Two young Peoria(Arizona) Brothers are Hoping to Bring Smiles to COVID-19 Patients by Sending Homemade Cards to Valley Hospitals.
Hurshneet and
Pravneet Chadha said they created "Project Smile AZ" to spread
positivity. They got the idea after listening to their parents , who are both
doctors, )Manpreet, an oncologist, and dad, Krishdeep,) a gastroenterologist, speak
about COVID-19 patients going through treatment alone in hospitals.
"We wanted
to make them feel accompanied on their journey to get better," said
15-year-old Hurshneet. "We want to make sure everyone is fine, and we want
to make sure everyone is happy."
When they
started, they delivered 150 cards to Banner Health. The response was so great
that they decided to keep going.
"We've had
many people reach out to us to send cards to our PO box, as well as hospital
CEOs have reached out to us, sending us thank you letters to our email so that
made us very proud," he said.
Now, they've
distributed 1,200 cards to the Navajo Nation, Circle the City, a nonprofit, and
several hospitals in the Valley.
"It helps
the patients when we give it to them, and they're saying they put a smile on
their faces when they receive them as well, so that's my favorite part,"
said 12-year-old Pravneet.
Through social
media, they've gotten classmates and other groups to donate cards, but they
make most of them in their living room.
"We come up
with anything that we think would inspire the patient," said Hurshneet.
"We put ourselves in the patient's shoes--what would we like for someone
to write on a card and what would inspire us in that situation?
The brothers
want to keep growing and said they'll continue to make "smile cards"
as long as there are COVID_19 patients who need them.
