Healing Children with Play
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.
Smiles & Healing
Since September 2022, Smiles from Sarah (SFS) has aimed to bring smiles and healing to children. We focus on 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. Using play, child life specialists help children cope with illness, injury, or disability.
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!
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.
Smiles Spotlight
Annual Sip & Smile Success
Our 200+ attendees enjoyed a fun-filled evening, raising over $80,000 in support of Child Life programs and therapeutic play at our partner children's hospitals. Our featured speaker was Tawni Rochester, Child Life Manager at Children's National Hospital. She highlighted the vital role Certified Child Life Specialists play in the care and comfort of young patients.
Two New Grants for Smiles
SFS received two new grants! Homestead Building Systems, through their US LBM Foundation for Giving program, supports causes and organizations that help children's growth, development, and health. SFS also received a grant from Penn Medicine CAREs to supply items for therapeutic play kits.
Recent Play Kit Projects
As part of Deloitte’s Impact Day in June, a team of volunteers packed 370 therapeutic play kits and launched three new offerings. This is our largest single project, putting the total play kits created at more than 3,500. These kits will bring smiles to young patients, supporting critical relationships with their Certified 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.
Stories from the Smile Squad
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 4,700 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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Our Mission
Smiles from Sarah supports and advances the quality of child life programs. These programs help children and their families during challenging and traumatic hospital admissions.
With a focus on expanding the reach and impact of therapeutic play, we strive to bring smiles and healing to children during these difficult periods.
Our Impact
Smiles from Sarah provides hospitals with direct funding to support child life programs. With your help, we also supply countless therapeutic play kits.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Children’s National Hospital of Washington DC, and INOVA Children's Fairfax are three of the hospitals that Smiles from Sarah has impacted. But we can do more!
Sip & Smile Fundraiser
Sip & Smile
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2024 Fundraiser