Pride of NZ: Love: Simple idea, massive difference

Tracey Meads wants to brighten up Starship Hospital walls and the days of sick children. Photo / File

Tracey Meads' idea - Love Letters - which sees children in Starship Hospital sent A4-sized letters to spell their names on their wall - has been so popular she is looking to expand the idea to other hospitals.

Her simple yet effective idea to brighten up the rooms of sick children and their families has seen the Ngakuru woman nominated for a Pride of New Zealand award in the community spirit category.

"It is spreading out to hospitals in New Zealand," she said. "I send it to anyone that's affected, even parents whose child was in hospital a couple of years ago and sometimes we sent [the large letters] to them for their bedroom wall, and parents that have lost their child. I just started it and we will just find out how far it will go."

Mrs Meads' nominator said she had an amazing story of courage herself, after her son, Frank, was in Starship Hospital after being diagnosed with leukaemia.

"Love Letters is her way of paying it forward to those that are travelling the road or similar roads that she and her family did. A lot of people who make the letters do it to pay it forward also because they too have experienced Starship, have family that have or just out of compassion."

Mrs Meads said she wanted to do something to brighten up the days of parents and children who spent a lot of time in hospital.

"Sometimes you are there for months and months, so it is a burst in your day. Every day can be the same so anything that's a surprise is nice.

"It's just knowing [Love Letters] are putting a smile on a parent's face with a sick child and making a child feel good and making that hospital room a bit brighter."

Mrs Meads said the idea had gained traction on Facebook.

"I think there was a lady that posted it to a New Zealand teachers' page or something like that so it basically went out to 10,000 teachers a couple of weeks ago and created a whole lot more awareness."

She said she did not want Love Letters to be about her.

"It's very cool - of course the nomination is fantastic. Going forward the main thing would be to get more awareness that there are families in hospital with sick children, but knowing that people can achieve something to make them feel better just simply by doing a letter and sending it to me."

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Nominations for the 2015 awards have now closed.
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