JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two Jacksonville-based groups are putting the finishing touches on some special Halloween costumes for children with special needs.
RS&H and Centers of Independent Living Jacksonville are presenting 10 children, who rely on using wheelchairs, with personalized Halloween costumes on Oct. 23.
This year marks a historic milestone for the groups.
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One of the recipients this year is choosing to honor a loved one with her costume.
Hope and Brynley are cousins and had some chances to spend some cherished quality time together.
Brynley was diagnosed with leukemia before her first birthday and fought the disease valiantly for more than two years.
During a phone call with Hope’s mother, Lara Tillman, gave some insight into what she said was a sweet relationship between the two cousins.
“Hope did not want to be in the room with [Brynley when she was in the hospital],” Tillman said. “[Hope] did not like seeing all of the tubes and machines. So she would say bye from the door to Brynley. Then Brinley would say bye Hope. You could tell that, even though Brynley was in her final moments, she still was just able to convey her love to Hope, which was really special for us.”
Brynley died in August, just a month after turning 3 years old.
“We did not get to spend much time with Brynley,” Tillman said. “She did not get a chance to have her Halloween. She did not get to be ”Poppy” [from Trolls] for Halloween. It means a lot to us that Hope is able to do that for her.”
Hope is dressing up as “Poppy” this Halloween as a tribute to her beloved cousin.
Helping make that happen are volunteers at architectural firms, RS&H, and Centers of Independent Living.
They create custom costumes for kids and adults who need wheelchairs.
Hope is among the 10 recipients this year.
A part of her costume is going to be the Dune Huggy vehicle that Poppy drives in the Trolls TV series.
Brandon Pourch is an architect with RS&H who has been leading this effort for 10 years now.
“Knowing that we are impacting these children’s lives and we are creating a Halloween experience that they will never forget,” Pourch said about why he continues to do this each year. “[It is] one where they are the star of the show and all of the other children look up to them, wishing that they had such a cool costume.”
Pourch said more than 100 volunteers are included in this big event. Their roles include designing the costumes, cutting and assembling them, painting and decorating.
“They meet with families and assemble a PVC pipe frame that attaches to the wheelchair,” he said.
“All of the materials are donated by a local plumbing company. Then they also use rigid insulation board for the costumes which was also donated by a local building company.”
Tillman says this is a game-changer for her daughter, who is 7 years old.
Hope has Down syndrome, is limited verbally and has a heart defect. She had open heart surgery at just 4 months old.
Tillman said Hope has extremely low stamina because of her heart condition.
“Her stamina is, I think that she is up to a quarter of a mile that she can walk,” Tillman said. “So, if you can imagine trick-or-treating, that is like a block for her. To be able to have a costume that she can wear and go trick-or-treating and go the distance is special.”
The big reveal is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 4:30 p.m. It will be at the RS&H offices at 10748 Deerwood Park Blvd South on the southside of Jacksonville.
The event is open to the public.
If you are interested in donating to this cause for future events, visit this website.