At Whanganui Hospital are (standing from left) Stephen Brandon, Marama Cameron and Roland Devine, with (sitting from left) Litza Devine, Maureen O'Sullivan, Demi Devine and Zelie McLean (on Demi's lap). Photo / Bevan Conley
At Whanganui Hospital are (standing from left) Stephen Brandon, Marama Cameron and Roland Devine, with (sitting from left) Litza Devine, Maureen O'Sullivan, Demi Devine and Zelie McLean (on Demi's lap). Photo / Bevan Conley
Patients in the children's ward at Whanganui Hospital got a surprise this week with the arrival of Gabby's Boredom Boxes, courtesy of Gabby's Starlit Hope.
The charity was started by Whanganui-born Gabby Devine, who died of bone cancer in 2015, aged 13.
While ill, Gabby set up Starlit Hope, whichperformed random acts of kindness for children, parents and staff at the oncology ward at Starship Hospital and Taranaki Base Hospital.
Those efforts have continued after her death, and Gabby's father Roland Devine said they were passionate about giving back to the hospital where his daughter was born.
The boxes were dropped off on Friday morning, with Devine being joined by Gabby's great-grandmother, Maureen O'Sullivan.
"We have quite a strong link to Whanganui, and I've got a brick from the old maternity ward with her name on it," Devine said.
"The Whanganui Community Foundation were able to give us a grant to start this project and hopefully it's something we can continue."
There are 350 boxes in total - 75 a month for five months - and they come in green for younger kids and purple for those who are slightly older.
Each box includes a variety of craft activities and a customised Gabby instruction book, along with a "pay it forward postcard" to keep with Gabby's overall theme and to promote kindness.
Children are encouraged to colour in and write out a postcard to a parent, doctor or specialist to say thank you.
The purple boxes contain activites for older children, while the green boxes are designed for those who are a bit younger. Photo / Bevan Conley
Senior nurse Marama Cameron said Covid-19 restrictions meant toys and activities on the ward were "pretty few and far between".
"All the toys need to be washed down after patients use them, and that places a bit of a burden on housekeeping and cleaning," Cameron said.
"Sometimes children may bring their own things in if they are here for a little while, but generally they've come to hospital quite acutely unwell, so the last thing they are thinking is 'what do I need to take with me?'.
"Having their own special box to go away with is really exciting for them."
Whanganui Community Foundation manager Stephen Brandon said they hadn't received a grant request of this kind before.
The foundation granted $10,000 for the project.
"We were looking for something that would benefit children, youth or elderly, and this obviously fits in very well with that," Brandon said.
"There are papers that talk about the importance of play for recovery. We took careful note of that, so it's all backed up by best practice and scientific studies.
"With all those things in place, we couldn't say no."
Devine said random acts of kindness had made it easier for Gabby when she was going through her own treatment.
"Gabby is in these boxes as a cartoon character and so is her dog Abby, who still lives with us at home.
"It's the little things you come across and the people that you meet.
