Mega Doctor News
McALLEN, Texas — South Texas Health System Children’s and Spirit Halloween marked another year of their partnership supporting hospitalized children in the Rio Grande Valley, with organizers saying more than $380,000 has been raised for the hospital since 2018.
The partnership operates through Spirit Halloween’s Spirit of Children initiative and the Auxiliary to South Texas Health System. The program supports Child Life services designed to make hospital stays less frightening for children and their families.
Tom Castañeda, System Director of Marketing and Public Relations for South Texas Health System, said the funds provide toys, games, art supplies, educational activities, pet therapy, and other resources for pediatric patients.
“When a child is facing a medical journey, a little Halloween spirit can certainly make a world of difference,” Castañeda said during a ribbon-cutting event at Spirit Halloween’s McAllen flagship store.
Spirit of Children has raised more than $145 million nationally since 2006, Castañeda said.
Five Spirit Halloween stores in the Rio Grande Valley, stretching from Brownsville to Mission and including two in McAllen, are participating in the initiative this year.
Whitney Thompson, Rio Grande Valley district manager for Spirit Halloween, said the five stores raised more than $68,000 last year for STHS Children’s. She said donations collected locally remain in the Valley.
“A hundred percent of every single penny that is donated in stores to the RGV stores goes directly to Edinburg Children’s Hospital,” Thompson said. “It is Valley funding going to Valley kids and family.”
Thompson said Spirit Halloween also provides costumes and participates in hospital activities that allow patients, siblings and parents to celebrate Halloween while children undergo medical treatment.
“Our mission is to make the hospital stay less scary for children and their families,” she said.
Lance Ames, CEO of STHS Children’s and STHS Edinburg, said the support helps children experience moments of normalcy during hospitalization. He described how hospital teams have organized birthdays and a quinceañera for patients who could not celebrate outside the hospital.
“We know that more of those can happen because of what Spirit Halloween is doing,” Ames said.
Ames said STHS Children’s has served the region as a dedicated children’s hospital for 20 years, allowing families to obtain specialized pediatric care closer to home.
The Auxiliary to South Texas Health System also supports healthcare education and community programs. Its representative said the organization dates to 1953 and plans to award $120,000 in scholarships this year. He said the auxiliary has provided nearly $3 million in scholarships since its establishment.
Castañeda said donations generated through Spirit Halloween go directly to the Child Life Program.
Last year’s nearly $69,000 fundraising total was a record for the eight-year local partnership, he said.
Castañeda encouraged the community to support this year’s campaign, while Thompson said Spirit Halloween hopes to exceed last year’s total.
“You are really truly making a difference in kids’ lives,” Thompson said.
