By Sarah Hall

Editor

This Valentine’s Day, kids at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital will get a little extra something to lift their spirits.

Baldwinsville nonprofit Maureen’s Hope, which serves patients facing life-threatening illnesses and their families, will be giving 70 children the chance to give back to the people who love them most. Susan Bertrand, founder of the organization, has teamed up with Gina Tonello Designs of Baldwinsville to create custom cuffed bracelets that kids can give to their caretakers. The bracelets will be boxed and wrapped with a card for the children to sign.

“Many children end up in the hospital unexpectedly or for way too many weeks or months,” Bertrand said. “While we know their parents and caregivers want nothing more than to simply be with them and be able to hug them, we wanted to give the children the gift of giving. Who doesn’t find joy in giving a gift to someone they love? We want the children to feel that joy of giving as they can so often be on the receiving end.”

Bertrand said the idea was inspired by the spring baskets Maureen’s Hope provides to kids at Golisano every year. This will be the 10th year kids have received baskets customized to their age and interests. Bertrand said she wanted to do something similar during the winter.

“A friend, Debbie Kelley, hosted a Christmas party in December and asked guests to make a donation to Maureen’s Hope for this ‘gift of giving’ project,” she said. “Our initial thought was for the holiday season, but so many people do things for patients at Christmas time. We decided Valentine’s Day would be the perfect time, and hospital staff agreed.”

Bertrand asked for Gina Tonello’s help after seeing a bracelet Tonello had made for a friend.

“I reached out to Gina about her designing and making our own signature bracelets for Maureen’s Hope as a fundraiser and Gina said, ‘Absolutely,’” Bertrand said. “While my sister was hospitalized she wore a fun, inspirational bracelet from Chico’s and it represented her fun, lively spirit as she [lay] there in a hospital gown. We have a jewelry line to bring that same sense of ‘normalcy’ to others. My mother and I wore the same bracelet and it also helped us to feel connected.”

Tonello said she was honored to be asked.

“When Sue Bertrand asks you for something for Maureen’s Hope, you just don’t say no,” she said. “I get donation requests from dozens of organizations every year. I wish I could help them all, but I have to make tough decisions. I have a few favorites I work with every year and Maureen’s Hope is one on a very short list. Plus, whenever I have the opportunity to collaborate with other local Baldwinsville businesses on projects, it’s a win-win.”

Tonello’s creation is a quarter-inch-wide bracelet made of brushed aluminum cuffs that are easily adjustable. They’re hand stamped with designs like “MOM,” “I<3U” and “I L<3VE YOU.” Bertrand said she was thrilled with the final product.

“She put heart, soul and time into making each bracelet just right,” she said.

Bertrand said she hopes the gift will, like other programs run by Maureen’s Hope, remind kids that they’re not alone.

“Illness and long-term hospitalization can bring about feelings of loneliness, and both children and their caregivers can feel forgotten,” she said. “Most of our programs administered through Maureen’s Hope have a common thread of helping patients — men, women and children — to feel connected. The little things — like a bracelet or a basket — it matters and helps the journey, even if just a bit.”

Tonello said that the gift program provides  a “little bit of sunshine” to kids in long-term hospital care and their families, especially since it gives those kids a chance to be the givers for once instead of the receivers.

“I think children are extremely perceptive and understand their parents are suffering right along with them,” Tonello said. “This kind of gesture will hopefully give both the kids and their parents a tiny peace of mind.”