Caring for Carilion Kids
Project Overview
Our project "Caring for Carilion Kids" aimed at improving the experience of the young patients at Carilion Children's Hospital. The main deliverables include hosting book drives; Reaching out to local schools and libraries to encourage donations; And creating reading videos. Our goal is to make a positive and long-lasting impact on the community by bringing smiles to the faces of the children at Carilion.
You can view or download our project documents here
Kick-off Meeting with Macy at Carilion Children's Hospital
The Kick-Off Meeting was held on February 2nd with the objective of getting the project off to an effective start. The meeting was attended by all team members and Macy Ware, the project sponsor.
The agenda included introductions, project guidelines, and expectations. We shared our intentions to create a website to track project progress and update the project sponsor weekly via email. Macy was confirmed to meet with the team at least three times, including a final assessment. We were expected to spend 20-30 hours on the project.
During the brainstorming session, we asked Macy if she wanted anything specific from them and shared their idea about a book drive and reading to kids. Macy was also asked about the possibility of creating a video for the project, which will be shown on the project website.
Planning Phase
During the planning phase, our team held several meetings to discuss the organization and plans for our project.
On February 9th, we decided to focus on organizing the project website, updating team contracts, and the stakeholder register. We also brainstormed about incorporating athletes and the Hokie Bird mascot in our videos and began researching ways to rent equipment and record videos.
On February 23rd, we met with our project sponsor, Macy Ware, to review the communication plan, project charter, and scope statement. Based on her feedback, we revised the project objectives in the charter to focus more on providing an educational outlet and helping children escape their treatment through imagination. We also prioritized book donations over monetary contributions and discussed various promotional strategies for our book drive. We then incorporated Macy's suggestions into our scope statement and communication plan.
In a follow-up meeting on February 28th, we finalized the project charter, scope statement, and communication plan based on the feedback we received. We also restored previous versions of these documents and created new versions with the necessary changes. We continued working on these documents in subsequent meetings on March 2nd and 16th.
On March 21st, we met with the Assistant Director of Player Engagement to discuss involving athletes in our reading videos. We agreed on a plan to meet with 3-5 football players to record videos of them reading children's books, with the videos to be sent to us by April 21st. However, in the following weeks, the athlete team withdrew their support, and we changed our original plan based on the risk management plan we had set up earlier.
Throughout the planning phase, we also discussed logistics for our book drive, including the distribution of flyers, collection points at local libraries, and various donation platforms. We contacted Newman and Blacksburg Library to set up collection points and began promoting the book drive on Facebook and other channels.
Execution Phase
Following the planning phase, our team proceeded to the execution phase of the project. This phase entailed implementing the strategies and tasks that were meticulously planned and documented during the previous phase.
One of the primary tasks during the execution phase was the distribution of flyers to promote the book drive. We created informative and engaging flyers that provided details about the purpose of the book drive, the types of books we were seeking, and our contact information. We also incorporated a Venmo donation QR code on the flyer to facilitate monetary donations, allowing interested individuals to contribute funds easily. Our team members efficiently distributed these flyers across various locations in local communities, such as community centers, coffee shops, libraries, and apartment complexes, to ensure maximum visibility and reach.
In Northern Virginia, the book drive was particularly successful, with the collection box at the local store yielding 80 books due to the high traffic in the store and a large number of young families in the area. In Blacksburg, we focused on reaching out to the local community and libraries to encourage donations and find alternative ways to appeal to the college student audience.
Another crucial aspect of the execution phase was recording reading videos. These videos aimed to provide the young patients at Carilion Children's Hospital with entertainment, education, and solace during their stay. In collaboration with the VT Media Recording Studio, we set up an appropriate recording environment with a camera positioned to face down on the books and microphones for optimal audio quality. Our team members recorded themselves reading engaging and age-appropriate children's books, ensuring that each video was entertaining and comforting for the young patients.
Throughout the execution phase, our team maintained close communication with each other and our project sponsor and stakeholders to ensure that all tasks were progressing smoothly and according to plan. By successfully carrying out the planned activities during this phase, we were able to positively impact the lives of the children at Carilion Children's Hospital, bringing smiles to their faces and providing them with an escape through the power of reading and storytelling.
Close-out Meeting at Carilion Children's Hospital
On April 21st, our team visited Carilion Children's Hospital in Roanoke to deliver our donations and participate in a close-out meeting. We gathered in the playroom on the children's floor, an important space where young patients can have a break from their hospital rooms. This meeting provided us with the opportunity to witness the direct impacts of our project and understand the significance of our efforts. We learned that the hospital relies entirely on donations to provide books and activities for the patients.
Books and toys are crucial in the hospital setting as they not only offer an escape from treatment but also serve as tools for child life specialists to help children feel more comfortable with the hospital and their treatment. For instance, there are toys that model MRI machines and IVs, as well as books that discuss procedures and health conditions. Our project's success was evident in the 160 new and gently used books collected through our book drives, and the $525 raised through Venmo donations, which will be used to provide additional toys, activities, and books for the hospital. The close-out meeting allowed us to reflect on our project's accomplishments, discuss potential improvements, and gather valuable feedback from our project sponsor, Macy, to ensure future projects continue to make a positive impact on the children at Carilion Children's Hospital.