September 11, 2024 • 43 mins
Join host Vito Quaglia on this inspiring episode of "A Matter of Principal” as he welcomes Kylee McGrane-Zarnoch, founder and executive director of A Moment of Magic. Discover how Kylee transformed a simple college project into a national nonprofit that brings joy and support to medically vulnerable children through acts of kindness and positive energy.
Kylee shares the touching origins of her organization, inspired by her own family's experiences, and explains how A Moment of Magic empowers college students to make a difference in their communities. From dressing as beloved characters to creating evidence-based social programming, learn about the impactful ways this organization is improving the quality of life and mental health of children in need.
Don't miss this heartfelt conversation about the power of laughter, creativity, and community service. Visit A Moment of Magic to find out how you can get involved and support their mission.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, everyone. My name is Vito Qualia, and this is A Matter of Principle.
Today's guest is Kylie McGrane-Zarnock, who is the founder and the executive
director of A Moment of Magic, an organization that she started about 10 years
ago when she was in college.
And it's really, I'm going to give her the opportunity to explain everything,
(00:20):
but it's something that I think is needed in today's society.
It's nothing but positive energy and acts of kindness and really supporting
people who need the support.
So this is an honor to have someone like Kylie on the show, a guest who I really
want to celebrate her story and the journey of their organization.
So without further ado, I'm going to throw this off and welcome Kylie to the
(00:43):
podcast. Welcome, Kylie.
Thank you for having me. Now, if you just want to just take a little moment
to give a summary, a bio of yourself,
you know, how it started for you, where you got the idea for the organization,
explain a little bit about it in more, you know, in depth for our listeners
and, you know, just tell us how it started out for you.
(01:04):
Absolutely. So A Moment of Magic is a national nonprofit organization.
We empower college students across the country yet involved in their community,
directly We're actually in kinesiological roles and partnering with other nonprofit
organizations to serve medically vulnerable children.
We help them provide evidence-based social programming.
(01:24):
And essentially what we try to do is help children that are in difficult situations
and make those situations a little bit easier to improve their quality of life and mental health.
So that's the big overarching pitch. But when we talk about it at a more granular
level, what it really looks like is trying to find moments of light and play
(01:44):
and friendship to make hard, scary moments, not as hard and scary.
So we try to give them opportunities to empower them and provide them with platforms for leadership.
And at the same time, give children that really need the space to just be kids those opportunities.
So for something like, you know, I mean, basically to even break it down more
(02:05):
so people could, you know, really get at the element of it is,
is, you know, your, your organization.
Goes and reaches and visits with, you know, kids who are really,
like you said, in really scary spots.
And, you know, I think that the initial name of the organization might've,
was it the princess project that I read that right when I was looking.
(02:25):
Okay. Yeah. So you guys were like They dress like Disney princesses going out,
you know, and again, just anybody who goes to Disney, if you're a Disney fan,
how do you not feel happy when you're around that, right?
So, you know, you're bringing that kind of Disney magic, the princess magic
into, you know, kids' lives that are probably going through something really, really scary.
So where did that come from? Where did that idea just blossom from?
(02:48):
Absolutely. So for, you know, the big idea really is taking these really simple moments.
So bringing a princess into a children's hospital or providing moments for kids
to express themselves using art or movement.
For kids, the way that they learn and the way that they share how they're feeling is through play.
And the way that I really was able to experience that, and, you know,
(03:14):
there's that age old adage that laughter is the best medicine.
I think I witnessed that firsthand in my own life when two of my favorite people
who were my grandparents were hospitalized.
I had the experience when I was in high school where my grandparents were married for over 60 years.
They were both facing different health complications for quite a long time.
(03:39):
And I watched my mom step into the role of becoming one of their primary caregivers. givers.
And along with that, my mom had myself and my two little sisters.
She had a full-time job and she was taking care of my grandparents who were
in two different hospitals.
And that was a really difficult experience for the whole family.
Because when you have a family member that has serious health complications,
(04:02):
that impacts everyone involved.
And it doesn't just impact you physically, it impacts you mentally.
And I remember going with my grandparents and And it was the little things.
It was them not being able to see each other or be a part of their community,
not being able to go to their favorite restaurants or eat their favorite food.
(04:23):
And I wanted to try to do something to help. And you can feel so powerless in those situations.
And being 16 or 17 years old at the time.
I was just trying to find a way to make an impact or make a difference.
And usually it was very simple. So what it started like for me was before any
(04:43):
major milestone in my life, we had to go make sure that my grandparents were involved.
So it really started like seeing them before I'd go to prom or formal or graduation.
And it sometimes looks a little bit ridiculous walking around in the hospital
in my big prom dress and leaving sparkles everywhere.
(05:04):
But I watched my grandparents really feel like they were still part of the community
and still part of a family and still part of those really big moments.
And when my grandparents passed away within two weeks of each other after being
married for 65 years, I really looked back to those moments because those were
the moments that that brought us so much comfort.
(05:27):
And I think when you can find joy and laughter in the face of adversity,
that is really powerful.
So my grandparents lived their whole life in service and in their absence,
I wanted to find a way to replicate that for others.
Now, so I guess the beginnings of this organization started when you were in college, correct?
(05:51):
That is correct. Okay. So what were you studying? What was your major in college at the time?
I was a double major in English and communication. Okay.
All right. So you were probably going to go in the world of marketing,
communications, teaching, something like that.
And then getting involved in basically there's so many things under the umbrella
(06:14):
of what you guys do, whether it's mental health support, in the healthcare industry.
I mean, there's so much going on there. But it really was kind of a left turn
from what you were studying in the classroom in college, correct?
It really was. I think for me, when I first went to school, I didn't really
know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to be creative and hopefully help people.
(06:38):
So in some way it was a detachment from what
I originally had anticipated doing but in some
ways I feel like it kind of breadcrumbed me
to what I hope has become you know
really what was so it really happened yeah yeah exactly and well so you so you're
(06:59):
you come from a family you said a family of service I know your parents were
in the the education coaching field as well Well, so in and around you,
you had people that, you know, gave back and had that idea, that strong idea
of community and supporting the people within the community,
whether it's the family or just anybody that you're interconnected with.
But so the sentiment of what you do and how you do it, I think everyone understands
(07:24):
that and would be like, oh, that's that's a great idea.
But then for someone who wants to try to get something like that off the ground,
how do you make that something that is an actual thing?
You know, it's a great idea and it'd be nice to do that every now and then,
you know, here and there.
But how did you actually get funding or support, you know, professionally?
(07:45):
How did that all work? Like the business side of it?
Absolutely. The first time we went on a hospital visit, I was dressed up like a princess from Frozen.
I was dressed up like Queen Elsa here in New York City at a 202 bed hospital.
And I had anticipated doing this once or twice a month and being there for,
(08:06):
you know, an hour or two the first time.
But the first time that we went, we went to every single room in that 202-bed
hospital and were there for over four hours.
And I remember there was one little girl that had us sitting on the floor in
the hospital hallway and sang
the entirety of the Frozen soundtrack no less than four or five times.
(08:27):
And that's a long soundtrack. So, you know, I think for me, I realized how powerful
this organization was, even though it was so simple.
And I learned firsthand from my parents directly that when you love something
and you believe in it, you go 150% all in.
So there really was no alternative of doing it a little bit.
(08:50):
It was going to be everything that I could see in the future in that one second.
I could see what the organization could grow into.
And that really meant that I had to take it seriously and surround myself with
people that believed in the vision and had the expertise and experience to help
me build it and were incredibly well-equipped to do so and wanted to help me
(09:13):
build that side of myself that I had not had the experience on.
So that required creating a business plan and And finding grassroots donors,
still to this day, almost 10 years later, almost everything we do is still entirely grassroots.
A majority of our budget really are those small donations, and our average donation size is $35.
(09:34):
So we make use of every single dollar that comes in and help it go as far as
possible to making an impact.
And so from that beginning in New York City, you know, when you were dressed
as Elsa, how many people were involved in that first initial visit?
We had, so just that first visit, we had two of us. It was myself and my college
(09:56):
roommate at the time. Then we started expanding.
I went to a very small college in the Bronx on the University of Mount St.
Vincent. We expanded to our college there and got 40 students involved.
So we started picking up momentum as the week scrolled on.
And then so how did you, I mean, going to the, and I can understand,
(10:18):
like, that must have been like, wow, like, holy cow, you knew it was a good
idea, you knew it would be positive, and then when you saw the overwhelming
support and love of what you guys were doing, it probably was like,
oh, my gosh, this could be, you know, really, really something magical.
And so then you have two things.
You have the sentiment and the positivity of being there and having the interaction
(10:39):
with the kids in the hospital.
But then as you grow it, are there things like the serious side of it where
you try to make sure that the people involved in the organization have training
on how to interact with people? Because that can be a heavy load, right?
You're dealing with somebody who might be, you know, dealing with some really
tough medical struggles.
And, you know, the way you interact with them means everything, right?
(11:03):
So is there any kind of, you know, training or, you know, mental health support
systems that you guys employ or, you know, make sure everyone's kind of saying the same message?
Absolutely. It's so important that we understand and that our volunteers understand
that every time we go into a hospital room, it is a privilege.
That is a very intimate, vulnerable space.
(11:26):
And if we are invited in that space for a child and for a family,
we really need to make sure that we are supporting them to the best of our ability. So we...
Very particular about our training and making sure that our volunteers feel prepared.
We want to make sure that they understand what they are walking into.
So that means understanding the different types of illnesses that we might be
(11:49):
seeing, that they understand different types of treatment protocols or what
different types of symptoms patients might be experiencing, so we can better
support those patients.
At the same time, the activities that we do are also very specific.
So it might seem like arts and crafts, but we actually work with a medical advisory
team who help us create activity plans.
(12:12):
And we train our volunteers both on the activities and how to facilitate them
and the conversations around them.
Because as I mentioned before, for so many kids, the way that they learn is play.
So if we can use art and movement and coloring and dance to teach them about
their emotions and their feelings and communicate them.
For example, we work with a lot of pediatric oncology patients.
(12:37):
And for pediatric oncology, the average diagnosis age is around six years old.
If you have a six-year-old going in and accessing their port,
that's a really stressful experience.
It can be really painful. It can be overwhelming.
So if you have an adult going in, you might tell them to self-regulate and deep
(12:57):
breathe and try to calm down when they have those experiences.
That's not going to resonate with a six-year-old. But what you can teach them
to do is that muscle memory.
So we can show them how to deep breathe by blowing bubbles.
And then if we can show that to their caregiver and they can have those bubbles
with them the next time they go to treatment, we're actually equipping the family
(13:17):
to to be better prepared for those situations and can make those experiences a little bit easier.
So do you, so from that time it was, you know, you and your college roommate,
and now 10 years later, how many people are involved and how many areas do you guys service?
We work with over 30 colleges and universities across the country.
So we're all the way out at UCLA, back to the East Coast.
(13:42):
We have a chapter at Misericordia University, down to Temple and Westchester.
And we have about 1,100 volunteers across the country.
And we partner with 350 nonprofit organizations and hospitals.
So we are very, very busy.
Wow. And so how do you, you got it off the ground, you had the vision,
you guys initially made it happen, but then who, it can't be you,
(14:06):
you're not the one that's sitting there all day long mapping all this out.
I mean, you must have a person or a team of people that kind of to coordinate everything, correct?
We are a small but mighty team. So I'm incredibly lucky. We have a fantastic
group of board of directors.
We have nine excellent professionals on our board that are across the country
(14:26):
and really help oversee the everyday governance of the organization,
which is incredibly important.
And then on the same side, we have an excellent staff.
We're a small but mighty team in terms of staffing. I'm the only full-time,
but we have about seven part-time staff members that oversee see all of the
programming in different aspects.
They are the boots on the ground and the heartbeat of the mission that make it happen.
(14:49):
They really help grow our leaders and our chapter presidents and our volunteers and empower them.
And we could not do without our college student volunteers.
I work with so many fantastic student leaders across the country.
And every time I have the opportunity to see them in action,
it is a reminder that we are in such great hands with this next group of leaders coming up.
(15:13):
So for the volunteers on all these college campuses that you have,
are they students who have a certain area of study that they're taking?
Are these kids going into health care or, you know, mental health support,
teaching, things like that?
Or do you just take volunteers that anyone who's interested is welcome?
Anyone who's interested is welcome, but we definitely have a lot of students
(15:36):
that are going into the health care field. We have a lot of students that are
social workers or going into teaching, but these really are leaders.
And I think that that's really amazing is these are going to be the next people
that are leading their community.
Now, and forgive me for not having all the research on this because I don't
know all the locations you're at, but being an NEPA girl, you know,
(15:58):
grew up, went to school in Wilkes-Barre.
Is there is a connection anywhere here to any of the the hospitals or colleges in and around nepa.
Yes. So we work with Miser Cordia University as our local chapter.
And then we have three chapters that are outside of Philly or the Westchester
(16:19):
area that actually will come up and work with Geisinger Children's Hospital,
Janet Wise Children's Hospital.
We work with the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of Lehigh Valley.
So we have a good footprint in NEPA.
But for me, growing up in in that area was such a privilege and it's always
going to be what I consider home.
So we really want to grow in that area.
(16:41):
So if you are a college student listening to this, or if you are a parent of
a college student, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
Go to our website, a moment of magic.org, because we want to start more chapters
and get more students involved in the area.
Well, that's what I was going to ask, you know, towards the end before we wrapped
up, but since you, you said it now, it's a great time to put it out there.
Where can, so moment A moment of magic.org.
(17:03):
Is that what, what's your, or is it calm? What was the website again?
A moment of magic.org. Okay. And if they go on there, they can find the information
more about what you guys do and how to get involved.
Correct. There's, there's a link there that would get them where they need to be.
Absolutely. And the same thing, if you were, if someone listening or someone
listening has a family member who might be going through a tough time,
(17:26):
you know, somebody who's in the hospital or, or, you know, dealing with some,
you know, medical issues, same thing.
If they wanted to, you know, see how you guys can help them out,
everything could be, you know, found out at the website, correct?
Yeah, that's exactly it. And sometimes people don't really know where to start
or they might know someone.
And, you know, if a child's going through treatment protocols,
(17:48):
they might be on isolation.
We actually have two really fantastic services that I love to share as well,
which, of course, we have our in-person visits. But we also have what we call
a Mama Unlimited, which is our streaming site.
So our volunteers make on-demand videos.
So you can see all of your favorite characters and what we call our magic makers,
(18:09):
so our not-costumed volunteers.
And they create these really fun and engaging videos that you can stream anytime,
anyplace on our website.
And we also do personalized video requests. So if you hit in your milestone,
if it's first day of kindergarten or last day of treatment,
We will make customized videos for that child and everything all of our services
(18:30):
are completely free of cost Wow, that's that's tremendous. That's wonderful now do you.
Is there like a recurring visit thing? Do you guys find yourself going back
and revisiting maybe kids that have unfortunately had to go back into a hospital
or people that have extended stays?
Or do you just really just try to you're doing so many things,
(18:52):
you're kind of just going here and then moving on to a different place?
Or do you guys have places where you kind of continually return to?
I think one of the things that makes us unique is that recurring relationship.
So we try to stay in touch with as many families as possible to however they
feel comfortable, both in treatment, but also in survivorship or even into bereavement
(19:13):
and supporting siblings.
We have a relationship with a little girl who we met when she was going into
survivorship at six years old, and she's actually now going into high school, which is incredible.
So we are really around for the long haul. We love to support our families in
whatever capacity we can.
Yeah, and again, for something – that's why I really wanted to have this opportunity
(19:37):
to talk and have you really talk about what you guys are doing to celebrate
it because it's such a wonderfully positive thing,
but it is so incredibly serious too at the same time, right? Right.
And what you mentioned there with the bereavement. And so there's going to be
situations where, you know, youngsters that you guys interact with,
you know, are going to succumb to some issues.
(19:58):
And how is that, you know, for for the for your people, for the volunteers?
I go like I'm sure that must be tough and there must be training that you do
to help your people kind of deal with, you know, the loss of,
you know, the visits that you had.
Absolutely. And I know that you are a someone that is an educator.
So we always like to think about it in that sense.
(20:21):
We work with about 60% of our population is affected by pediatric cancer.
And every day, 47 children in the United States are diagnosed with pediatric
cancer. That's one in every 285 children.
And it's really important for us to put that into perspective because there is a.
Situations if there are situations where we do
(20:43):
have children that do not survive
pediatric cancer and we want
to do everything we can to support both the family but also
support our volunteers who can be affected by the secondary trauma of that experience
because they put their whole heart and soul into everything that they do for
these kids so we have to make sure that their mental health and their care and
(21:07):
compassion is safeguarded.
So we do emotional retreats and support for them.
But our ethos has always been that what care and compassion and support we have for one family,
it's not a piece of a puzzle where that is only reserved for them and that can't grow and expand.
(21:29):
And I think that that's really important is to channel that energy and channel
that light of that one child and to supporting as many families as possible in honor of that child.
And we've been very lucky to be able to do that.
And I think that, you know, you could tell in the way you talk about what you
(21:51):
do that, you know, you understand it's important, but you also understand it's a privilege.
And that comes across in, you know, the way you're very authentic and you could
tell the passion, you know, that you have about the calling that you have.
And the important part that I see, you know, in education,
I've been doing it for over 30 years, and it's always, and everyone knows it,
(22:13):
if there's any place that seems like it loses the funding first,
it's always those social service agencies, right?
When budget cuts come to boroughs and counties and states, it seems like the
most vulnerable people are the ones that lose the services first, right?
And so for you guys to do what you're doing and, you know, make it something
that parents don't have to worry about paying all this money to help their kids
(22:34):
feel a little bit better or help any family members deal with things in a more positive way.
It's such an important piece. There should be a thousand organizations like
yours, and I'm sure there are,
but there's not enough because everywhere you look, there's people in need,
people suffering from a million different things, and trying to build that positive
(22:55):
energy because I firmly believe positive energy is contagious. pages.
That's just the way it is. Momentum is a real thing. And when you put that kind
of positive stuff out in the real world, you're building that momentum.
So that's, again, the reason we want you on the show.
But building on the positive, it's great and it's awesome.
And we're talking about all these really good things. But there had to be challenges
(23:15):
over these 10 years about getting this off the ground and continuing the sustainability
and trying to, I'm sure, funding areas dry up sometimes and you get nervous about that.
Tell us about some of the challenges in leading an organization like this.
Part of running a nonprofit organization is asking for help,
and it's asking for help pretty constantly.
(23:36):
As I mentioned before, we are a grassroots organization, so asking for donations
or for support in any shape or form is really key to what we do.
So a part of that is getting told no very often.
So you really have to build that resilience and exercise that muscle.
(23:57):
And I think that that's really important.
And for us, there isn't a day where we're not told no.
So figuring out how to respond to that, I think for me, I've always tried to
approach it in a way that a no is maybe a not yet or not taking no for an answer.
(24:17):
I am someone that really wants to figure out how to solve those problems.
And if there is an obstacle in my way, then I'm either going to get over it,
move it, or find a different path around it.
For us, we are so mission-centric and so mission-focused and everything that
we do is focused on why we do it that I know it doesn't matter how much money
(24:41):
we raise or what that obstacle is, we will figure it out.
And I'm incredibly lucky that we have such a great team around us to rally each
other because I think you're only as good as your team is.
And for us, we have an excellent team. So that is something that we're very
lucky for. So do you have...
Is there, you know, an interview process for the volunteers, a rehearsal?
(25:04):
I mean, do you have people that you have to say, you know, you're not going to make the cut.
Well, you could use you in a different capacity, but, you know,
you're not going to make the starting team of people that are actually out in
the forefront, you know, visiting with folks.
How does that work? How do you pick the volunteers that you use?
So our chapter presidents go through an application and an interview process.
(25:24):
So we really want to make sure that they are aligned and ready to be leaders.
And at the very least coachable.
I think that that's really important for this age demographic being between 18 and 22 primarily.
We don't expect them to be perfect, but we expect them to want to do their best.
(25:44):
And we've been incredibly lucky that we've had a great group of volunteers that
are ready to step into those positions.
For our volunteers in general, all of our volunteers go go through trainings
before they're able to put that costume on and be the star of the show.
So they go through six, I'm sorry, they go through 12 weeks of training for
at least a semester and have to do five visits before they are actually able
(26:08):
to go in as a character and they go in and shadow.
That's really important because you have to be able to see what you're doing
before you can actually go out and do it.
That's been really part of the process that has led to a a lot of success.
And, and that sometimes you have people say, you know, this is really emotionally.
Difficult and this isn't for me and I want to help in this capacity instead.
(26:32):
But along those lines, you figure out how to flex those muscles and find the
groove that will help you succeed.
Now, do you still, of all the characters that you people utilize,
are there, are they, is it just specific Disney characters or do you have other characters?
Who do you, Who's in your stable? What characters are out there?
(26:54):
So we do most of the popular superheroes and princesses. But something that
I love that we do is it actually is our one-year anniversary of publishing our first children's book.
And in that book, we introduced 30 brand new characters that were dreamt up
from the imaginations of children that we worked with and volunteers that have
(27:16):
been a part of the organization.
So our volunteers are actually actively portraying some of those characters already. ready.
And I think what's really amazing about that is our volunteers and the children
that we serve are able to identify gaps in traditional literary media where they said,
you know, there's no characters with glasses, or I want a character that has a hearing aid,
(27:42):
or I want to see a princess that is someone that fights cancer or has Down syndrome.
Like we want to see those with characters that are reflective of our community.
So we work with the community that those characters represent to create them.
So that's been something that's really been exciting for our organization to
grow into in the last few years.
That's awesome. Because again, going back to education,
(28:06):
you know, my comfort zone, I always get, you know, worried that especially when
you have changing demographics in different communities, that the teachers and
the staff in different in school buildings don't all look like the kids they're servicing, right?
So having someone that, you know, has the same strengths and limitations and
backgrounds as the people that they're interacting with, it's so important.
(28:27):
And yet sometimes it's one of the things you forget about.
Just because you kind of hold on to those traditional stereotypes,
this has always been a positive character since, you know, Mother Goose,
and we kind of go in that direction.
But that's really cool that you took that, you know, the input from those kids
and the in the families and utilize that.
So you're creating those things. So that's, you have a little bit more control,
(28:48):
you know, creative license with them.
But is there anything when, when you're utilizing characters that exist out in the real world that.
Is there copyright things? You have to pay a fee to use a name?
Are they gracious enough because of the organization you guys have that they
support that? How does that work?
We've been very lucky with the ability to use the characters that we have.
(29:11):
We have certain parameters of usage around them that we don't have to pay a
fee or anything around those lines.
But I will say that our volunteers do a lot of intensive character study where
our goal is to make sure that if you meet one character in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,
it feels the exact same if you are meeting that character in Orlando,
(29:34):
Florida, where it's the costuming to the way that they speak,
to the way that they pose in pictures, to the shoes that they're wearing.
So along with that comes a lot of training.
It also comes with very extensive costuming. But we do our best because these
kids are kids that are likely going on Make-A-Wish trips.
So they are seeing these characters in person.
(29:55):
And we want to make sure that that experience is replicated for them and that
they feel like it is just as special if these characters are coming to visit them in the hospital.
What's it like, or do you have any, I'm sure you do, you know,
conversations or especially when maybe the volunteers or the characters do it for the first time?
(30:16):
Like what kind of stories do they share? Because there has to be that magic for them.
You know, the kids and the families and whatnot are sure, I'm sure they light up.
But for the person who's actually providing that service and providing that
visit, how does that impact them?
I've loved over the last few years getting to be on the hospital visits and
(30:38):
watching these experiences.
That's been incredibly special for me.
And there have been experiences where there have been kids that have literally
just gotten out of treatment or have just had surgery that week.
And we'll see that character and we'll run down the hallway and we'll collapse
into their arms and hug them.
(30:58):
And you just see this immediate moment of magic.
And that's why we called it that organization, because you see in one instance,
the profound impact that you can have on another person.
And I think for so many of our young student leaders,
it's often their first experience of seeing that impact in person and seeing
(31:20):
how they can influence someone else and how taking the time out of their day
to prioritize the well-being of another can make that difference.
So I've heard from them about that experience.
I also love when I hear from our college students that finding a moment of magic
on their college campus provided them with.
(31:43):
Yep. Okay. One of the best compliments that I can get from a college student
is that when they find the moment of magic on campus, that it's finding their home on campus.
It's finding their community that they find their forever friends and their forever group.
That's what a moment of magic provided for me. And to be able to replicate that
(32:07):
at colleges and universities across the country, That's the best compliment I could get.
Are there, if someone wanted to, you know, reach out or maybe someone who's
listening or someone who's listening has a friend with deep pockets,
are there certain things, is it just donations you're looking for,
donations in kind, are there certain things that the organization needs more
(32:28):
than other things or is it really just a funding stream of money coming in that would help out?
There are so many different ways that you can help support the organization.
If you want to make a general donation, that helps power the mission inclusively.
So all of our projects, which is incredibly helpful.
If you want to make an in-kind donation, things that we are always looking for
(32:51):
are programming supplies.
So arts and crafts supplies, crowns and tiaras, things that we can give to the
kids on visits like toys and things of that nature. Gas gift cards is a big
one. Gas is so expensive.
And to be able to reduce barriers for our college students to go on those visits,
that makes a huge difference.
(33:11):
Printing supplies are also really expensive. So being able to give tablecloths
for volunteers or hand out business cards, that's really helpful.
Helpful, if you have any way to come and support the organization or if there's
anything you think you can do, it doesn't matter where it is or how it falls into the organization.
I guarantee you there's a way that you can support.
(33:35):
So in, I mean, you've said so many really cool things about what you guys do,
but if you had to think of, you know, over the course of the 10 years that you
guys have been doing it, is there one or two things that happened that you're
most proud of or made the the most impact on you leading this organization?
Anything that you could think of?
So in 2020, the world changed. We had basically our entire business model changed completely.
(34:05):
Hospitals closed, our college students had to evacuate their campuses and people
weren't donating to nonprofits as much because the financial landscape changed.
So what we really had to do was...
Take a step back and figure out what direction we wanted the organization to go in.
And I was taking some time to connect with one of our volunteers.
(34:27):
And at the time, she was the chapter president at Ohio State University.
And she actually is a brain tumor survivor. She's a pediatric cancer survivor herself.
And I was talking to her about her experience in the organization as a survivor
and asked her, you know, what can we and what can we as a community be doing better?
(34:47):
And she really talked about the gap in mental health support for survivors and
for families and for children in treatment.
And we talked about how A Moment of Magic very organically supports kids in
this way and gives them spaces to share about how they're feeling.
And we wanted to find ways that we could elevate that support.
(35:08):
So we started coming up with this idea in 2020 and 2021 to launch a project
called Express Create Heal.
And that really has grown over the last few years.
And what we've done with Express Create Heal really are two things.
So one, we have programs where we work with our medical advisory committee to
train our college student volunteers to lead programs across the country for fighters, survivors,
(35:34):
and siblings of pediatric cancer to teach them about their mental health and
provide them with tools for coping and resilience.
And then secondly, what I'm really proud of is we are launching a program this
September to support providers, professionals, and support networks.
So thank teachers, social workers, community members,
(35:56):
nonprofit professionals to teach them about the pediatric cancer experience
and about the mental health ramifications of going through pediatric cancer
and how we as support networks can better support that
those we serve. So we worked really hard to create this curriculum and training.
And this September, we're actually going to be launching our first 2.5 hour
(36:18):
long training. So it is long, but it's incredibly intensive.
And it really will make a big difference because if we can better support our
community, we can change their mental health outcomes.
That's been an incredible experience. And we've seen a lot of traction starting to pick up.
So we were accepted into the Clinton Global Initiative Fellowship Program because of this program.
(36:39):
And we're seeing a really big need. And there's just a lot of innovation happening
around it. And we're just incredibly proud of what's happening with it.
Well, and that sounds, I mean, amazing. The fact that, you know,
what started with a really nice idea to spread some joy and happiness is really
evolving and continuing to grow.
And not just grow to keep replicating like the same idea, but the fact that
(37:02):
you're getting even more in depth in whether it's the training or,
you know, the specifics,
you know, the support, all the different kind of supports needed with,
you know, with people, families, you know, in kind of that medical peril is amazing.
The fact is, you know, if you're good at something, it's successful.
You can kind of rest on your laurels and keep rolling out the same thing and
(37:22):
keep rolling out the same characters.
You know, you have a script. Like you said, there has to be that consistency. proficiency
so it would be kind of easy to start to get stale but the fact
that you know number one i love the idea that
you listen to people and got ideas for
new characters and then the fact that you're you're looking at real needs and
how can we meet them and how can we evolve to step up to the next variety of
(37:43):
challenges is going to come it's it's really it says a lot about not just you
but everybody that you have on that team to keep you know looking forward and
not trying to just say okay we're good at this and just you know keep kind of
stepping up the plate and swinging at the the same pitches.
So, kudos to you for trying to evolve that way.
Now, is there something, is there any new, like I know when you said you had
(38:04):
a business plan, is this something that you think is going to,
you know, in 10 years from now, do you see a moment of magic being the same kind of thing?
Do you see it morphing into anything else? Is there any long-range 10- or 20-year
plan down the road that you guys have, or are you still trying to just,
you know, go year to year?
I am so glad that you asked that. We are in the middle of actually doing strategic planning for now.
(38:29):
So I am working with our board at this time.
We're in the process of interviewing different stakeholders in the organization.
And like you mentioned, it's really important, not just to me, but to our entire team.
We're taking in diverse opinions from all of the people that make a moment of magic what it is.
(38:51):
Whether it's the families we serve, the volunteers who help make our work possible,
the healthcare workers that we are able to partner with, or the donors who fund the programs.
So what we're really trying to do is get their feedback and help put pen to
paper on what the next few years for the organization is going to look like.
But I think one thing is for certain is that we want to continue to grow and
(39:12):
evolve responding to that feedback and always making sure that That's a mission
is the central focus of the organization.
Is there somebody who like was the, I don't know, the prime mover in,
you know, saying, hey, that would be a great idea.
I know, like you said, when you and your roommate went there,
but just this, I'm sure there had to be somebody that, again,
(39:37):
it could have just been your roommate.
But anybody, when you said, hey, I have this idea to do this,
I think it might be crazy. But like who was the first one to step up and say
yeah, that's a great idea run with it was there anybody that was kind of your
first supporter the one that's been there with you the longest and.
It's really funny. The first person I told about the organization or this idea
(39:57):
that I had at the time was who inevitably turned into my husband.
At the time, he and I were just friends and I had told him about this idea.
And I remember his response to me was, it sounds like you're building a business.
When you come back to school, why don't you sit down with a professor that I
(40:17):
know, and I'm sure that he can help you write a business plan.
And I think that it was him taking me seriously that helps me take myself seriously.
Well, that's cool. And again, if you guys ended up getting married and building
that bond for yourselves, I guess it was right.
You found the right person at the right time because in essence,
(40:38):
that's what relationships are all about.
Somebody that can hold each other up and support each other and the
fact that he's been there with you you know since day one is
really cool so that that's great that you guys have that you can tell everybody
that's at your you know 50th winning anniversary you can go back
and bring that up so that'll be cool i just
want to say that again we're gonna when we promote this you know out there we're
(41:00):
going to share this with as many people because i really think especially today
and this is just veto going on a rant a little bit but there's so much divisiveness
out there there's so many people arguing about whatever you know,
they think is important and fighting over issues.
But the bottom line is everybody knows somebody that has a.
Somebody in need, right? Everybody has a family member or has a close friend
(41:22):
that unfortunately goes through things that, you know, you guys see on a daily
basis when you visit these places.
So what you're doing is so important because it spreads the positivity. It uplifts people.
It gives people, your volunteers an opportunity to give back because it's so important.
And the feeling that you get when you do give back and you do volunteer for
something like that, you get, whatever you give out, you get back tenfold, right?
(41:44):
And there are things that our grandparents told us and it's all like old traditional
things, but it's true and it's meaningful and it's needed.
So the fact that you guys are doing what you do is so important.
Again, we're talking with Kylie McGrain-Zarnock, who's the founder of A Moment of Magic.
Again, that's A Moment of Magic. So if you listen, if you have social media, get out there.
(42:05):
They're probably way better at TikTok things and things like that than I am
with this podcast, but get out, listen to what they're doing,
see what they're doing, get involved.
Everyone who's listening to this has somebody somewhere that could benefit or could help.
So we'll make sure that we push it from our side. Kylie, it's been an awesome
opportunity to talk with you, to celebrate the things you do, and to get the word out.
(42:28):
Is there anything else that you want to share with anyone who's listening about
the organization or ways to help or anything else you want to add?
I think if there was anything in this conversation that sparks an interest in
you, even if you're not exactly sure how you can get involved or where you can
support, there's a place for you in a moment of magic.
So please don't hesitate to reach out. Please visit our website, a moment of magic.org.
(42:51):
And just thank you so much again for providing this platform.
We really appreciate it. And hopefully it's been our privilege and honor to
have you on and thank you and all everyone on the team for what you guys do.
We really, really appreciate it. And again, we want to see it grow and thrive.
Unfortunately, it's needed, right? But it's something out there that's very, very positive.
And I just can't believe that, you know, somebody from just little old Northeast
(43:16):
PA is really on the front line to doing something so important.
So we're really proud of you for being a Northeast PA kid who's gone on to do
some great things. And we know the future is going to be even brighter.
So continue good, good success to you, my friend.
Anything we can do from our vantage point here, just you reach back and you
let us know because we'll spread the word from here.
And again, everyone, this has been another episode of A Matter of Principle.
(43:40):
And we have been talking with Kylie McGrane-Zarnak, who again,
the founder of A Moment of Magic.
Please take a chance and take a look at what they do and get involved.
Thank you so much, Kylie. Thank you.
Hello, everyone. My name is Vito Qualia, and this is A Matter of Principle.
Today's guest is Kylie McGrane-Zarnock, who is the founder and the executive
director of A Moment of Magic, an organization that she started about 10 years
ago when she was in college.
And it's really, I'm going to give her the opportunity to explain everything,
(00:20):
but it's something that I think is needed in today's society.
It's nothing but positive energy and acts of kindness and really supporting
people who need the support.
So this is an honor to have someone like Kylie on the show, a guest who I really
want to celebrate her story and the journey of their organization.
So without further ado, I'm going to throw this off and welcome Kylie to the
(00:43):
podcast. Welcome, Kylie.
Thank you for having me. Now, if you just want to just take a little moment
to give a summary, a bio of yourself,
you know, how it started for you, where you got the idea for the organization,
explain a little bit about it in more, you know, in depth for our listeners
and, you know, just tell us how it started out for you.
(01:04):
Absolutely. So A Moment of Magic is a national nonprofit organization.
We empower college students across the country yet involved in their community,
directly We're actually in kinesiological roles and partnering with other nonprofit
organizations to serve medically vulnerable children.
We help them provide evidence-based social programming.
(01:24):
And essentially what we try to do is help children that are in difficult situations
and make those situations a little bit easier to improve their quality of life and mental health.
So that's the big overarching pitch. But when we talk about it at a more granular
level, what it really looks like is trying to find moments of light and play
(01:44):
and friendship to make hard, scary moments, not as hard and scary.
So we try to give them opportunities to empower them and provide them with platforms for leadership.
And at the same time, give children that really need the space to just be kids those opportunities.
So for something like, you know, I mean, basically to even break it down more
(02:05):
so people could, you know, really get at the element of it is,
is, you know, your, your organization.
Goes and reaches and visits with, you know, kids who are really,
like you said, in really scary spots.
And, you know, I think that the initial name of the organization might've,
was it the princess project that I read that right when I was looking.
(02:25):
Okay. Yeah. So you guys were like They dress like Disney princesses going out,
you know, and again, just anybody who goes to Disney, if you're a Disney fan,
how do you not feel happy when you're around that, right?
So, you know, you're bringing that kind of Disney magic, the princess magic
into, you know, kids' lives that are probably going through something really, really scary.
So where did that come from? Where did that idea just blossom from?
(02:48):
Absolutely. So for, you know, the big idea really is taking these really simple moments.
So bringing a princess into a children's hospital or providing moments for kids
to express themselves using art or movement.
For kids, the way that they learn and the way that they share how they're feeling is through play.
And the way that I really was able to experience that, and, you know,
(03:14):
there's that age old adage that laughter is the best medicine.
I think I witnessed that firsthand in my own life when two of my favorite people
who were my grandparents were hospitalized.
I had the experience when I was in high school where my grandparents were married for over 60 years.
They were both facing different health complications for quite a long time.
(03:39):
And I watched my mom step into the role of becoming one of their primary caregivers. givers.
And along with that, my mom had myself and my two little sisters.
She had a full-time job and she was taking care of my grandparents who were
in two different hospitals.
And that was a really difficult experience for the whole family.
Because when you have a family member that has serious health complications,
(04:02):
that impacts everyone involved.
And it doesn't just impact you physically, it impacts you mentally.
And I remember going with my grandparents and And it was the little things.
It was them not being able to see each other or be a part of their community,
not being able to go to their favorite restaurants or eat their favorite food.
(04:23):
And I wanted to try to do something to help. And you can feel so powerless in those situations.
And being 16 or 17 years old at the time.
I was just trying to find a way to make an impact or make a difference.
And usually it was very simple. So what it started like for me was before any
(04:43):
major milestone in my life, we had to go make sure that my grandparents were involved.
So it really started like seeing them before I'd go to prom or formal or graduation.
And it sometimes looks a little bit ridiculous walking around in the hospital
in my big prom dress and leaving sparkles everywhere.
(05:04):
But I watched my grandparents really feel like they were still part of the community
and still part of a family and still part of those really big moments.
And when my grandparents passed away within two weeks of each other after being
married for 65 years, I really looked back to those moments because those were
the moments that that brought us so much comfort.
(05:27):
And I think when you can find joy and laughter in the face of adversity,
that is really powerful.
So my grandparents lived their whole life in service and in their absence,
I wanted to find a way to replicate that for others.
Now, so I guess the beginnings of this organization started when you were in college, correct?
(05:51):
That is correct. Okay. So what were you studying? What was your major in college at the time?
I was a double major in English and communication. Okay.
All right. So you were probably going to go in the world of marketing,
communications, teaching, something like that.
And then getting involved in basically there's so many things under the umbrella
(06:14):
of what you guys do, whether it's mental health support, in the healthcare industry.
I mean, there's so much going on there. But it really was kind of a left turn
from what you were studying in the classroom in college, correct?
It really was. I think for me, when I first went to school, I didn't really
know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to be creative and hopefully help people.
(06:38):
So in some way it was a detachment from what
I originally had anticipated doing but in some
ways I feel like it kind of breadcrumbed me
to what I hope has become you know
really what was so it really happened yeah yeah exactly and well so you so you're
(06:59):
you come from a family you said a family of service I know your parents were
in the the education coaching field as well Well, so in and around you,
you had people that, you know, gave back and had that idea, that strong idea
of community and supporting the people within the community,
whether it's the family or just anybody that you're interconnected with.
But so the sentiment of what you do and how you do it, I think everyone understands
(07:24):
that and would be like, oh, that's that's a great idea.
But then for someone who wants to try to get something like that off the ground,
how do you make that something that is an actual thing?
You know, it's a great idea and it'd be nice to do that every now and then,
you know, here and there.
But how did you actually get funding or support, you know, professionally?
(07:45):
How did that all work? Like the business side of it?
Absolutely. The first time we went on a hospital visit, I was dressed up like a princess from Frozen.
I was dressed up like Queen Elsa here in New York City at a 202 bed hospital.
And I had anticipated doing this once or twice a month and being there for,
(08:06):
you know, an hour or two the first time.
But the first time that we went, we went to every single room in that 202-bed
hospital and were there for over four hours.
And I remember there was one little girl that had us sitting on the floor in
the hospital hallway and sang
the entirety of the Frozen soundtrack no less than four or five times.
(08:27):
And that's a long soundtrack. So, you know, I think for me, I realized how powerful
this organization was, even though it was so simple.
And I learned firsthand from my parents directly that when you love something
and you believe in it, you go 150% all in.
So there really was no alternative of doing it a little bit.
(08:50):
It was going to be everything that I could see in the future in that one second.
I could see what the organization could grow into.
And that really meant that I had to take it seriously and surround myself with
people that believed in the vision and had the expertise and experience to help
me build it and were incredibly well-equipped to do so and wanted to help me
(09:13):
build that side of myself that I had not had the experience on.
So that required creating a business plan and And finding grassroots donors,
still to this day, almost 10 years later, almost everything we do is still entirely grassroots.
A majority of our budget really are those small donations, and our average donation size is $35.
(09:34):
So we make use of every single dollar that comes in and help it go as far as
possible to making an impact.
And so from that beginning in New York City, you know, when you were dressed
as Elsa, how many people were involved in that first initial visit?
We had, so just that first visit, we had two of us. It was myself and my college
(09:56):
roommate at the time. Then we started expanding.
I went to a very small college in the Bronx on the University of Mount St.
Vincent. We expanded to our college there and got 40 students involved.
So we started picking up momentum as the week scrolled on.
And then so how did you, I mean, going to the, and I can understand,
(10:18):
like, that must have been like, wow, like, holy cow, you knew it was a good
idea, you knew it would be positive, and then when you saw the overwhelming
support and love of what you guys were doing, it probably was like,
oh, my gosh, this could be, you know, really, really something magical.
And so then you have two things.
You have the sentiment and the positivity of being there and having the interaction
(10:39):
with the kids in the hospital.
But then as you grow it, are there things like the serious side of it where
you try to make sure that the people involved in the organization have training
on how to interact with people? Because that can be a heavy load, right?
You're dealing with somebody who might be, you know, dealing with some really
tough medical struggles.
And, you know, the way you interact with them means everything, right?
(11:03):
So is there any kind of, you know, training or, you know, mental health support
systems that you guys employ or, you know, make sure everyone's kind of saying the same message?
Absolutely. It's so important that we understand and that our volunteers understand
that every time we go into a hospital room, it is a privilege.
That is a very intimate, vulnerable space.
(11:26):
And if we are invited in that space for a child and for a family,
we really need to make sure that we are supporting them to the best of our ability. So we...
Very particular about our training and making sure that our volunteers feel prepared.
We want to make sure that they understand what they are walking into.
So that means understanding the different types of illnesses that we might be
(11:49):
seeing, that they understand different types of treatment protocols or what
different types of symptoms patients might be experiencing, so we can better
support those patients.
At the same time, the activities that we do are also very specific.
So it might seem like arts and crafts, but we actually work with a medical advisory
team who help us create activity plans.
(12:12):
And we train our volunteers both on the activities and how to facilitate them
and the conversations around them.
Because as I mentioned before, for so many kids, the way that they learn is play.
So if we can use art and movement and coloring and dance to teach them about
their emotions and their feelings and communicate them.
For example, we work with a lot of pediatric oncology patients.
(12:37):
And for pediatric oncology, the average diagnosis age is around six years old.
If you have a six-year-old going in and accessing their port,
that's a really stressful experience.
It can be really painful. It can be overwhelming.
So if you have an adult going in, you might tell them to self-regulate and deep
(12:57):
breathe and try to calm down when they have those experiences.
That's not going to resonate with a six-year-old. But what you can teach them
to do is that muscle memory.
So we can show them how to deep breathe by blowing bubbles.
And then if we can show that to their caregiver and they can have those bubbles
with them the next time they go to treatment, we're actually equipping the family
(13:17):
to to be better prepared for those situations and can make those experiences a little bit easier.
So do you, so from that time it was, you know, you and your college roommate,
and now 10 years later, how many people are involved and how many areas do you guys service?
We work with over 30 colleges and universities across the country.
So we're all the way out at UCLA, back to the East Coast.
(13:42):
We have a chapter at Misericordia University, down to Temple and Westchester.
And we have about 1,100 volunteers across the country.
And we partner with 350 nonprofit organizations and hospitals.
So we are very, very busy.
Wow. And so how do you, you got it off the ground, you had the vision,
you guys initially made it happen, but then who, it can't be you,
(14:06):
you're not the one that's sitting there all day long mapping all this out.
I mean, you must have a person or a team of people that kind of to coordinate everything, correct?
We are a small but mighty team. So I'm incredibly lucky. We have a fantastic
group of board of directors.
We have nine excellent professionals on our board that are across the country
(14:26):
and really help oversee the everyday governance of the organization,
which is incredibly important.
And then on the same side, we have an excellent staff.
We're a small but mighty team in terms of staffing. I'm the only full-time,
but we have about seven part-time staff members that oversee see all of the
programming in different aspects.
They are the boots on the ground and the heartbeat of the mission that make it happen.
(14:49):
They really help grow our leaders and our chapter presidents and our volunteers and empower them.
And we could not do without our college student volunteers.
I work with so many fantastic student leaders across the country.
And every time I have the opportunity to see them in action,
it is a reminder that we are in such great hands with this next group of leaders coming up.
(15:13):
So for the volunteers on all these college campuses that you have,
are they students who have a certain area of study that they're taking?
Are these kids going into health care or, you know, mental health support,
teaching, things like that?
Or do you just take volunteers that anyone who's interested is welcome?
Anyone who's interested is welcome, but we definitely have a lot of students
(15:36):
that are going into the health care field. We have a lot of students that are
social workers or going into teaching, but these really are leaders.
And I think that that's really amazing is these are going to be the next people
that are leading their community.
Now, and forgive me for not having all the research on this because I don't
know all the locations you're at, but being an NEPA girl, you know,
(15:58):
grew up, went to school in Wilkes-Barre.
Is there is a connection anywhere here to any of the the hospitals or colleges in and around nepa.
Yes. So we work with Miser Cordia University as our local chapter.
And then we have three chapters that are outside of Philly or the Westchester
(16:19):
area that actually will come up and work with Geisinger Children's Hospital,
Janet Wise Children's Hospital.
We work with the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of Lehigh Valley.
So we have a good footprint in NEPA.
But for me, growing up in in that area was such a privilege and it's always
going to be what I consider home.
So we really want to grow in that area.
(16:41):
So if you are a college student listening to this, or if you are a parent of
a college student, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
Go to our website, a moment of magic.org, because we want to start more chapters
and get more students involved in the area.
Well, that's what I was going to ask, you know, towards the end before we wrapped
up, but since you, you said it now, it's a great time to put it out there.
Where can, so moment A moment of magic.org.
(17:03):
Is that what, what's your, or is it calm? What was the website again?
A moment of magic.org. Okay. And if they go on there, they can find the information
more about what you guys do and how to get involved.
Correct. There's, there's a link there that would get them where they need to be.
Absolutely. And the same thing, if you were, if someone listening or someone
listening has a family member who might be going through a tough time,
(17:26):
you know, somebody who's in the hospital or, or, you know, dealing with some,
you know, medical issues, same thing.
If they wanted to, you know, see how you guys can help them out,
everything could be, you know, found out at the website, correct?
Yeah, that's exactly it. And sometimes people don't really know where to start
or they might know someone.
And, you know, if a child's going through treatment protocols,
(17:48):
they might be on isolation.
We actually have two really fantastic services that I love to share as well,
which, of course, we have our in-person visits. But we also have what we call
a Mama Unlimited, which is our streaming site.
So our volunteers make on-demand videos.
So you can see all of your favorite characters and what we call our magic makers,
(18:09):
so our not-costumed volunteers.
And they create these really fun and engaging videos that you can stream anytime,
anyplace on our website.
And we also do personalized video requests. So if you hit in your milestone,
if it's first day of kindergarten or last day of treatment,
We will make customized videos for that child and everything all of our services
(18:30):
are completely free of cost Wow, that's that's tremendous. That's wonderful now do you.
Is there like a recurring visit thing? Do you guys find yourself going back
and revisiting maybe kids that have unfortunately had to go back into a hospital
or people that have extended stays?
Or do you just really just try to you're doing so many things,
(18:52):
you're kind of just going here and then moving on to a different place?
Or do you guys have places where you kind of continually return to?
I think one of the things that makes us unique is that recurring relationship.
So we try to stay in touch with as many families as possible to however they
feel comfortable, both in treatment, but also in survivorship or even into bereavement
(19:13):
and supporting siblings.
We have a relationship with a little girl who we met when she was going into
survivorship at six years old, and she's actually now going into high school, which is incredible.
So we are really around for the long haul. We love to support our families in
whatever capacity we can.
Yeah, and again, for something – that's why I really wanted to have this opportunity
(19:37):
to talk and have you really talk about what you guys are doing to celebrate
it because it's such a wonderfully positive thing,
but it is so incredibly serious too at the same time, right? Right.
And what you mentioned there with the bereavement. And so there's going to be
situations where, you know, youngsters that you guys interact with,
you know, are going to succumb to some issues.
(19:58):
And how is that, you know, for for the for your people, for the volunteers?
I go like I'm sure that must be tough and there must be training that you do
to help your people kind of deal with, you know, the loss of,
you know, the visits that you had.
Absolutely. And I know that you are a someone that is an educator.
So we always like to think about it in that sense.
(20:21):
We work with about 60% of our population is affected by pediatric cancer.
And every day, 47 children in the United States are diagnosed with pediatric
cancer. That's one in every 285 children.
And it's really important for us to put that into perspective because there is a.
Situations if there are situations where we do
(20:43):
have children that do not survive
pediatric cancer and we want
to do everything we can to support both the family but also
support our volunteers who can be affected by the secondary trauma of that experience
because they put their whole heart and soul into everything that they do for
these kids so we have to make sure that their mental health and their care and
(21:07):
compassion is safeguarded.
So we do emotional retreats and support for them.
But our ethos has always been that what care and compassion and support we have for one family,
it's not a piece of a puzzle where that is only reserved for them and that can't grow and expand.
(21:29):
And I think that that's really important is to channel that energy and channel
that light of that one child and to supporting as many families as possible in honor of that child.
And we've been very lucky to be able to do that.
And I think that, you know, you could tell in the way you talk about what you
(21:51):
do that, you know, you understand it's important, but you also understand it's a privilege.
And that comes across in, you know, the way you're very authentic and you could
tell the passion, you know, that you have about the calling that you have.
And the important part that I see, you know, in education,
I've been doing it for over 30 years, and it's always, and everyone knows it,
(22:13):
if there's any place that seems like it loses the funding first,
it's always those social service agencies, right?
When budget cuts come to boroughs and counties and states, it seems like the
most vulnerable people are the ones that lose the services first, right?
And so for you guys to do what you're doing and, you know, make it something
that parents don't have to worry about paying all this money to help their kids
(22:34):
feel a little bit better or help any family members deal with things in a more positive way.
It's such an important piece. There should be a thousand organizations like
yours, and I'm sure there are,
but there's not enough because everywhere you look, there's people in need,
people suffering from a million different things, and trying to build that positive
(22:55):
energy because I firmly believe positive energy is contagious. pages.
That's just the way it is. Momentum is a real thing. And when you put that kind
of positive stuff out in the real world, you're building that momentum.
So that's, again, the reason we want you on the show.
But building on the positive, it's great and it's awesome.
And we're talking about all these really good things. But there had to be challenges
(23:15):
over these 10 years about getting this off the ground and continuing the sustainability
and trying to, I'm sure, funding areas dry up sometimes and you get nervous about that.
Tell us about some of the challenges in leading an organization like this.
Part of running a nonprofit organization is asking for help,
and it's asking for help pretty constantly.
(23:36):
As I mentioned before, we are a grassroots organization, so asking for donations
or for support in any shape or form is really key to what we do.
So a part of that is getting told no very often.
So you really have to build that resilience and exercise that muscle.
(23:57):
And I think that that's really important.
And for us, there isn't a day where we're not told no.
So figuring out how to respond to that, I think for me, I've always tried to
approach it in a way that a no is maybe a not yet or not taking no for an answer.
(24:17):
I am someone that really wants to figure out how to solve those problems.
And if there is an obstacle in my way, then I'm either going to get over it,
move it, or find a different path around it.
For us, we are so mission-centric and so mission-focused and everything that
we do is focused on why we do it that I know it doesn't matter how much money
(24:41):
we raise or what that obstacle is, we will figure it out.
And I'm incredibly lucky that we have such a great team around us to rally each
other because I think you're only as good as your team is.
And for us, we have an excellent team. So that is something that we're very
lucky for. So do you have...
Is there, you know, an interview process for the volunteers, a rehearsal?
(25:04):
I mean, do you have people that you have to say, you know, you're not going to make the cut.
Well, you could use you in a different capacity, but, you know,
you're not going to make the starting team of people that are actually out in
the forefront, you know, visiting with folks.
How does that work? How do you pick the volunteers that you use?
So our chapter presidents go through an application and an interview process.
(25:24):
So we really want to make sure that they are aligned and ready to be leaders.
And at the very least coachable.
I think that that's really important for this age demographic being between 18 and 22 primarily.
We don't expect them to be perfect, but we expect them to want to do their best.
(25:44):
And we've been incredibly lucky that we've had a great group of volunteers that
are ready to step into those positions.
For our volunteers in general, all of our volunteers go go through trainings
before they're able to put that costume on and be the star of the show.
So they go through six, I'm sorry, they go through 12 weeks of training for
at least a semester and have to do five visits before they are actually able
(26:08):
to go in as a character and they go in and shadow.
That's really important because you have to be able to see what you're doing
before you can actually go out and do it.
That's been really part of the process that has led to a a lot of success.
And, and that sometimes you have people say, you know, this is really emotionally.
Difficult and this isn't for me and I want to help in this capacity instead.
(26:32):
But along those lines, you figure out how to flex those muscles and find the
groove that will help you succeed.
Now, do you still, of all the characters that you people utilize,
are there, are they, is it just specific Disney characters or do you have other characters?
Who do you, Who's in your stable? What characters are out there?
(26:54):
So we do most of the popular superheroes and princesses. But something that
I love that we do is it actually is our one-year anniversary of publishing our first children's book.
And in that book, we introduced 30 brand new characters that were dreamt up
from the imaginations of children that we worked with and volunteers that have
(27:16):
been a part of the organization.
So our volunteers are actually actively portraying some of those characters already. ready.
And I think what's really amazing about that is our volunteers and the children
that we serve are able to identify gaps in traditional literary media where they said,
you know, there's no characters with glasses, or I want a character that has a hearing aid,
(27:42):
or I want to see a princess that is someone that fights cancer or has Down syndrome.
Like we want to see those with characters that are reflective of our community.
So we work with the community that those characters represent to create them.
So that's been something that's really been exciting for our organization to
grow into in the last few years.
That's awesome. Because again, going back to education,
(28:06):
you know, my comfort zone, I always get, you know, worried that especially when
you have changing demographics in different communities, that the teachers and
the staff in different in school buildings don't all look like the kids they're servicing, right?
So having someone that, you know, has the same strengths and limitations and
backgrounds as the people that they're interacting with, it's so important.
(28:27):
And yet sometimes it's one of the things you forget about.
Just because you kind of hold on to those traditional stereotypes,
this has always been a positive character since, you know, Mother Goose,
and we kind of go in that direction.
But that's really cool that you took that, you know, the input from those kids
and the in the families and utilize that.
So you're creating those things. So that's, you have a little bit more control,
(28:48):
you know, creative license with them.
But is there anything when, when you're utilizing characters that exist out in the real world that.
Is there copyright things? You have to pay a fee to use a name?
Are they gracious enough because of the organization you guys have that they
support that? How does that work?
We've been very lucky with the ability to use the characters that we have.
(29:11):
We have certain parameters of usage around them that we don't have to pay a
fee or anything around those lines.
But I will say that our volunteers do a lot of intensive character study where
our goal is to make sure that if you meet one character in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,
it feels the exact same if you are meeting that character in Orlando,
(29:34):
Florida, where it's the costuming to the way that they speak,
to the way that they pose in pictures, to the shoes that they're wearing.
So along with that comes a lot of training.
It also comes with very extensive costuming. But we do our best because these
kids are kids that are likely going on Make-A-Wish trips.
So they are seeing these characters in person.
(29:55):
And we want to make sure that that experience is replicated for them and that
they feel like it is just as special if these characters are coming to visit them in the hospital.
What's it like, or do you have any, I'm sure you do, you know,
conversations or especially when maybe the volunteers or the characters do it for the first time?
(30:16):
Like what kind of stories do they share? Because there has to be that magic for them.
You know, the kids and the families and whatnot are sure, I'm sure they light up.
But for the person who's actually providing that service and providing that
visit, how does that impact them?
I've loved over the last few years getting to be on the hospital visits and
(30:38):
watching these experiences.
That's been incredibly special for me.
And there have been experiences where there have been kids that have literally
just gotten out of treatment or have just had surgery that week.
And we'll see that character and we'll run down the hallway and we'll collapse
into their arms and hug them.
(30:58):
And you just see this immediate moment of magic.
And that's why we called it that organization, because you see in one instance,
the profound impact that you can have on another person.
And I think for so many of our young student leaders,
it's often their first experience of seeing that impact in person and seeing
(31:20):
how they can influence someone else and how taking the time out of their day
to prioritize the well-being of another can make that difference.
So I've heard from them about that experience.
I also love when I hear from our college students that finding a moment of magic
on their college campus provided them with.
(31:43):
Yep. Okay. One of the best compliments that I can get from a college student
is that when they find the moment of magic on campus, that it's finding their home on campus.
It's finding their community that they find their forever friends and their forever group.
That's what a moment of magic provided for me. And to be able to replicate that
(32:07):
at colleges and universities across the country, That's the best compliment I could get.
Are there, if someone wanted to, you know, reach out or maybe someone who's
listening or someone who's listening has a friend with deep pockets,
are there certain things, is it just donations you're looking for,
donations in kind, are there certain things that the organization needs more
(32:28):
than other things or is it really just a funding stream of money coming in that would help out?
There are so many different ways that you can help support the organization.
If you want to make a general donation, that helps power the mission inclusively.
So all of our projects, which is incredibly helpful.
If you want to make an in-kind donation, things that we are always looking for
(32:51):
are programming supplies.
So arts and crafts supplies, crowns and tiaras, things that we can give to the
kids on visits like toys and things of that nature. Gas gift cards is a big
one. Gas is so expensive.
And to be able to reduce barriers for our college students to go on those visits,
that makes a huge difference.
(33:11):
Printing supplies are also really expensive. So being able to give tablecloths
for volunteers or hand out business cards, that's really helpful.
Helpful, if you have any way to come and support the organization or if there's
anything you think you can do, it doesn't matter where it is or how it falls into the organization.
I guarantee you there's a way that you can support.
(33:35):
So in, I mean, you've said so many really cool things about what you guys do,
but if you had to think of, you know, over the course of the 10 years that you
guys have been doing it, is there one or two things that happened that you're
most proud of or made the the most impact on you leading this organization?
Anything that you could think of?
So in 2020, the world changed. We had basically our entire business model changed completely.
(34:05):
Hospitals closed, our college students had to evacuate their campuses and people
weren't donating to nonprofits as much because the financial landscape changed.
So what we really had to do was...
Take a step back and figure out what direction we wanted the organization to go in.
And I was taking some time to connect with one of our volunteers.
(34:27):
And at the time, she was the chapter president at Ohio State University.
And she actually is a brain tumor survivor. She's a pediatric cancer survivor herself.
And I was talking to her about her experience in the organization as a survivor
and asked her, you know, what can we and what can we as a community be doing better?
(34:47):
And she really talked about the gap in mental health support for survivors and
for families and for children in treatment.
And we talked about how A Moment of Magic very organically supports kids in
this way and gives them spaces to share about how they're feeling.
And we wanted to find ways that we could elevate that support.
(35:08):
So we started coming up with this idea in 2020 and 2021 to launch a project
called Express Create Heal.
And that really has grown over the last few years.
And what we've done with Express Create Heal really are two things.
So one, we have programs where we work with our medical advisory committee to
train our college student volunteers to lead programs across the country for fighters, survivors,
(35:34):
and siblings of pediatric cancer to teach them about their mental health and
provide them with tools for coping and resilience.
And then secondly, what I'm really proud of is we are launching a program this
September to support providers, professionals, and support networks.
So thank teachers, social workers, community members,
(35:56):
nonprofit professionals to teach them about the pediatric cancer experience
and about the mental health ramifications of going through pediatric cancer
and how we as support networks can better support that
those we serve. So we worked really hard to create this curriculum and training.
And this September, we're actually going to be launching our first 2.5 hour
(36:18):
long training. So it is long, but it's incredibly intensive.
And it really will make a big difference because if we can better support our
community, we can change their mental health outcomes.
That's been an incredible experience. And we've seen a lot of traction starting to pick up.
So we were accepted into the Clinton Global Initiative Fellowship Program because of this program.
(36:39):
And we're seeing a really big need. And there's just a lot of innovation happening
around it. And we're just incredibly proud of what's happening with it.
Well, and that sounds, I mean, amazing. The fact that, you know,
what started with a really nice idea to spread some joy and happiness is really
evolving and continuing to grow.
And not just grow to keep replicating like the same idea, but the fact that
(37:02):
you're getting even more in depth in whether it's the training or,
you know, the specifics,
you know, the support, all the different kind of supports needed with,
you know, with people, families, you know, in kind of that medical peril is amazing.
The fact is, you know, if you're good at something, it's successful.
You can kind of rest on your laurels and keep rolling out the same thing and
(37:22):
keep rolling out the same characters.
You know, you have a script. Like you said, there has to be that consistency. proficiency
so it would be kind of easy to start to get stale but the fact
that you know number one i love the idea that
you listen to people and got ideas for
new characters and then the fact that you're you're looking at real needs and
how can we meet them and how can we evolve to step up to the next variety of
(37:43):
challenges is going to come it's it's really it says a lot about not just you
but everybody that you have on that team to keep you know looking forward and
not trying to just say okay we're good at this and just you know keep kind of
stepping up the plate and swinging at the the same pitches.
So, kudos to you for trying to evolve that way.
Now, is there something, is there any new, like I know when you said you had
(38:04):
a business plan, is this something that you think is going to,
you know, in 10 years from now, do you see a moment of magic being the same kind of thing?
Do you see it morphing into anything else? Is there any long-range 10- or 20-year
plan down the road that you guys have, or are you still trying to just,
you know, go year to year?
I am so glad that you asked that. We are in the middle of actually doing strategic planning for now.
(38:29):
So I am working with our board at this time.
We're in the process of interviewing different stakeholders in the organization.
And like you mentioned, it's really important, not just to me, but to our entire team.
We're taking in diverse opinions from all of the people that make a moment of magic what it is.
(38:51):
Whether it's the families we serve, the volunteers who help make our work possible,
the healthcare workers that we are able to partner with, or the donors who fund the programs.
So what we're really trying to do is get their feedback and help put pen to
paper on what the next few years for the organization is going to look like.
But I think one thing is for certain is that we want to continue to grow and
(39:12):
evolve responding to that feedback and always making sure that That's a mission
is the central focus of the organization.
Is there somebody who like was the, I don't know, the prime mover in,
you know, saying, hey, that would be a great idea.
I know, like you said, when you and your roommate went there,
but just this, I'm sure there had to be somebody that, again,
(39:37):
it could have just been your roommate.
But anybody, when you said, hey, I have this idea to do this,
I think it might be crazy. But like who was the first one to step up and say
yeah, that's a great idea run with it was there anybody that was kind of your
first supporter the one that's been there with you the longest and.
It's really funny. The first person I told about the organization or this idea
(39:57):
that I had at the time was who inevitably turned into my husband.
At the time, he and I were just friends and I had told him about this idea.
And I remember his response to me was, it sounds like you're building a business.
When you come back to school, why don't you sit down with a professor that I
(40:17):
know, and I'm sure that he can help you write a business plan.
And I think that it was him taking me seriously that helps me take myself seriously.
Well, that's cool. And again, if you guys ended up getting married and building
that bond for yourselves, I guess it was right.
You found the right person at the right time because in essence,
(40:38):
that's what relationships are all about.
Somebody that can hold each other up and support each other and the
fact that he's been there with you you know since day one is
really cool so that that's great that you guys have that you can tell everybody
that's at your you know 50th winning anniversary you can go back
and bring that up so that'll be cool i just
want to say that again we're gonna when we promote this you know out there we're
(41:00):
going to share this with as many people because i really think especially today
and this is just veto going on a rant a little bit but there's so much divisiveness
out there there's so many people arguing about whatever you know,
they think is important and fighting over issues.
But the bottom line is everybody knows somebody that has a.
Somebody in need, right? Everybody has a family member or has a close friend
(41:22):
that unfortunately goes through things that, you know, you guys see on a daily
basis when you visit these places.
So what you're doing is so important because it spreads the positivity. It uplifts people.
It gives people, your volunteers an opportunity to give back because it's so important.
And the feeling that you get when you do give back and you do volunteer for
something like that, you get, whatever you give out, you get back tenfold, right?
(41:44):
And there are things that our grandparents told us and it's all like old traditional
things, but it's true and it's meaningful and it's needed.
So the fact that you guys are doing what you do is so important.
Again, we're talking with Kylie McGrain-Zarnock, who's the founder of A Moment of Magic.
Again, that's A Moment of Magic. So if you listen, if you have social media, get out there.
(42:05):
They're probably way better at TikTok things and things like that than I am
with this podcast, but get out, listen to what they're doing,
see what they're doing, get involved.
Everyone who's listening to this has somebody somewhere that could benefit or could help.
So we'll make sure that we push it from our side. Kylie, it's been an awesome
opportunity to talk with you, to celebrate the things you do, and to get the word out.
(42:28):
Is there anything else that you want to share with anyone who's listening about
the organization or ways to help or anything else you want to add?
I think if there was anything in this conversation that sparks an interest in
you, even if you're not exactly sure how you can get involved or where you can
support, there's a place for you in a moment of magic.
So please don't hesitate to reach out. Please visit our website, a moment of magic.org.
(42:51):
And just thank you so much again for providing this platform.
We really appreciate it. And hopefully it's been our privilege and honor to
have you on and thank you and all everyone on the team for what you guys do.
We really, really appreciate it. And again, we want to see it grow and thrive.
Unfortunately, it's needed, right? But it's something out there that's very, very positive.
And I just can't believe that, you know, somebody from just little old Northeast
(43:16):
PA is really on the front line to doing something so important.
So we're really proud of you for being a Northeast PA kid who's gone on to do
some great things. And we know the future is going to be even brighter.
So continue good, good success to you, my friend.
Anything we can do from our vantage point here, just you reach back and you
let us know because we'll spread the word from here.
And again, everyone, this has been another episode of A Matter of Principle.
(43:40):
And we have been talking with Kylie McGrane-Zarnak, who again,
the founder of A Moment of Magic.
Please take a chance and take a look at what they do and get involved.
Thank you so much, Kylie. Thank you.
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