Tristian Looks Down From Heaven

The Power of One

As I sit on a flight bound for Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, I’m reflecting on the honor and privilege I have been given.  My job is to deliver Big Green Boxes of Cheer to hospitalized children.  Simply put, I am a year-round Santa Claus.

Four years ago we launched Cheeriodicals.com to provide the perfect way to send a loved one dealing with health issues a gift to cheer them up.  Cheeriodicals offered an online gifting alternative to flowers, cookies, balloons and other traditional hospital gifts.  We thought people would love to receive an upscale, personalized gift box containing their favorite magazines along with an assortment of other complimentary consumer items like edibles, body lotions, spa items, etc.  We simply married the notion of thoughtful gifting with usefulness, a match made in Heaven.  That was Plan A.

And then we met Tristian. 

We realized that our products were more than simply a gift option when we saw his reaction to opening his Big Green Box of Cheer.  We saw a 4 year old boy, bravely battling cancer, transform from troubled to elated in the blink of an eye.  We witnessed magic.  His childlike spirit returned.  He was covered with slime, bouncy balls, kids’ magazines, coloring books and magic markers.  His mother and grandmother were in the moment with him, engaged with the bounty from his gift, wiping back tears as they watched him come to life.  The clock on the wall wrestled with molasses and all was good for a while.

In a society driven by numbers, sometimes one is enough.  Tristian taught us to believe in the magic of one smile transformed.  He helped us understand that every hospitalized child needs a lift in spirits.  He opened our eyes to the power of one.

The reality is that thousands of children are struggling with health-related issues and one is not enough.  With Tristian’s reaction as our inspiration, Cheeriodicals now delivers thousands of Big Green Boxes of Cheer to hospitalized children across the US and Canada annually.  Our collaboration with corporate sponsors allows teams of hundreds to assemble our cheer-up gifts during an emotionally-charged team building activity, followed by a coordinated delivery to local children’s hospitals where every child receives their own personalized gift.  Imagine the thought of every child in a hospital having an out-of-the-blue reason to smile, a reason to pause time and be a kid again.  How’s that for bending time?

Our mission will always be driven by the power of one, one child that is.  But that mission to reach thousands can only be accomplished with assistance from a tremendous group of supporters.  We have too many partners to thank them all here, but owe special thanks to our core supporters from the beginning including:  Northwestern Mutual, Children’s of Alabama, Two Men and Truck, Discovery Girls, Boys’ Life, Justine, Time Inc., Hearst, Meredith Corporation, Highlights, Redan and Alabama Launchpad.

Special thanks to Tristian for your inspiration and that unforgettable smile.  We hope we’re making you proud as you look down from Heaven.