A group of prisoners, sentenced as teenagers to life in prison, reached out to hospitalized children this holiday season, bringing joy into their lives.
For the second year, the San Quentin activity group Kid C.A.T., the Vietnam Veterans Group of San Quentin, prison staff, and community volunteers of about 25 worked together by using watercolor paint, marking pens and glitter to decorate Christmas cards.
The holiday cards, some decorated with Ninja Turtles, gingerbread men and even Bart Simpson, were presented to youngsters hospitalized at Oakland Children’s Hospital as singer Brenda Rhodes strummed a guitar and sang holiday tunes.
“We all know what it is like to receive cards during the holidays, so we know how important this is to kids,” said Michael Nelson, co-founder of Kid C.A.T.
Kid C.A.T. is an acronym for “Kids Creating Awareness Together.”
Kid C.A.T.’s agenda envisions communities that provide a healthy and loving environment for youngsters so that they may grow into mature adults.
“It really does brighten their days,” said Oakland Children’s Hospital Director of Volunteers Susan Martinez as she explained how the holiday cards are put on the children’s food trays.
“I think you are doing a tremendous thing for yourselves and for the kids,” she said.
Martinez has been with the hospital for 11 years and manages 11,000 volunteers who supplement a full-time staff of 2,000.
Approximately 12,000 patients and 250,000 outpatients, with all forms of medical needs, are seen each year at the hospital. They speak 60 different languages.
The hospital is a trauma center, and receives patients from around the world, including children injured from the war in Iraq, according to Martinez.
Oakland Children’s Hospital was founded in 1912 by Mabel
Weed and nurse Bertha Wright, then called the “Baby Hospital.” Today it has 191 licensed beds. The facility offers outstanding patient care and supports nationally recognized pediatric teaching and research.
The average hospital stay for a child is five days.