The XA Project

For the 5th consecutive year The XA Project gifts Children’s National Hospital subscriptions to Disney+ 💛!!

Here are examples of the impact we are making: 💛💛

I use Disney+ every day to aid in distracting patients during difficult procedures. Just this week, I had a patient who was crying, upset, and resisting sitting with her parent for the procedure. Her mom asked me, “what are the odds you have the Encanto performance at the Hollywood Bowl?” I responded, “high, actually, I have Disney+!”. The patient immediately calmed down and zoned into her favorite movie on Disney+, and we were able to get the procedure done. Disney+ gives patients a sense of comfort and familiarity to watch their favorite shows or movies during a difficult time. (Sophia DeBacco, MS, CCLS)

Disney+ is a vital resource for our surgery patients at Children’s National. As child life specialists, one of our roles is to assist patients separating from their parents to go to the operating room. This can be a tough and scary moment for a child. However, being able to offer them their favorite Disney show/movie on an iPad brings them immense comfort and eases the transition. Parents have commented to us multiple times about the appreciation they have for this resource and the reassurance it provides them that their child will be okay without them. From Frozen to Bluey to Spidey and Friends lovers everywhere, thank you for this donation you provide to our hospital! (Laura Manu, CCLS)

The XA Project is proud to partner with Children’s National to continue to bring smiles, joy and comfort to pediatric patients and their families! 💛

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The XA Project in partnership with The Art of Kindness Podcast gifted Playbill programs to pediatric patients who love musical theatre 🎭❤️. One parent responded: “You have perfect timing! …this just brightened her day like you wouldn’t believe.” 💛

Kindness takes many forms. Sometimes it’s sharing the little things that matter, because the act of sharing can be a big thing for someone… 💛

A special thanks to Alli Mauzey for signing the “Hello Dolly” Playbill. You are the BEST!! 🌟❤️

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The XA Project gifted 20 tickets to pediatric patients and their families from The Children's Inn at NIH to see National Symphony Orchestra concert “Disney: The Sound of Magic” at The Kennedy Center on June 23rd 🎼🎻 !!

Here is an example of some joy that was created from this concert: “….one young girl experienced her first visit to the Kennedy Center and first symphonic celebration of Disney. When the orchestra started playing a song she recognized, she squealed so loudly that our entire row chuckled with excitement.” 💛🥰

The arts touching hearts and spreading joy to kids and families facing challenging times. These smiles are what The XA Project is all about. 💛

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Xavier’s Ripple Effect Strikes Again!! 💛

A family, who previously received tickets by The XA Project to a Kennedy Center show in 2016, donated 2 tickets to The XA Project to one of the hottest musical theatre shows in town - Tick Tick Boom at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Broadway Center Stage. The XA Project worked with Children’s National Hospital to gift the tickets to a patient who would really enjoy the performance. Mission accomplished! 💛

A kind message from her Mom:

“It’s taken me some time to find the right words to properly thank you for your incredible gift! We were the recipients of your “Tick, Tick,Boom” production at the Kennedy Center. My daughter couldn’t have been a better person to receive them! She just turned 16 (& sadly spent it at Children’s). Kayleigh Jayne is a home schooled {student} who has dreams of being on Broadway! We have NO Doubt that she will make her way there. When shes not fighting {multiple medical issues}, this girl is on the stage sharing her talent and love for the arts. This gift could not have come at a more appropriate time. One of our dearest friends just had her 40th surgery at Children’s for a very rare condition and her brother has struggled through all of this. So we wanted to lift his spirit by also gifting him this time. The kids had an amazing time together and it brought so much happiness to see the kids joyful 🥰❤️ Thank you again, one very grateful Momma”

These joyful smiles are what The XA Project is all about!! (Photos and message shared with permission of the family). 💛💛

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The XA Project gifted a 65” 4K Smart TV & portable TV cart to Children’s National Hospital (so that more pediatric patients can enjoy the Disney+ subscription gifted earlier by The XA Project). 💛

Pictured in this post are Child Life staff, a patient enamored with the TV who came to thank The XA Project, and Drs. Atienza and Vollinger (from The XA Project). All photos shared with the permission of Children’s National. 💛

Children’s National Child Life stated that the new TV is a very popular item requested by kids! In addition, the hospital uses the TV to hold movie nights for patients and families (sometimes at the rooftop Healing Garden), and to make the dialysis center a welcoming place for kids receiving treatment. 💛

The XA Project continues to find innovative and impactful ways to bring joy, smiles and peace via arts and entertainment to seriously ill kids and their families. 💛

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The XA Project gifted tickets to Disney’s Frozen - The Musical performed at The Kennedy Center to pediatric patients and their families staying at The Children's Inn at NIH 💛. The kids and families LOVED the performance!

Here are some reactions:
6-year-old: “I love Frozen, this is my favorite, this was the best day ever!!”

7-year-old: “My favorite part of the play is getting the opportunity to sing along, and I really enjoyed the different outfits that they had it was super cool!”

14-year-old: “Attending this trip to see Frozen made me feel very joyous and happy, you’re never too old for Disney!”

10-year-old: “A great show and a funny one too, my mom and I had a great time.”

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The XA Project continues to bring joy, smiles, and heartwarming experiences to seriously ill children and their families! It is always a pleasure to partner with the Children’s Inn at NIH. (Photos and quotes shared with permission of the Children’s Inn at NIH). 💛

The XA Project gifts subscriptions of Disney+ to The Children's Inn at NIH for the 4th consecutive year! 💛

The impact of this program on the kids receiving life-saving treatments at NIH and their families has been powerful! Below is a story shared my Inn staff:

“We had a 13-year-old boy from South America staying at The Children’s Inn with his mother. He had never experienced the magic of Disney+ at home, and had access to this captivating universe during his stay at The Inn. He was so taken by Disney+, he couldn't help but have his medical team reach out to us. His call touched our hearts, as he shared his deep love for the content available on the platform. His connection to the magic of Disney+ was so profound that even the medical team recognized the therapeutic value it brought to his journey. Although we could not provide him the login information, we helped him to countdown the days until he could resume experiencing the wonders of Disney+. It is a testament to the profound impact a touch of magic can have on a child's life, even in the face of challenging circumstances.”

The XA Project - creating joy and smiles with pediatric patients and their families through sharing the power of the arts and entertainment!! 💛

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For the 4th consecutive year, The XA Project gives the gift of Disney+ to Children’s National Hospital! And gifts an additional subscription just for CNMC transport!! 💛 The XA Project proudly partners with Children’s National to bring smiles to seriously ill kids. 💛

A story of the impact:

“I had an 8 y/o F patient in burn clinic who was about go through an extensive dressing change where staff had to debride and clean her burns. When we were coming up with a coping plan, she was so happy that I had Disney+ so she could watch the new live action “The Little Mermaid” movie. During the dressing change, she was crying when we were cleaning and was screaming in pain. “The Little Mermaid” was still playing in the background and when the cleaning was over and she was slowly calming down, “Part of Your World” started playing and she lit up and started singing the song. I started singing along with her and she continued to happily watch the movie while staff were putting on her new bandages. I think having this movie playing during her dressing change positively impacted her coping! On her way out of clinic, she mentioned that she is excited to come back and watch the rest of the movie, and not a lot of patients are excited to come back to burn clinic.” -Kate Donofrio, MS, CCLS

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“The Disney+ subscriptions have been a gift that keeps on giving to every family. There have been multiple families watching movies on Disney+ every day in the Bistro. I can find them watching the same movies over and over from day-to-day. Having the subscriptions allows them to watch some of their favorite movies at their leisure.” (The Children’s Inn at NIH, November 2022) 💝😀

The XA Project gives the gift of Disney+ to The Children's Inn at NIH for the 3rd consecutive year! 💛💛💛

The XA Project remains committed to bringing joy to pediatric patients and their families through inspiring arts and entertainment, even through this continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The XA Project proudly partners with the Children’s Inn at NIH to bring smiles to seriously ill kids and their family members. 💛

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A circle of kindness comes to fruition. 💛

In January 2014, Alli Mauzey made an act of kindness that changed Audie Atienza’s life for good. During the darkest days following the death (due to a rare disease, FIRES) of Audie’s beloved son, Xavier Alexander Atienza, Alli invited Audie and his daughter, Xochi, to come see WICKED The Musical on Broadway. Alli was performing the role of Glinda and took Audie and Xochi backstage after the show. 💚 This amazing experience gave Audie and Xochi a brief but powerful moment of light, peace and joy when all else was dark. This kindness sparked the central idea for The XA Project - bring joy and kindness to pediatric patient families by sharing what Xavier loved - the arts. 💛

The XA Project was launched in January 2015 and has since given over 1100 tickets to arts concerts to sick kids, including to Andres Carranza. Andres was receiving life saving treatment at NIH for pediatric lymphoma (cancer), a rare disease. He stayed at The Children's Inn at NIH for months at a time to receive the treatments.

Audie and Andres are not only connected through their rare diseases experiences, they also share a birthday! AND Andres’ first name is actually Javier!! 💛

Fast forward to October 2022: Audie and Xochi celebrated their respective birthdays by going to see Wicked the Musical in Chicago together! 💚 Two weeks later, Audie traveled to New York City for work. By day, Audie is Dr. Atienza, a mild-mannered scientist at the NIH. On this trip, he spoke with medical researchers at Columbia University about ways to more quickly find diagnoses and treatments for various diseases, including rare diseases. Javier had since moved to NYC to work on Wall Street after graduating college. And Alli had been cast in a new hilarious and touching Broadway musical - Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway 🎭! Timing was perfect and Audie took Javier to see Alli perform. Unbeknownst to Audie and Javier, Kimberly Akimbo the Musical brilliantly tells the story of a family dealing with a rare disease!! 🤯 Joy and smiles permeated the theatre with the wonderful performances of the actors! Audie and Javier cheered the loudest! 💛

Acts of kindness can create ripple effects, and those ripple effects can spread across time and come full circle to (literally) cheer for those who initially acted selflessly with kindness. 💛

The XA Project gives the gift of Disney+ to Children’s National Hospital for the 3rd consecutive year! 💛

The XA Project remains committed to bringing joy to pediatric patients and their families through inspiring arts and entertainment, even through this continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The XA Project proudly partners with Children’s National to bring smiles to seriously ill kids. 💛

A kind note from CNMC: “Disney+ has been extremely beneficial in my everyday practice as a child life specialist in the outpatient surgery department. Often times children are scared to separate from their parents to go into the operating room. However, when I offer them the familiar choice to be able to watch a movie or show they love on Disney+, their faces light up! It is heartwarming to see patients go from scared to singing their favorite Moana song through an anesthesia induction mask. I greatly appreciate your donation for an annual subscription and utilize it on a daily basis.” -Laura Thackeray, CCLS 💛

The XA Project unlocked the challenge match grant of $7,000 to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, D.C., doubling the funds raised by RMHCDC for the new “Smiles Break” program. Seriously ill kids and their families staying at RMHCDC will have opportunities to experience joy via field trips to concerts, art museums, and other entertainment events in the DC area. These kids and families face some of the most difficult times in their lives due to often life-threatening medical issues. A Smile Break helps these kids and families in so many ways! 💛

The XA Project is all about bringing smiles to pediatric patients and their families through heartwarming and inspiring arts and entertainment experiences. RMHCDC’s Smile Break program will do just that. 😄 The XA Project is thrilled to provide this grant to RMHCDC! 💛

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Thanks to the dedicated and selfless support from people like Audie, The Children's Inn continues to provide "a place like home" to children and families who are facing some of the most difficult times of their lives. Find out how you can support Inn-families today: https://childrensinn.org/get-involved/

Please consider donating TODAY!! The XA Project is matching donations! 💛 Let’s bring more smiles to seriously ill kids and their families! 💛

The XA Project partnering with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, D.C. to do good! 💛

We are ! Give locally and join the movement by making a donation to RMHCDC to provide a Smile Break for families of hospitalized children. Your donation will be MATCHED up to $7,000 thanks to The XA Project. Learn more and give at https://www.domore24.org/rmhcdc.

The XA Project awards The Children's Inn at NIH a grant of $10,000 to start a new program to bring joy to seriously ill kids and their families staying at the Inn. The Children’s Inn at NIH provides a free place like home to children and young adult NIH patients as they participate in life changing clinical research studies at the NIH Clinical Center.

“We are excited to partner with The XA Project to expand the Performing Arts programming available to children and families at The Children’s Inn. The XA Project has supported arts in various ways at The Inn since 2016, and the XA Joy Grant will allow Inn families to experience the wellness benefits of performing arts, stream popular Broadway musicals and fun artistically inspiring shows. Thank you!” (James Bragan, Corporate & Foundation Manager, Children’s Inn at NIH).

The XA Project, inspired by the life and spirit of Xavier Alexander Atienza, remains dedicated to bringing joy to and creating heartwarming memories with pediatric patients and their families by sharing things that Xavier loved - inspiring and amazing arts and entertainment activities and events. 💛💛💛

Today, The XA Project announces a grant program to give $10,000 to pediatric institutions to bring more joy to seriously ill kids and their families! For more information, see: https://www.thexaproject.org/xa-joy-grant 💛