501st Legion brings smiles at Edward Hospital
Pediatric patients at Naperville's Edward Hospital had at least 501 reasons to smile on a recent January morning.
That's because members of two charitable groups - the 501st Legion and Becca's LEGacy - came together to deliver Star Wars-themed toys to the young patients.
The 501st Legion is a worldwide group of more than 8,000 Star Wars costume enthusiasts with two main goals: to promote interest in a galaxy far, far away and to to use their costumes and events to serve their communities.
Becca's LEGacy is a foundation that concentrates primarily on assisting children battling cancer.
There were plenty of Star Wars characters walking the hallways of Edward, including a bounty hunter who found time to distribute toys and take pictures with kids while calling out, "Have you seen Han Solo?" every time he passed a nurse's station.
Members of the Star Wars group, who regularly make appearances at hospitals and on behalf of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and autism awareness, greeted kids and gave them high-fives.
Becky Rees, the mother of 7-year-old pediatric patient Brooklyn Rees, saw the smile on her child's face and deemed the visit "awesome."
"I think it made her day a little bit brighter because she has a long day ahead of her," Becky Rees said.
Melissa Slattery, a certified child life specialist at Edward, said members of the 501st Legion contacted Edward officials to gauge their interest in the event.
"They wanted to come bring a little cheer to the kids at the hospital," she said. "This organization visits children all over the United States, so this is happening in lots of other places."
Members of Becca's LEGacy, meanwhile, are known at Edward for their frequent toy donations for patients. With a red wagon full of toys provided by that group, the Stormtroopers marched through and presented kids with Star Wars action figures, puzzles and more.
'It's nice to see them smile," Slattery said, "especially when they're in a place that is full of a lot of hard things for them."