“A nonprofit organization is bringing joy to children who are battling severe illnesses in hospitals — one storytime session at a time.
Evelyn Iocolano tells PEOPLE (the TV Show!) that she helped co-found Lollipop Theater Network in 2001 alongside Janis Fischer, a Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center volunteer.
The nonprofit organization, based in Los Angeles, focuses on ‘bringing current movies and entertainment to children confined to hospitals nationwide due to chronic or life-threatening illnesses,’ according to their website.
‘[The kids] were able to see all the advertisements on television for the next movie that was out, but they knew that they couldn’t see it because they couldn’t leave the hospital,’ Iocolano explains on Friday’s episode. ‘So we would go in their rooms, screen the movie… roll out a red carpet and hand them movie tickets.’
Celebrities have joined the fun, participating in Zoom meet and greets known as Storytime Sessions. Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Tiffany Haddish, Josh Gad, Sterling K. Brown, Tim Allen, Busy Philipps, Henry Winkler, Zoe Saldana and Jack Black have all taken part, according to Iocolano.
‘It just blew their minds,’ recalls Iocolano, who works as the executive director for Lollipop Theater Network.
When the pandemic hit in March, Iocolano says the organization was forced to switch its events to Zoom. Still, they’ve managed to increase to approximately 50 hospitals nationwide and do 300 Storytime Sessions since March — tripling their reach in the process.
Adds Iocolano: ‘When we tune into our Zoom, we see kids from all over the country. Some of the pediatric patients are at home and some are in hospitals. And it’s heartbreaking, it’s painful to see them in some of the situations we’re in. But then when our guest comes on, the smiles that come across their faces make this just completely worthwhile.’
One of the patients who has been positively influenced by the Lollipop Theater Network is a 12-year-old girl named Louisa Christy.
According to Iocolano, Louisa — who has a primary immunodeficiency called Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID) and Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) — recently sent her a letter thanking her for all the good Lollipop has done.
Prior to COVID-19, Louisa was active and took part in dance, music and theater classes. However, because of her illness, doctors told her she had to remain indoors.
‘I was definitely in a deep funk,’ Louisa recalls. ‘I never really felt depression before, and it was very hard for me and I didn’t really know how to deal with it, because my friends weren’t contacting me very often.'”
View the whole story here: https://people.com/human-interest/lollipop-theater-network-nonprofit-connects-sick-children-in-hospital-with-favorite-celebrities/