Being in a hospital can be a lonely, frightening experience for any child. Sombre rooms offer beeping machines, cold metal, institutional colours and a parade of strangers in white coats and other outfits.
A local non-profit organization, Comfy Cases, looks to bring a little comfort and maybe even a smile or two to young patients at local hospitals.
Comfy Cases is a small, grassroots program under the auspices of the Ontario Parents Advocating for Children with Cancer. Its focus is spreading cheer and bringing comfort to children in hospital undergoing cancer treatment and other life-challenging illnesses through the donation of colourful and festive pillowcases.
Kaaren Brandt is from Severn Bridge and she’s been a volunteer, for close to 20 years, through the organization’s various iterations. While the busyness of life has interfered throughout the years, she always finds herself returning to sewing pillowcases for kids.
A recent heart transplant recipient, she’s grateful for the meaningful work she can do in support of Comfy Cases.
“I have to do something. I can’t sit around feeling sorry for myself, or I would be dead,” she says with the laugh of someone who has been through a lot.
“Right after I had my transplant, which was a year ago in November — right after I came home, that first month, I was bored and started going through my stash (of fabric). I couldn’t go shopping because COVID was kind of going stupid, and I just started going crazy doing it again. I was active again. I’m going gangbusters now. It’s almost addicting,” says Brandt.
She does paid sewing projects for other people, but whenever she goes into her sewing room, she almost automatically finds herself going through pillowcase fabrics and matching one side up with the other. “The next thing you know, it’s an hour later and I’m going, ‘I have work to do,’” she says.
The work Brandt and other dedicated volunteers do is well received at local hospitals, and Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital is no exception.
“The lady at Orillia Soldiers’ (Amanda Gaudet) is always so ecstatic every time I drop them off. She’s so thankful and always sends me a note to say thank you so much,” Brandt says.
If you’re thinking about donating fabric to Comfy Cases, the organization’s members would be thrilled and have sent out clear information on what they are looking for.
“All fabric needs to be 100 per cent cotton. Polyester is 100 per cent recycled plastic, so anything with polyester in it can’t handle the heat of the sterilizer,” Brandt explains. “It has to be cotton because it can handle the heat. It also has to be new fabric.”
Themed fabric is also appreciated, like seasonal prints, for example, and Halloween is always a big winner with the kids, she says.
Anyone from the North Simcoe-Muskoka region looking to sew pillowcases is warmly welcomed. For more information, email Brandt at [email protected]. Those outside the region can contact Comfy Cases directly at [email protected].
