankful for the carefully created therapeutic kits that supplement our interventions and the monetary donation that allows us to have the flexibility to purchase specialized materials and care for individualized needs. Staff is also looking forward to the upcoming symposium to share and learn from other CLS teams—these opportunities are highly valued and rare. The deep understanding of the work of child life can be felt in all that SFS offers, and this further encourages us to provide the best possible care and comfort to our children, teens, and families.
Child Life Specialist
Boston Children's Hospital