Moonbeams for Sweet Dreams: Volunteers shine lights to remind young hospital patients they aren’t alone

Volunteers gather outside Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak

ROYAL OAK, Mich. – Volunteers gather outside Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak with flashlights each night of the holiday season to remind young patients they aren’t alone.

The Moonbeams for Sweet Dreams show children in the hospital that they haven’t been forgotten during the holiday season.

“When a child’s ill, it’s really easy to get discouraged and just remembering that you have a lot of people supporting you brings hope,” said Shannon Klaft, a parent of a patient.

Klaft has spent more than a week at the hospital after her 4-year-old son, Xavier, started having seizures.

“All the lights come on at once,and then it’s a big wave of lights. They get so excited. They wait all day long in December to get to their windows and see it,” said Kathleen Grobbel, the supervisor of child life at Beaumont Children’s Hospital.

The hospital will be illuminated at 8 p.m. every night through Christmas.


About the Authors:

Priya joined WDIV-Local 4 in 2013 as a reporter and fill-in anchor. Education: B.A. in Communications/Post Grad in Advanced Journalism