OCTOBER 2010 ISSUE
Magic Town Laughter:
At Clown School
By Bonnie Bivins
Bonnie becomes
Sunshine the Clown!
Learning to tie balloons during clown school
Putting on the Auguste Face
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Clown School, me? Well, to be honest, I hadn’t really thought
about it. I’ve always been a little goofy, so the possibility was
there. And then, there’s that still vivid memory of me, a 17 year
old Beta Sigma Phi volunteer in my full Easter Bunny costume,
preparing to visit at a Montgomery hospital. (there’s a photo
somewhere in an album at home!) Underneath that LARGE, HOT
Bunny head, I was grinning like the proverbial mule eating
briars!!
Working at Children’s Hospital for almost 6 years (first in the Gift Shop, then as a Greeter), I’ve met and
observed many clowns and marveled at their interactions with the children. What a treat to watch! Then
came Myla ….. and Giggles, and Jelly Bean, and Billy Bob … and I’ve known Lil’ Darling for a while as well.
Knowing that I love to paint and did craft shows for 13 years, I was invited (many times) to come to an Alley
meeting and see how the face painting was done. I LOVED IT and was so appreciative of the invitation. Once I
got my courage up, I accepted an invitation to face paint … and then, the love affair took off! What a
difference in painting a human … not a piece of wood, fabric or other material! A squirmy, wiggly child whose
eyes and whole face lights up when they see themselves in the mirror … transformed into whatever character
they requested! WOW!
With more gentle invitations and several opportunities to face paint, I was thinking I might really enjoy
becoming a clown and began “talking it up” with my hubby … I was still uncertain, but HE KNEW! The gift of
Clown School was presented to me by my hubby on Christmas. I was stunned to silence, and for those of you
who know me, that’s amazing! Silence turned to tears. Then came the wait as the January class was
cancelled. During the wait, however, I’ve been to as many alley meeting/events as I could get to, and Myla
and I have become “partners in fun”. My co-workers and clown friends continued to encourage me & wait
with me in almost as much anticipation and excitement!! Thank you SO much! I’m so blessed by your gifts of
friendship!
FINALLY, August 16th arrived and I went to work wearing loud colored clothing, funky tennis shoes, big rings,
bracelets and feathers in my hair!!!! Myla & Howard had a hard time keeping me contained and the day was
LONG! 5:30 finally arrived and I joined my fellow “clowns to be” in Children’s Harbor and our journeys had
begun!!! We were all excited as we unpacked our boxes and investigated the new materials placed before us
and before you could bat a false eyelash, we were applying whiteface, and cheeks and eyebrows … OH MY!
As we were called one by one to the front of the class for “critique”, you could see the level of enthusiasm
begin to rise as people posed and preened! After we applied our 2nd whiteface, we got to try on wigs! The
ENTHUSIASM was out the roof! There was laughter, posing, DANCING IN THE AISLES! One of our students
looked like Tina Turner with her wig … she was dancing as we were singing along to the lyrics of Proud Mary
…. Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river !
Get ready, ya’ll! We’re evolving!
Bonnie
a/k/a Sunshine
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A great time was had by all at the
Southeast Clown Convention held in
Jacksonville, Florida. Jelly Bean and
Giggles’ costumes were out of this world
and only fitting for the 2010: Space
Odyssey theme.
Giggles competed in individual skit and
placed 2nd. Jelly Bean presented her
individual scrapbook and placed 1st.
Then she presented her Magic Town
Clown alley scrapbook and placed 1st
too.
Jelly Bean and Giggles
As the weather begins to cool, it is a reminder that flu season will
soon be upon us. We are expecting to be able to offer free flu shots
later in October to our volunteers. More information will come as
soon as we know exact details.
If you decide to get a flu vaccine at another location, please be aware
of the following. If you get the flu mist rather than a shot, you are
receiving a small dose of a live virus. For this reason you must not
volunteer for at least seven days after receiving the mist. This is to
provide the most protection to our patients.
Volunteers: Stop by for a FREE flu vaccine
Available on the following dates:
October 13, 15, 18, 22 and 27
Location: Children’s Harbor, 4th Floor
Hours: 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Children’s South: October 28 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
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Pillowcase Challenge
By Judy “LuLu” Davenport
& Christina “Pixie” Elliott
Big Top Chairs
Just wanted to let you all know that Robin’s Sewing Shoppe, located in Hoover, participated in the “One
Million Pillowcase Challenge”. American Patchwork and Quilting made a challenge to quilters, sewers and
crafters across the nation. To help them reach the goal during 2010 to have one million pillowcases made and
donated to local charities. The theme was “Make a Pillowcase, Make a Difference.” They were hoping to
encourage others to make a difference in their local communities.
Robin’s Sewing Shoppe challenged their customers to participate is this project. The Big Top Clown Unit has
been very fortunate to have Robin donate lots of the pillowcases made at her shop to the clowns to be given
to the children. Others were donated to a local nursing home. All of these pillowcases are handmade, have
been washed and ironed and placed in individual sealed bags due to infection control policies.
I am stocking the “clown closet” with these pillowcases for the clowns to be able to give to the patients when
making rounds. I was very fortunate last night to be in the first group to give some of these out! I only wish
Robin and her customers could have been with us (Whiskers, Cow Boy Bob and LuLu) to see how excited the
kids were with their pillowcases. Several of them had them on their pillows before we left the rooms. I’m
sure you all will be seeing a lot of these around the hospital in the coming months. I will continue to replace
the supply in the closet to be given out by the clowns as they visit the children.
Thanks to Robin and all of her customers who took their personal time and resources to make such a generous
donation to the Big Top Clowns for the benefit of the children.
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In the
Spotlight!
AT&T Pioneers sponsored Parents Night Out
in September. They had a great group to attend
serve the parents of Children's Hospital.
Former volunteer and new part-time information
desk employee, Holy Starr, just got accepted into and
UAB School of Nursing. She’s showing off her new
nurse-to-be bag full of the medical equipment she will
need to become a successful RN. Good luck Holly!
You’re Invited!
Auxiliary Board and GENERAL MEMBERSHIP Meeting
Meeting Date/Time:
November 9, 2010 - 5:30 pm
Location:
Amelia Center
Agenda:
*Tours of the Amelia Center
*Slide presentation of Big Top Clown Unit 2010 in review
*Vote on the updated Auxiliary ByLaws
*Vote on the slate of officers for 2011
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RSVP:
Dinner will be served. Please let Kim Crane know if you will be joining us.
939-9695 or [email protected].
Dr. Redbird says support
Fire Prevention Week in October
Remember RACE
Remove or Rescue
Activate the Alarm
Contain the Fire
Extinguish
Remember PASS
Pull the pin
Aim at the base
Squeeze the handle
Sweep side to side
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MARK YOUR
CALENDARS!
Volunteer Voice is a publication for volunteers of
Children’s Health System.
To submit a story or story idea:
Call: 205.939.9797
Fax: 205.558.2080
E-mail: [email protected]
October 2010
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25
26
Parent’s Night Out, 6pm, Bradley
Lecture Center
Auxiliary Fun Night at the Harbor, 6pm,
Children’s Harbor
Auxiliary Board Meeting, 5:30pm
1600 7th Avenue South
Birmingham, Alabama 35233
DEPARTMENT PHONE DIRECTORY
November 2010
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11
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Auxiliary Board & General Membership Meeting
Parent’s Night Out, 6pm, Bradley
Lecture Center
Auxiliary Fun Night at the Harbor, 6pm,
Children’s Harbor
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Department Director
Volunteer Services Office
Gift Shop
Patient Information
www.chsys.org
939.9696
939.5199
939.9295
939.9111