Community members gathered on the sidewalk Wednesday night outside Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, carrying flashlights, glow sticks and other fun lights of many shapes, colors and sizes. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Skylar Darga, 16, and her mother, Jessica, watched the lights down below from Skylar’s hospital room. Skylar is in the hospital for a few weeks as she undergoes treatment for cystic fibrosis. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Grand Rapids firefighters from Engine 5 wave their lights to the patients outside the hospital while their firetruck lights flash during Project Night Lights. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
“I think this is a very thoughtful thing to do for us in here,” Skylar said. “It’s like the Fourth of July, but on the ground.” (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Sophia Clark, 15, and Tomas Ruiz, 17, students at Spring Lake Public Schools, attended Project Night Lights with about 90 of their classmates. “We want to say goodnight to the kids inside the hospital,” Tomas said. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Josie Bielecki, 9, waves her lights to kids in the children’s hospital during Project Night Lights. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Project Night Lights is held on the second Wednesday of each month. Young patients and their families flash lights from hospital windows as a crowd of community members join in with flashlights from the sidewalks below. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Batman walked among the crowd of people outside the children’s hospital. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Batman brought his light projector to shine on Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion. The kids in the children’s hospital could see it from their rooms. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
“I think this is thoughtful,” Jessica said. “To see her face light up while we are in here—it’s more than thoughtful.” (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
While firetrucks, police cruisers and tow trucks flashed their emergency lights, there were also cars and SUVs outfitted with fun, festive lights. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Ava Weis, 10, smiles at her sister, Abigail, while she flashes her flashlight towards to hospital. Ava is no stranger to the children’s hospital. She received treatment for stage 2A Hodgkin lymphoma. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Tomas and his classmates attended Project Night Lights to bring good feelings to the kids. “I have received a lot of care from doctors at the hospital, and I am grateful for them,” Tomas said. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Lydia Huisman, 14, came out with her dad, Marc, and her mom, Lori. Lydia spent six weeks in the hospital last year, undergoing multiple surgeries after a car accident. She wanted to show her support Wednesday by bringing some joy to the children in the hospital. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Editor’s note: Patients and visitors must wear a mask inside Corewell Health facilities. Masks were worn according to policy and were removed only for photos.
Wednesday evening, Tomas Ruiz shined his flashlight onto the windows of Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
“We want to say goodnight to the kids inside the hospital,” said Tomas, 17, a student at Spring Lake Public Schools.
It was the first Project Night Lights that Tomas had attended—he’d heard about it from a volunteer club at school that encourages community involvement.
“This is something I can do to make other people feel good,” he said.
He and a group of classmates from Spring Lake Public Schools stood among the dozens of community members who had gathered on the sidewalk outside the children’s hospital to celebrate Project Night Lights.
The event, hosted on the second Wednesday of each month, invites young patients to shine flashlights from the children’s hospital windows as the crowd joins in with flashlights from the sidewalks below. It’s organized in conjunction with Silent Observer.
The visitors are united in the common goal of spreading good cheer.
Several law enforcement agencies are always on hand, with lights on firetrucks and police cruisers flashing brightly in support of the kiddos.
Tomas said Spring Lake students wanted to bring good feelings to the kids. He’d been in the children’s hospital for treatment before, so he knows the value of shining a ray of hope and happiness into their lives.
“I have received a lot of care from doctors at the hospital, and I am grateful for them,” Tomas said. “Even though I can’t see the kids in person, I like making their day feel a little brighter.”
His classmate, 10th-grader Sophia Clark, 15, also attended Project Night Lights for the first time.
“I think it’s a really cool experience,” Sophia said. “My sister was in the hospital for two weeks and it’s really nice to have people recognize that you’re there and support you.
“It’s a great way to put them in a happy mood and recognize that they are there—connecting with them on a personal level that couldn’t always happen.”
Up in the children’s hospital, Skylar Darga, 16, stood at the window of her room, waving a snowflake-shaped glow stick. Her mother, Jessica, stood by her side.
“I think this is a very thoughtful thing to do for us in here,” Skylar said. “It’s like the Fourth of July, but on the ground.”
The team from Spring Lake Public Schools also participated in a flashlight donation recently to support Project Night Lights.
Ben Armey, principal at Spring Lake High School, said he’s proud of his students for their enthusiasm.
“This is a powerful moment where a small act by Spring Lake students can have a meaningful impact outside the walls of their classroom,” Armey said.
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