The second annual Children's Hospital Carnival offered fun for everybody - even the residents who took a dunking.

Games and treats and dunk tanks, oh my!

Former and current patients of Children’s Hospital of Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center (GHS) celebrated summer 2010 in style, thanks to generous Virtual Toy Drive donors.

The second annual Children’s Hospital Carnival transformed the Healing Garden at Greenville Memorial Hospital into a lively party with everything from classic midway-style toss games to resident-manned dunk tanks. Donations made through Virtual Toy Drive's "Sponsor Children's Hospital Carnival" fund kept kids and their families entertained and well-fed by providing the dunk tank and popcorn and snow cone machines. Partnership with other donors meant a bevy of prizes for carnival goers.

Child Life Specialist Tara Collins, CCLS, called the event “awesome.”

“We tried to think of things [the kids] would normally do at a carnival, but we tried to adapt it to the Children’s Hospital,” she said. “Really, the purpose of doing activities and events in the hospital is to let them do things they would normally do when they’re not in the hospital. We want to create those experiences for them here so they don’t feel like they missed out on those parts of their life.”

Kids often spend days, weeks and even months at a time being treated in the Children’s Hospital. While they’re hospitalized, children may miss out on everyday moments, such as play dates, field trips and birthday parties.

During that time, the Child Life department maintains our child-friendly environment and commitment to psycho-social healing by working with patients using a variety of tools. When Child Life specialists organized the inaugural Children’s Hospital Carnival in 2009, the department continued its enrichment and transformation of the treatment process for our youngest patients.

Supporting the Children’s Hospital Carnival or Child Life department is as simple as clicking your mouse.

Click here to donate funds for the second annual Children’s Hospital Carnival to be held during summer 2011. You can also browse available items for the Child Life department or search each department's needs.