New Canaan High School junior Kaylee Paladino has seen first-hand how important it is for kids going through difficult treatments or surgeries at a hospital to have ready access to a toy.
New Canaan High School junior Kaylee Paladino with a donation box for her Girl Scout gold project.
A brother had developed Crohn’s Disease, and it helped ease his anxiety at Stamford Hospital when he took advantage of a dedicated toy closet there, called ‘David’s Toy Chest.’
“He thought it was nice to get the toy and that made his experience better,” Kaylee recalled.
Now, for her Girl Scouts Gold Award, the teen is seeking to create a similar feature at Norwalk Hospital.
Kaylee has set up collection boxes at New Canaan Library and Ring’s End in Lewisboro, N.Y., and soon will have a third box at the high school, and she’s in the midst of converting what was a small bathroom at Norwalk Hospital into a new toy closet.
“I need to build shelves, paint it, get the door painted and organize the toys—it’s a big project,” Kaylee said.
And a worthwhile one.
“I knew they [Norwalk Hospital] didn’t have a toy chest or anything of that kind, and I thought it was a great ida to bring to the hospital,” she said. “I was born at Norwalk Hospital and my family goes there if there’s a problem, and I thought it would be a nice thing to do for the community.”
She’s seeking anything that will help brighten a child’s day—new toys, books and gift cards, for example.
For more information about the project, email NorwalkDonation@Gmail.com.
Donations are also being collected at the New Canaan Toy Store.