Spirit Halloween: More Than a Meme – Bringing Halloween Events to Hospitalized Children

You've seen the photos and heard the jokes about Spirit Halloween, with its wild inventory variations and the banners that seemingly appear overnight in storefronts as Halloween nears. However, there's a side to the retailer that's less meme-worthy: an annual tradition of spreading Halloween cheer to children and families in hospitals across North America.

Each year, Spirit of Children, Spirit Halloween's charity arm, dedicates a week in October to hosting Halloween-themed events at pediatric hospitals. This initiative aims to offer joy and relief to families undergoing extended hospital stays with their kids.

For 2023, starting the week of Oct. 9, hospitals will host Halloween celebrations and events. These include costume parties, trick-or-treating, parades, and other seasonal activities with activity books and goodie bags, all provided by Spirit Halloween vendor partners.

Since the program's inception in 2007, the foundation has raised over $110 million for Child Life departments. These departments focus on assisting patients and their families with the physical, mental, and emotional challenges of hospital life. This fundraising has benefited more than 150 partner hospitals in the U.S. and Canada.

Every cent raised goes directly toward helping healthcare facilities enhance their resources, expand services and programs, and prolong service hours within their Child Life departments. In 2023, Spirit of Children is set to support 159 pediatric hospitals throughout North America, with a fundraising target of $18 million.

"Spirit of Children recognizes that healing a child's body, mind, and spirit takes more than medicine,” said Terry Spearman, manager of Child Life Services at Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C.