麻豆果冻传媒

For Release: May 15, 2013

Palo Alto, Calif. - Why are there people dressed as R2D2 at Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital this Friday night? Welcome to the 9th annual end-of-school prom at Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford. Organized by patients and hospital schoolteachers from the Palo Alto Unified School District, this year鈥檚 theme is 鈥楢 Journey Into Outer Space,鈥� and it鈥檚 definitely an intergalactic event.

鈥淧rom is a remarkable evening for these kids, and it just gets bigger every year,鈥� said hospital schoolteacher Kathy Ho, chief organizer and party advisor. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic fun, a place where kids can forget their disease and just have a great time. Our philosophy is that you鈥檙e not really in the hospital on this night." You鈥檙e not really in the cafeteria, either. That鈥檚 because Ho and her team are launching it into a brand-new galaxy, one that includes an Ice Planet, Garden Planet, Rock Planet and Techno Planet. 鈥淲e鈥檙e putting a creative twist on everything by making up our own planetary system,鈥� added Ho, who鈥檚 letting scientific accuracy take the night off. Together with donors such as DreamWorks, HP, Tiny Prints.

Home Depot and others, Ho and her team are finalizing a world that鈥檚 turning hospital elevators into space shuttles. 鈥淓veryone loves the wonder of space,鈥� said Ho, 鈥渁nd it really inspires kids." Anyone attending the hospital school over the past year is invited, including brothers and sisters who relocated to Palo Alto while their sibling received care. Selix Formalwear is donating tuxes for the boys and community supporters are contributing evening wear for the girls. But Ho said many of the kids are designing secret, space-themed costumes. 鈥淭here will be plenty of surprises,鈥� said Ho, who is crafting her own celestial outfit, one that she would only describe as 鈥渟hiny.鈥� (Wear sunglasses.)

The music, dancing, photos, carnival, food and raffles will all be space-themed, with one space-age twist. 鈥淲hen the kids check in, each will receive their own individual QR code to track points accumulated at game booths, and this will drive prizes,鈥� said schoolteacher Kevin Danie, another holdout from letting us know if he鈥檒l be in some sort of alien suit. It鈥檚 a can鈥檛-miss event and the biggest, starriest night of the year, one that doesn鈥檛 limit itself to high schoolers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just for older kids who may miss their prom,鈥� Ho explained. 鈥淲e also invite the younger kids. For the more seriously ill, this may be their only chance for a prom.鈥�

Regardless of theme, the kids, the donors, the volunteers and teachers are all very excited. 鈥淭hrough the enthusiasm, creativity and generosity of so many, we鈥檙e helping kids make prom dreams a reality,鈥� Danie said. 鈥淭hese are memories that will last a lifetime, and we can鈥檛 wait to get this party started.鈥�

Authors

Robert Dicks
(650) 497-8364
rdicks@stanfordchildrens.org

Winter Johnson
(650) 498-7056
wijohnson@stanfordchildrens.org