If things go as planned, 2020 should be a big year for the Big Hearts for Little Hearts Loma Linda Guild, says Laurel Munson, MD, president of the organization.
Munson, an Inland Empire physician, say the guild benefits the region’s children through activities and events designed to raise funds and awareness for the patients of Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital (LLUCH) as well as giving the children an emotional lift to help them forget, at least for awhile, the scary world of doctors and syringes.
“In 2020, our focus will be on two major goals,” Munson says. “First, we are planning a full slate of fun activities designed to take kids’ minds off the fact that they are patients in a hospital. Second, we will be hosting two major events to attract new members so we can expand our efforts in the future.
The guild will host its first activity for children, a Valentine’s party, on Monday, Feb. 10, in the LLUCH lobby. Titled “Loving Hearts Loving You,” the event will feature games, art projects, refreshments and gifts for the children as well as an opportunity for adult volunteers to interact with the children, helping them to focus on fun and good times.
Although the Valentine’s party will be the first 2020 activity for children, it will be the second major guild event of the year. The first event, the annual membership luncheon, was held on Wednesday, Feb. 5, from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. at Redlands Country Club. Munson says “Mending Hearts” is the theme for the event, which featured a presentation on pediatric cardiology by Neda F. Mulls, M.D., medical director of the pediatric echocardiogram laboratory at LLUCH.
The guild will host the following activities for children in the hospital lobby this year:
· Spring into Reading, an activity to interest children in the joys of reading. The event will be held Monday, March 16
· Luke’s Birthday Bash, the guild’s annual birthday party for hospital mascot Luke the Lion, on Sunday, June 7
· Fall into Reading, the autumn equivalent of Spring into Reading, on Monday, September 21
· Tree of Hope, a Christmas tree decorating event with special activities for children, sometime in November
· Gingerbread Village, an event that allows hospitalized children to decorate a gingerbread house and take home a gift, on Monday, Dec. 7
· Carols in the Lobby, a Christmas program featuring music, comedy and inspiration, on Monday, Dec. 14.
The guild’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the 21st annual Dishes for Wishes event, will take place at an as-yet-to-be-decided date in the fall at the National Orange Show grounds in San Bernardino. As she has since the event was first held in 1991, Redlands celebrity restaurateur Martha Green will host the event.
“It takes a ton of love and commitment to host all these activities and events,” Munson says, “but we live to make a difference for the children.
To date, the four chapters of the guild have raised approximately $7.8 million to benefit the children. In addition to the Loma Linda Guild, the organization has three other chapters: the Desert Guild, Murrieta Guild, and Riverside Guild. The guild was founded in 1990 by three prominent Inland Empire leaders: Dixie Watkins, Eloise Habekost and the late Nancy Varner.
Individuals interested in learning more about the guild can go online at
https://lluch.org/ways-give/guilds or call (909) 558-5370.
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