HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Resilience Gives, a small Boston company, makes colorful non-slip socks and gives them to patients in children’s hospitals.
Cancer survivor Jake Teitelbaum started the company.
“We recognize that we cannot change a child’s prognosis,” he said. “What we want to do is change this one small part of their experience.”
Children who are cancer patients or survivors design the socks and each pair comes with that child’s story.
“For families who are in the midst of their experience, sometimes the most powerful thing is to hear from other families who have walked in similar shoes or socks,” he said.
Resilience Gives has a nationwide campaign called ‘Socks With Stories: Paying it Forward Initiative’. Next week, the organization will make its first sock donation in Hawaii through the family of 3-year-old cancer fighter Leianna Arellano.
“Leiannna has been hospitalized more than 100 times. You just don’t want to put on the regular hospital gown. These fun, colorful story socks that have meaning give hope and empowerment,” says Kalei Arellano, Leianna’s mother.
The Arellanos will provide 400 pairs of socks to Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children.
“These socks and all the other community donations have made such an impact in such a positive way,” said Heather Tamaye, Kapiolani’s Child Life Specialist.
“It’s all the simple little details during a patient’s day or journey that really help brighten their hospitalization or dramatically improve their care.”
Resilience Gives has donated more than 12,000 pairs of socks to children’s hospitals across America and is launching a new initiative.
“For the first time, we are donating our first hospital gowns,” Teitelbaum said. “We teamed up with another cancer survivor and we created this cool penguin themed hospital gown. So in November we’re donating our first 650.”
Resilience Gives has also raised more than $150,000 for childhood cancer research. The company sells its socks online and matches each sale with a donation.
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