Inspired by their one-year-old cousin’s condition, two sisters started ‘G’s Giving Gowns’ and sewed 1,800 brightly colored hospital gowns for kids.
In 2017, one-year-old Giada Demma was undergoing treatment for brain cancer and she was wearing the usual green-colored hospital gown, which was also some sizes bigger for her.
When her cousin Giuliana Demma, 13, and her younger sister Audrina, 11, from Freehold, New Jersey, saw her in a dull and oversized hospital gown, they felt even more saddened.
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Giuliana believes sick kids are in pain and suffer due to their condition, so creating fun and colorful gowns would be a great way to cheer them up and make them happy, as reported by the New York Post.
Although Giada is doing well now, Giuliana still remembers her cousin’s cancer treatment days, which led her to develop a keen interest in stitching as she grew up.
Inspired by this incident, the sisters learned to sew and made a fun printed hospital gown for another kid with cancer.
A middle school graduate, Guiliana’s initial creations were gowns with flamingo prints and Paris-themed patterns.
To date, the girls have stitched and donated 1,800 cheerful gowns for kids in 36 states of the USA and Uganda.
The best part is the gowns are absolutely free since many foundations and companies are involved with the girls in this process.
The Starbucks Foundation has provided them with a grant and a hospital linen company, ImageFIRST, cleans the clothes before they are donated to hospitals.
They also receive help from volunteers in a local church group and women’s group who assist with cutting the fabrics.
Audrina loves stitching just like her sister, wants to be a veterinarian, and helps out when her sister is busy with homework.
She mainly sews pillows, which they send along with colorful markers so the kids can color them as they like.
She also creates these pillows based on themes like Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, etc. Sometimes the pillow packages include rubber duckies and other small toys supplied by LIV Like a Unicorn, a pediatric cancer charity.
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The girls have also started sewing gowns with zippers to allow space for chemotherapy, injectibles, and other drugs. It also means that kids don’t have to wear gowns all the time while in the hospital.
Giuliana hopes to be a cancer surgeon when she grows up and enjoys hearing from patients and their families about the joy their dresses offer to the children.
She’s even formed a small organization called ‘G’s Giving Gowns,’ which is in the process of becoming a charity.
Guiliana and Audrina could have been ordinary girls doing their own thing, but they chose to care for other children in pain, displaying their strong character and value system.
