Members of the pediatric oncology care team, (l-r) Lydia Boateng, MD, Jessica Cupples, AnnMarie Steber, RN, and Philip Monteleone, MD, show off the art work from Brownie Troop 683.

“How do you think children with cancer feel when they come to the hospital for treatment?” That was one of the questions second-graders in Brownie Troop 683 asked themselves while they brainstormed mural ideas for Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Pediatric Cancer department at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg. The girls thought perhaps children facing cancer felt sad and scared, and maybe a little angry. They decided to create something that would evoke the opposite feelings and chose to illustrate the word “HOPE.” They chose lots of bright paint colors and then got to work earning their Brownie painting badge. The 12 girls in the troop broke into groups of three and worked collaboratively on four 20” x 20” canvases. The pop-art style mural they created will hang in one of the common areas where children receive cancer care.

“I just love the colors!” was the response from Rose Schenk, pediatric social worker, when the mural arrived at her office. “It was so sweet of them to think of our kids!”