Sacred Heart plants pinwheels for kids' campaign

Pia Hallenberg Christensen
The Spokesman-Review
April 2, 2008

The good-natured honking from passing drivers began after the first couple of hundred pinwheels appeared. And it was followed by cheers and waves as staff, volunteers, families and friends of Sacred Heart Medical Center planted 2,722 pinwheels—one for each baby born at the Medical Center in 2007—in the cold lawn along McClellan Street.

“We want to bring some awareness to the entire community that there’s nothing more important for us to do than to raise the next generation safely,” said Mike Wilson, president of the Spokane hospital, as he held a bundle of pinwheels. “We want to be a part of raising awareness about child abuse in Spokane.”

The pinwheel planting is part of April’s Our Kids: Our Business campaign – a collaborative effort among children’s agencies, law enforcement, nonprofit social service groups and media professionals.

Stacey had all the pinwheels stored in her office, and as snow blew in over the weekend, she began to worry.

“I was thinking we may have to bring ice picks out here,” she said. “But now the sun is out and it’s just beautiful.”

Mackenzie Mortluck, left, and Alyssa Beck help plant some of 2,722 pinwheels Tuesday in Spokane outside Sacred Heart Medical Center. The pinwheels represent all the babies born at Sacred Heart Hospital last year. (Photo by Christopher Anderson, The Spokesman-Review.)

Nurses in scrubs and managers in suits spread out along the southwest corner of the hospital, some using screwdrivers and garden tools to punch holes in the ground.

“It was so cold and rainy last year when we did this,” said Sherry Maughan, director of the Children’s Hospital and Women’s Health Center. “This year, we couldn’t wait to get out here and get started.”

Maughan said she likes the collaborative effort behind Our Kids: Our Business and the significance of planting one pinwheel for each baby born last year.

“It’s really a reminder that we need to make sure they all grow up with no abuse in their lives,” Maughan said.

Soon the pinwheels stretched from the main entrance, along the garage and all the way up to the corner of McClellan and Ninth Avenue, swirling and glittering in the sun.

“Doesn’t this look great?” Stacey said as more staffers and volunteers came pouring out of the hospital. “That’s the nice thing about a great cause – it brings everyone out.”

Copyright 2008. Reprinted with the permission of The Spokesman Review. Permission is granted in the interest of public discussion and does not imply endorsement of any product, service or organization otherwise mentioned herein.

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