麻豆果冻传媒

Friday Night Prom at Packard Children鈥檚 Helps Patients Escape on the Ultimate Voyage

Kids with illness explore 鈥楳ysteries of the Deep鈥. Prom goers come all the way from Arizona and Hawaii

For Release: May 31, 2012

PALO ALTO, Calif.鈥 More than 125 young patients and their guests are eagerly anticipating the longest-standing children鈥檚 hospital prom in the Bay Area.

鈥楳ysteries of the Deep,鈥 will set off this Friday night Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital at Stanford, where聽hospital school teachers聽from the Palo Alto Unified School District are putting the final touches on this year鈥檚 very special evening.聽聽Beyond providing an end-of-school rite of passage, the eighth annual prom offers a rare chance for teens and other patients, many of whom have life-threatening illnesses, to immerse themselves in an age-old, non-hospital experience鈥攖his year full of aquatic adventures and treasures. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so important for these kids鈥攕ome of whom will never go to their school prom鈥攖o have a night where they can forget they鈥檙e in a hospital and just be kids,鈥 said teacher Kathy Ho,聽who leads the coordination of an event that gets bigger and more imaginative every year.

鈥楳ysteries of the Deep鈥 will offer a transformative experience from the moment guests step into the hospital elevator鈥攄ecked out entirely as an underwater submarine鈥攁nd descend deep, deep down to the Ground Floor. The school captains have it all charted out. Emerging into a kelp forest, kids will admire schools of fish, jellyfish, and other sea life suspended from the ceiling as they pass through a coral reef and enter prom.

More than 100 volunteers and local businesses have worked tirelessly for months to make this night possible, including DreamWorks (providing much of the art design and decoration), Anthropologie, Selix Formal Wear, Symantec, Genentech, Weir Catering, Feet First Entertainment, Sugar Shack and many more. Because of their generosity, kids will enjoy shaking their fins to tunes spun by a live DJ, diving into delicious catches of the day, throwing their bait out on the casino table, and exploring underwater adventure games including 鈥楶oseidon鈥檚 Pearl,鈥 鈥楽hark Attack,鈥 and 鈥楾ic Tac Tuna.鈥 Anyone attending the聽hospital school聽over the past year is invited to bring a guest, including brothers and sisters who relocated to the area while their sibling received care. Even past-year prom goers are hooked, some flying in from as far as Hawaii and Arizona.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing how many of our former patients and students are coming back to the hospital to volunteer at prom,鈥 marveled Kathy. 鈥淭he older teens are making plans with the younger students, encircling them with a sense of community, and creating a haven for the sickest of kids. That鈥檚 what it鈥檚 all about.鈥

Event information:

Friday, June 1, 2012, 6 pm to 9 pm,Packard Children's Hospital, 725 Welch Rd. Palo Alto, CA. Patients, teachers and community volunteers all available for photos, videos, interviews

Authors

Reena Mukamal

Kelly Frank
650-646-1126
kfrank@stanfordchildrens.org

About 麻豆果冻传媒 Children's Health

麻豆果冻传媒 Children鈥檚 Health, with聽Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford聽at its center, is the Bay Area鈥檚 largest health care system exclusively dedicated to children and expectant mothers. Our network of care includes more than 65聽locations聽across Northern California and more than 85 locations in the U.S. Western region.聽Along with Stanford Health Care and the Stanford School of Medicine, we are part of聽, an ecosystem harnessing the potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education, and clinical care to improve health outcomes around the world. We are a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the community through meaningful outreach programs and services and providing necessary medical care to families, regardless of their ability to pay. Discover more at聽stanfordchildrens.org.