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College Students Channel Their Inner Disney Princess to Bring Love and Joy to Children’s Hospitals Everywhere
You are never too old to believe in magic. Just ask Kylee McGrane and Maggie McAndrew, the founders of A Moment of Magic.
A Moment of Magic is a non-profit organization where people can volunteer to visit sick children in the hospital dressed up like Disney princesses. McGrane and McAndrew first got the inspiration for A Moment of Magic after watching Frozen.
The girls realized they looked like Elsa and Anna, the two main characters from Frozen, and decided they should visit the pediatric ward in the hospital dressed up like the characters.
“I’d always wanted to work in a pediatric cancer ward,” McGrane said. “I texted Maggie about the idea and she said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
The enthusiastic duo then created a GoFundMe to raise money for their idea. In about two weeks, they were able to raise over $2,000 to buy several costumes and wigs.
Since then, the foundation has really taken off. The pair has been able to attract over 40 volunteers in 12 different states.
The founders meet with the volunteers each week to brief them on being a “princess” and hanging out with the kids at the hospital. They have even set up an option for volunteers to Skype or FaceTime patients if they cannot make the trip to the hospital.
“We’ve never said no to a visit,” said volunteer and College of Mount Saint Vincent junior Ashley Clayton. “We always try to make it work.”
McAndrew even found a way to bring the princess experience to a girl who didn’t speak English.
“When I started speaking Spanish, her eyes lit up and she grabbed my face,” McAndrew says. “I almost didn’t get to meet her. By some miracle, she was awake when I was there.”
The volunteers have gotten very close in the process, supporting each other in every way possible.
“We are a family,” McGrane says. “If we have an especially hard visit, we have a support system that they know is always there for them.”
A Moment of Magic hopes to expand by the end of the year by including college athletes and superheroes in their future visits.
“Our ultimate goal is to bring more love to the world,” McGrane says. “I want to be the best I can be because that’s what these kids deserve.”
Check out more about A Moment of Magic on their website here.