A little girl’s idea for a weekend lemonade stand quickly became a way to help the healthcare heroes and the patients they care for at Duke Raleigh Hospital.
After watching the news coverage of COVID-19 and hearing about her mother’s work as a Duke Raleigh Hospital nurse, Alyssa Tanner, 11, decided she wanted to help.
“Alyssa’s always had a giving soul,” said Maggie Tanner, RN, Clinical Nurse II on Duke Raleigh Hospital’s Surgical Oncology unit. “She wanted to find a way to help give people happiness.”
Alyssa dedicated a weekend to selling lemonade in her neighborhood to provide nurses on her mother’s floor with goodies to brighten their day. The hard work earned enough to provide 50 goody bags to day and night shift team members on the floor.
“It was really great to see how happy everyone was,” Maggie Tanner said. “The happiness was shining from underneath all our masks.”
The bags with inspirational messages were filled with vegetable, herb, and flower seeds; bubble wands; candy; and hand sanitizer donated from a local distillery.
“The team members’ faces lit up when Maggie surprised us with the goody bags her daughter put together for us,” Kelsey Bergstedt BSN, RN, CMSRN, NE-BC, Nurse Manager, Operations, Fifth Floor Medical-Surgical Oncology. “Everyone was so excited for the treats, especially the bubble wands because it was something they could go home and share with their own families.”
The generosity from the community through the lemonade stand didn’t stop there. Enough was raised to allow Maggie to stock the palliative care comfort cart the floor uses to provide patients with activities and gifts to lift their spirits.
“With visitor restrictions in place, we need to do even more to keep our patients occupied during their stay,” Maggie Tanner said. “As nurses, we can provide that comfort, but to have extra colored pencils, coloring books, word puzzles and journals helps give our patients a better care experience.”
This story is among the features showcasing our Duke Raleigh Hospital nursing team in honor of National Nurses Week (May 6 to May 12).
–By Erin McKenzie
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