Teens donate gaming systems

PATERSON  Juliana Beltran, 19, admitted that it felt strange walking into St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital here July 17 for a visit with a group of adults and young people of her parish, Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Wayne. That afternoon brought back Beltran’s memories of being hospitalized here frequently and for periods of time as a child while undergoing treatments for a serious illness.

“I know how it feels for these young patients to be in the hospital. As a child, I had to mature quickly. There were lonely times. When a worker would come in my room with a game or a teddy bear, I would forget what was happening for a while,” said Beltran, a sophomore at Kent State University in Ohio. She had shared her experiences in a presentation that she gave during a two-day retreat for teenagers about childhood illness, which she co-led at Annunciation last year.

Beltran and the group arrived at St. Joseph’s with the group bearing gifts: gaming systems, like xBox, for the young patients of the hospital’s Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic and Inpatient Pediatric units. Inspired by the retreat to respond to the needs of children, who are battling serious illnesses, the young people decided to hold a drive at the parish that resulted in the donation of several new gaming systems. In a spark of divine intervention, the participants donated the games several months after making a connection with a campaign at St. Joseph’s to raise $50,000 to provide “extras” — games, toys, movies and crafts, along with furniture — to help make the stay of young patients and their families as pleasurable as possible under the dire circumstances. The Ramsden family of Our Lady of the Magnificat (OLM) Parish, Kinnelon, established the fund in memory of their daughter, Nicole, who died of complications from acute myeloid leukemia when she was 12 on Feb. 22, 2010.

“When I walked into St. Joseph’s, I felt proud; I’m a success story,” said Beltran, who conquered her childhood illness, only to have developed another illness a few years ago; she is receiving treatments now at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The group from Annunciation made a brief visit to the hospital’s Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic and Inpatient Pediatric units. “These gaming systems will go far to give these children a brighter day. If we can affect one child, then we will have succeeded,” she said.

The gaming systems benefited the “wish list” that John Ramsden; wife Mary, OLM’s director of religious education; and their younger daughter Samantha, developed in partnership with the St. Joseph’s Health Foundation. They launched the list — which can be viewed on the foundation’s website at https://support.stjosephshealth.org/nicole-ramsden-memorial — on Feb. 22 of this year — the ninth anniversary of Nicole’s passing. So far, the fund has generated $11,000 in donations, said Mary Ramsden, who met the group from Annunciation that day with Mark Cantine, the foundation’s major gift officer.

“When the children are in the hospital and they don’t have a lot of things to do, a gaming system is the perfect thing to distract them from the day-in and day-out rigors of being here. We appreciate your support,” Cantine said.

He took the group to meet staffers who provide recreation for the children and who told the Annunciation parishioners that the new gaming systems “will help us in our work.”

Annunciation’s donations were inspired by the faith-filled enthusiasm of the young people who participated in last year’s retreat about childhood illness and were motivated to start the drive. At the retreat, they watched videos of children who leaned on their faith while fighting diseases and listened to talks by teens, among them Beltran, about their experiences fighting an illness as a child. It also featured Masses, prayer services and interactive activities, said Elise Rossbach, Annunciation’s faith formation and youth ministry director.

The young people also learned about how they could be of service to sick people. Three participants, including Beltran, went a step further by donating their hair, which was cut off to make wigs for cancer patients. Beltran and another teen, Dezi Tulipano, co-led last year’s retreat, Rossbach said.

“The retreat focused on people in our lives, including young people, who are struggling with illnesses. Their stories were sad but we wanted the participants to understand their servant’s heart and respond to that by doing what they can for people in great need. We also wanted them to understand that we can find hope,” said Rossbach, who added that Annunciation will hold its fourth summer retreat, this time focusing on mental illness.

The young people asked Annunciation parishioners to donate used gaming systems they planned to trade in to a gaming retailer for a gift card. Instead, the parishioners stepped up their enthusiasm for what the young people were doing and donated new gaming systems.

Toward the end of the visit July 17, the group, which also included adult volunteer Annamaria Bock and two other college-age young people, Samantha Bock and Joe Mongelli, toured a new serenity garden in the courtyard. Featuring a waterfall, benches, ceramic animals and plants, it was dedicated in honor of Nicole Ramsden on June 10, which would have been her 22nd birthday. Mary Ramsden, who gave the tour, thanked the young people for their generous donation.

Ramsden said, “My daughter died when she was 12. Obviously, that was not a good thing — it was horrible. But it doesn’t mean that there isn’t hope, there isn’t love and there isn’t more. I relied strongly on my faith and on the people who are around me and love me,” said Ramsden. “I chose to do good with the circumstances that I was given. If I were wallowing in my grief — and some days I do, I wouldn’t be living to the fullest potential that the Lord has made me for. What I do gives me hope, helps keep her memory alive and gives other people hope,” she said.

Also accompanying the Annunciation contingent was their new pastor, Father Ricardo Ortega Jr., who remarked before leaving St. Joseph’s that the group is “doing a great job, as they continue in their faith journey, walking with Jesus.”