Finished work for the day. On the road again, I arrive at the Associate parking lot. Hike to the CHOC Children’s cafeteria for dinner with my wife and fellow Radio Lollipop volunteer. That’s some good food (really!) Change clothes. Clock in.

“Hey everyone! How was your week? Like your hair! Yahoo! Who brought the cookies?”

Tables to cover, baskets to fill.

“What’s the craft? Who’s the DJ? Who’s the producer? What floor do I have? What’s the song of the night?”

Cue to the music. Lights! Camera! Action!

“You are listening to Radio Lollipop!”

Everyone cheers.

Show badge to security, enter the elevator. Toddlers, children and teens, OH MY!  Kids doing laps around the floor,  IV poles in tow.  Where do we start? Let’s check to see who is in the room.  Boy or girl? What age? Is he or she sleeping? Do we need to gown up?

Knock on the door, “Radio Lollipop. May we come in?” Enter the room. Wash hands.

“Hi, my name is Dew Rag Donald.  Do you know about Radio Lollipop? Tune into channel 36.  Dial 5555 to request your favorite song right from your bed.  Our craft for the night is to make a doggie! And the song for the night is ‘Who let the dogs out.’ Whoa! Cute blanket! That’s my favorite team too!”

Kids: video games, laptops, TV, shy smiles, sad eyes, mixed with big grins. And bandages, tubes, machines.

 “Would you like a stuffed animal?”

Adults: some exhausted on the sofa sleeping, some playing with their child,  some conducting business on their laptops, some looking for non-medical conversation – sports, traffic, weather.

“Do you have any questions? Anything else we can do for you this evening?”

Leave the room. Wash hands. Finished our floor, back to the studio.

“Anyone need help? Can I answer phones? “

“This is Radio Lollipop! What do you want to hear tonight? Oh, you have a joke to tell on the air. SUPER! Great joke!”

Deliver prizes for the song of the night winners.

One of the patients come down to the studio and becomes  the DJ.  Another little girl wants to sing on the air. What a cutie! Family members come in to send messages to their siblings/cousins/friends upstairs.

Sign off, paperwork, file the music away, clean the tables and empty the baskets. End of the night huddle: laughs, news, upcoming events.

Clock out. Homeward bound, tired, feet hurt, emotions up and down, late night. Maybe I’ll take a break next week?

“No way,” says my heart. I love these kids.

“Dew Rag Donald” has been a Radio Lollipop volunteer for a year.  He lives in Irvine with his wife and fellow Radio Lollipop volunteer, “Fancy Nancy,” who is an associate at CHOC Children’s.

Every year, a special child leads 15,000 CHOC supporters down Main Street, U.S.A. in the Disneyland® Resort in Anaheim California. This remarkable child reminds us of how important CHOC Children’s is to our community. It’s for the children that we walk and it’s for them that CHOC makes miracles and Disney® makes magic!

We are honored to introduce the 2010 CHOC Walk in the Park Ambassador, Alexys Alonzo! To read Alexys’ story, please visit http://www.chocwalk.net

Did you know that over the past decade, CHOC Children’s has distinguished itself as the fastest-growing free-standing children’s hospitals in the state? This year alone, over 200,000 children will come through CHOC’s doors for inpatient, outpatient and emergency care.

To accommodate our community’s growing needs, while providing state-of-the-art care in a facility designed just for our children and their families, CHOC has embarked on a transformative journey to become a world-class pediatric institution.

To support CHOC on this remarkable journey, hundreds of community members just like you are rallying around the “Change CHOC, Change the World” fund-raising campaign benefiting the children of Orange County. 

The comprehensive campaign will transform CHOC and, with it, the delivery of pediatric healthcare in the region by building a state-of-the-art tower; building a substantial endowment to support recruiting more of the world’s top pediatric experts; and building upon the academic and research affiliation with UC Irvine and its School of Medicine.

The keystone of the campaign is a new, patient care tower set to open on CHOC’s Orange campus in Spring 2013. The seven-story tower will bring an additional 88 patient beds to the hospital by 2013 and provide space for further growth in later phases. Most importantly, it will be a place where sick kids and their families find serenity, hope for healing, and people who understand their unique needs.
 
As members of our community, you have a voice in defining the heart of Orange County. With your support, we can take CHOC Children’s to world-class status and create a future where Orange County is one of the medically safest and healthiest communities for children in the nation.

To learn more about our “Change CHOC, Change the World” campaign, please click here: http://www.choc.org/changetheworld.

It was forty years ago when the first Earth Day was celebrated, and today it has remained a time to join together and stand up for our planet! Getting your kids involved in helping the environment is not only good for the planet—it’s also good for your family’s health. Talk to your kids about recycling, source reduction, and other simple ways to help battle the issues affecting our planet today.

To get your family started, here are a few, easy tips:

• Avoid waste by letting your child pick out a favorite lunch box and thermos to reuse every day at school.
• Turn off the tap! Turning off the water while you brush your teeth can save up to 8 gallons of water per day, which equals to 240 gallons a month.
• Use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags.
• Save energy (and money!) by replacing incandescent bulbs in your home with an Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL).
• Walk more. If possible, walk your child to school or to after school activities.
• Set up a recycling center in your home. Have your child decorate labels for separate bins for glass, plastics and paper. 
• Plant a garden with your child. Whether inside or outside, plants clean the air.
• Turn used tires (not steel-belted) into children’s swings or other playground equipment.
• Turn a giant cardboard box into a child’s playhouse.
• Transform a plastic ice cream tub into a flower pot.

Let us know what green or waste-free ideas your family is doing to protect our environment!

Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it! What better way to celebrate and show you care than to send a photo valentine to CHOC patients, during the month of February – National Heart Month!

Just print and decorate our “Be Mine” heart (or make one of your own), then take your photo holding the valentine and send it in. Click here for easy-to-follow instructions: http://www.choc.org/bemine/index.cfm

In recognition of National Heart Month, click here: http://www.choc.org/healthlibrary/topic.cfm?PageID=P01800 to learn more about the CHOC Heart Institute, which brings hope to children with heart disease and their families, by providing state of the art diagnosis and treatment for an entire spectrum of cardiac conditions in newborns to adolescents.

Thanks to the Orange Coast Harley Owners Group and Orange County Harley-Davidson, who are organizing a community toy drive to benefit CHOC Children’s, patients will be sure to have a holiday season filled with cheer!

Anyone interested in donating new, unwrapped toys or gift cards to the patients at CHOC, can deliver them from December 11 to December 23, to the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership, located at 8677 Research Dr., in Irvine.  On Saturday, December 12, from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m., the dealership will provide a pancake breakfast to anyone who drops off donations that day!

Individuals and groups who have donated to CHOC during the holiday season are encouraged to join efforts with the Harley Owners Group and drop off their toys at the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership instead of the hospital, due to campus construction.

For questions about the Harley Toy Drive, please email the Orange Coast Harley Owners Group at director@ochog.org. For the hospital’s “wish list,” please visit www.choc.org and click on “Give to CHOC,” followed by “Ways to Help.”

The spirit of the holiday season has been ignited with help from the Orange Coast Harley Owners Group and Orange County Harley-Davidson, who are organizing a community toy drive to benefit CHOC Children’s. 

Anyone interested in donating new, unwrapped toys or gift cards can deliver them, from December 11 – December 23, to the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership, located at 8677 Research Dr., in Irvine.  The dealership will provide a pancake breakfast to anyone who drops off donations on Saturday, December 12, from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.  For the hospital’s “wish list,” please visit www.choc.org and click on “Give to CHOC,” followed by “Ways to Help.”

Individuals and other groups who have donated to CHOC during the holiday season are encouraged to join efforts with the Harley Owners Group and drop off their toys at the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership instead of the hospital, due to campus construction.  Anyone with questions about the Harley Toy Drive can email the Orange Coast Harley Owners Group at director@ochog.org.

Kim Cripe, President and CEO of CHOC Children’s, welcomes the walkers to the CHOC Walk in the Park 2009.