Radio Lollipop at Texas Children’s Hospital has been taking time this year to Salute Our Heroes! We’ve done special crafts for our soldiers, policemen, firemen, Doctors, and even the volunteers at TCH. The last group we had left to salute was the Nurse’s who we interact with each night we’re on the air.

To show them how special they are to us and especially the patients, we decided to try something a little different. Nurse’s Week is a big celebration here in Houston and we thought that would be a great time to do our part in saluting the Nurses at TCH.

During Radio Lollipop on May 3rd, 5th, and 10th, we took ballots to the patients so they could nominate their favorite nurse or nurses. The patient’s were encouraged to say why they thought the nurse(s) they were nominated were special. At the end of each night, we collected the ballots and put them in a large collection box.

On Wednesday, May 10th, we had a special live broadcast from 10AM to 2PM as a “Salute to TCH Nurses”. We went live on the air, ready with beads (big thing here in “Mardi Gras” country), lollipops, and prizes to give out to the nurses. Patients called in and dedicated songs to their favorite nurse(s), did shout-outs, or came up to the studio to participate. During our broadcast, we had patients in the studio pull a ballot from our collection box and we read the name(s) and reason for why they were nominated. The Prize Patrol took the lucky winner(s) their prize and distributed lollipops and beads to their fellow nurses. At the end of the broadcast, we took the remaining ballots and distributed them to the Charge Nurse on the individual floors.

We were a big hit and the nurses were very surprised with what the patient’s had to say about them. They were also very appreciative of us taking the time to recognize them. It was a great success and we’re planning on making this an annual event.

Get your dancing shoes ready…Radio Lollipop is coming to Miami Children’s Hospital…on Saturdays. That’s right, Saturdays. So set your clocks to 9:30 a.m., because starting June 18th 2005, Super Saturdays will join the ranks of Terrific Tuesdays, Wacky Wednesdays and Thrilling Thursdays.

Radio Lollipop Miami debued Super Saturday in April when they played host to the Radio Lollipop International Board Meeting. This fun-loving group of very energetic volunteers showed off its energy and talents not only to the patients of Miami Children’s Hospital, but also to Radio Lollipop members and coordinators from far off lands such as England, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand.

So mark your calendars…June 18th 2005 at 9:30 a.m. – Super Saturday promises to be loads of fun for everyone !

George Guerra and Nicholas Bright took home top honors for Volunteers of the Year. Usually given to one person, Miami Children’s Hospital broke from tradition and recognized the dynamic duo for their tireless commitment to Radio Lollipop during the Annual Volunteer Recognition Reception, at the Hyatt Hotel in Coral Gables, this past April.

George, who started back in October 2001, serves as team leader for Wacky Wednesdays, as manager of the Public Relations Department, as member of the Education Department, and most importantly, as an inspiration to all his teammates with his contagious energy and unstoppable resolve. George is always there to lend a helping hand and lead his team to a fun-filled night.

Nick, our British import, got his start on Wacky Wednesdays back in November 2003. Nick has served as RL Volunteer Coordinator, member of the Education and Public Relations Departments, and dedicated much of his personal time to the success of RL’s annual sock-hop. In fact, his teammates admire his tireless work ethic so much, they voted him Chairman of Radio Lollipop (Miami) earlier this month.

Hats off once again to George and Nick. You make us proud!

Southampton Radio Lollipop has had a visit from 2 commercial radio DJ’s. Rick Jackson and “Handy” Andy Telling from the breakfast show on local radio station PowerFM dropped in to see an evening’s activities. They visited the wards with volunteers, playing games with patients and joining in craft activities, finishing off in the studio with an on-air interview.

Both Rick and Andy began their broadcasting careers though hospital broadcasting. Both were impressed with Radio Lollipop’s play activities, which are not part of conventional hospital radio.

The visit was the idea of volunteer Debbie Palmer. “We all really enjoyed Rick and Andy’s visit”, she said. “They really joined in the spirit of Radio Lollipop and the children were really excited to meet them.”