Isaac's Friends
Bringing love & laughter to children when they need it the most
Who We Are
Isaac's Friends is a 501(c)3 non-profit charity incorporated in South Carolina. Our initial service area is the Greenville, SC region with plans to rapidly expand throughout the southeast and eventually across the country. Where ever there are children in hospitals, we want to be there to help.
We are currently serving about 70 children a month. For 2009, our volunteers directly helped around 400 children in local hospitals. Our services involve using laptop computers and age appropriate games to take into local hospitals where teens and children are under long term care. Volunteers talk and play games with the children for 30 minutes to an hour per visit depending on the patients' conditions. The purpose is to provide love and care through attention, socializing, and play. The volunteers help bring some normalcy to the children's lives amidst abnormal and often depressing situations. We also support the family by providing services to the local Ronald McDonald Houses, helping to relieve some of the stress associated with caring for a hospitalized child and giving much needed hope, encouragement and support.
Research studies have shown that fun interaction time helps benefit the children in ways like:
- Reduced pain and distress
- A reduction in the fear and isolation of a prolonged illness
- A greater willingness to return for treatment
- An increased sense of peer support
- Increased knowledge and sense of responsibility for managing disease
- Much needed distraction from the challenges that accompany their illness
- Increased ability to cope with their disease
The mission of Isaac's Friends is to promote the emotional well-being of children enduring hospitalization due to serious illness or injury by providing one-on-one interaction time with fun-loving, caring volunteers and to provide support to their families.
Meet our team of caring, dedicated leaders
Founder and Executive Director - Jamie Hughes
Board of Directors - John Lewis and Ben Lobengilo
Staff Photographer - Sydney Hughes
The Story of Isaac's Friends - by Jamie Hughes, Executive Director
I have been asked many times how the idea for Isaac's Friends came about. The motivation to start this organization came from seeing a need that I could fill, both as a volunteer and as a leader.
There were three events in my life that led to the creation of Isaac's Friends. The first piece of the puzzle came in 1998 when my daughter, Sydney, turned 1 yr. old. She had been running a fever for almost a week and had been treated with antibiotics for several possible conditions. The treatments weren't working. She became so ill that she began to lose usage of her arms and legs. When she was taken to the emergency room at Greenville Memorial Children's Hospital, they admitted her and began running tests checking for everything from meningitis to Kawasaki's disease. She was in the hospital for 10 days.
That was the longest 10 days I had ever experienced, especially sleeping in a chair, lol! During her stay, one of my best friends came to give support and because there were no extra cots, slept on the floor of her room just to be there with us. That act taught me what sacrifice and support were really about and instilled in me a great desire for helping people going through tough times. While Sydney was undergoing treatment, there were things that made her stay less frightening and difficult for her. For example: Ronald McDonald came around and talked to the kids, there was a wagon for her to ride in, there were toys and games to play, and a couple from our church brought her a brown stuffed teddy bear that she called "Baby" - that bear has had numerous "surgeries" and she still has it today (Sydney is now 11 years old). Do you see how one act of kindness and love can impact someone's life for years to come?
The next event that influenced the creation of Isaac's Friends had nothing to do with me but involved a friend. Not the imaginary kind of friend that you talk to your therapist about, but a real person - a boy named Brandon. Brandon was 15 at the time and we attended the same church. I was friends with his dad and mom and had great respect for them and their family, as did everyone that knew them. Brandon ran cross country track and was active in the youth group at church. One day the news came out - he had been diagnosed with leukemia. That news was very saddening, very sobering. I saw the hardship that his family went through during the next year. I got to spend a little time with them at church and at their home and saw how "normal" activities, such as playing video games and hanging out with friends, helped Brandon so much. After harsh treatment did not work, the only possibility was a blood transfusion. Brandon's little brother was a match and bravely gave of himself to help his brother. The leukemia went into remission, but not for long. When it came back it was too much for the young man to take. At 16, Brandon lost the battle with that dreadful disease. There are so many lessons that I have learned over the years since then just from reflecting on this one person's life. As a parent, I empathize with his father - hoping that I will never have to face what he did, what so many parents have to go through. I saw the strength and hope and faith that is available to us, and that we can give to others. Another definitive lesson in support and love. Our organization helps many children and families that are hurting and scared - giving them support, love, and encouragement because my heart was touched by Brandon.
The final piece of the puzzle came about three years ago. I was working with a partner developing a business and marketing plan for a video game center and the idea for making the games mobile came in to play. The plan was to run video game tournaments for people to play against each other at various locations such as clubs, bars, even special events at companies. My partner showed me that the video games could be put on laptops for easy transportation. During that process the idea came to me to take the laptop with games on it into the children's hospital to play games with them. Even if they were bed ridden, the laptop would sit right on top of the food tray that goes over the bed. It took a couple of years for the concept to materialize and as of July 25, 2008 Isaac's Friends became a recognized charity in South Carolina. Our first service arrangement was with Greenville Memorial Children's Hospital and then with the Ronald McDonald House in Greenville. Our goal is to expand our services to 3 additional hospitals in 2009 and to continue reaching out to children's hospitals accross the country.
