Feature Story 1: Pillowcase Project Name: Christy

Thomas

When Sara goes to sleep, she clutches “Whiskers,” her pillowcase decorated with bunnies
and carrots. One normally does not find pillowcases as a replacement for a stuffed animal.
However, in a hospital that is dark and white, a colorful pillowcase adds some life.
Junior Tameka Judson was dumbfounded when she saw the lack of color in hospital rooms.
She decided to start the Pillowcase Project to bring a bit more color in the patients’ lives. With
the help of local businesses, she and her friends delivered 30 pillowcases to the hospital on
February 15. They will deliver another set to the cancer ward on March 8.
Judson was inspired to take action when she watched a special newscast on the children’s
hospital. She was touched by the strength of the young patients and their parents. She knew
she had to contribute.
“My bedroom is a rainbow of colors- every color of the sun,” Judson said. “Colors make me
happy, so I was so struck by the whiteness of those hospital rooms. I thought if I could bring a
little color into those rooms, I might be able to bring a little happiness, too.”
For children like Sara, the pillowcases made a difference. She still holds on to it every night.
“When Tameka knocked on our hospital door and asked if she could give Sarah a pillowcase,
I had no idea what kind of impact it would have,” Sara’s mother Valeria Gallegos said. “Tameka
was right. Color did make a difference for Sarah. The pillowcase was the first thing she saw
every morning and the last thing she saw every night. And it always made her smile.”
The girls even go one step further by getting to know each child personally.
“This has been an absolutely wonderful project at the hospital,” hospital administrator Doug
Lent said. “When they delivered their first batch of what I call ‘colorful love,’ the girls went to
each child and helped the child select the perfect pillowcase. Then, the girls spent time getting
to know his or her story and listening to the child’s fears and dreams. Those pillowcases bring
so much wonderful energy to the hospital.”
The girls meet every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday for two hours each. They meet at
Judson’s house where she and her mother have converted the dining room into a sewing room.
“I am not very good on the sewing machine, so I do most of the cutting and pinning,” Junior
Sonia Bustamante said. “It sounds kind of boring, but I have loved every minute of it. Before I
joined the group, I spent a lot of my free time watching television and playing iPad games. Now I
spend that time making a difference in a child’s life.”
Judson hopes to make more than 1000 pillowcases before college starts. Moreover, her and
her friends are planning to send another set to the cancer ward next week.
“Some of these children have spent almost half their lives in a hospital in those white,
depressing rooms,” Judson said. “I hope the colorful pillowcases will bring these children joy,
too. They so need it.”