In honor of Luke Nelson, a young boy in our community suffering from Neuroblastoma, tech theatre students donated hand-made dolls to Cook Children’s Hospital.   

  When Cook Children’s hospital heard about the toys that theatre was wanting to donate, the hospital called and wanted them to hand deliver the dolls on Feb. 21. While delivering the dolls, the students were also given a tour of the facilities.

  “I had the honor of taking 23 tech theatre kids on a tour of Cook Children’s Hospital. It was incredible. We delivered 40 handmade monster and super hero dolls and learned so much about the careers at Cooks,” Mindy Pope, theater director, said.

Any job, whether it be a lawyer, actor, or even a chef, can be found at Cook Children’s Hospital. They even have clowns, which they call the Funnyatrics  that often drop in on the patient’s.

  “We learned so much about the different careers available at Cooks. We even met multiple people that work at Cook Children’s with theatre degrees. We met professional clowns that work full time at Cooks and a Child Life specialist that translates doctor jargon to parents and…..her therapy dogs. They all had theatre majors. They stressed to my kids to find what you love and work where you make a difference,”Pope said.

  Cook Children’s Hospital has many in-house businesses located inside the hospital. They even have a Build-A-Bear  in which all of the money from the bears and accessories so directly back to the hospital.

  “The Build-A-Bear also has a party room attached. Even non-patients and their families are encouraged to hold parties there as a way to give back to the hospital,” Jarrett Brooks, a sophomore who went on the trip, said.

  When visiting the hospital, you can see the the five therapy dogs that look in on the patient’s. The dogs’ names are Ralph, Chanel, Journey, Kitty, and the most recent addition to the team, Lulu.

 “We were able to meet Ralph and take some pictures with him. We even got to see some of the tricks he could do,” Brooks said.

  The patients are encouraged to gain skills during their stay at the hospital, since many patients even need to stay for up to a year.
  “Did you know Cooks has a recording studio and film studio? Kids can film a cooking show or sports show, or whatever, and they broadcast it on Cooks channel seen throughout the hospital. This was such an amazing experience!” Pope said.