Ava’s Flavas sweetens hospital stays for children
Group With a unicorn horn on her head and a matching purple tail, Ariella Stein nibbled at her dish of ice cream in the playroom of Sinai Hospital’s pediatric acute care floor.
Her father, David Stein, sat beside her, as did her doll Katrina, donning the unicorn horn and tail Ariella had made for her.
The doll was a gift from the 9-year-old’s dance studio. The ice cream came from Ava’s Flavas, a program begun by an Ellicott City girl who wanted to do something nice for children in the hospital.
Ava Edwards, a sixth-grader at Mount View Middle School, knows from experience how important it is to break up the monotony of a hospital stay.
She was in third grade when she was diagnosed with a form of cancer rare in children, chronic myelogenous leukemia.
That was October 2013. She spent months undergoing treatments, including a bone marrow transplant, which required a long hospital stay.
“Our life was turned upside down,” said Susan Edwards, Ava’s mother.
“While we were there, the days grew long and monotonous. There was not a lot to get excited about,” she said. “Ava said she wanted to do something to give back, to help other kids.”
“In the hospital I was really bored,” Ava said. When she decided to do something positive for children who, like her, had to spend time in the hospital, Ava said she thought of serving ice cream.
“It’s something everybody likes,” she said.
Although Ava missed all of fourth grade, she was able to return to school for fifth grade.
“She didn’t miss a beat,” her mother said.
Ava, who turns 12 on June 7, was considered “cured” after she hit her twoyear post-transplant mark last September.
She still returns to Hopkins for blood and oncological evaluations about every three months.
In the meantime, she never forgot her idea of helping other children in the hospital.
Ava’s Flavas made its first visit in December 2015 to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where Ava was treated. They expanded to Sinai in May 2016 when Ava, her twin sister Abigail and her parents got permission to bring ice cream and toppings, along with little toys and crafts. They visit every few weeks — except during winter months when the flu virus could compromise the young patients’ health, according to Edwards.
Their two-hour visit May 21 was Ava’s Sinai Hospital.
The brightly decorated play room was filled with the sounds of children. Three patients, as well as parents and siblings, were spending time there on a Sunday afternoon.
Ava served up scoops of fudge ripple, Neapolitan, cookies and cream and a couple other flavors of ice cream, as well as toppings from sprinkles to gummy worms.
Her sisters, Abigail and Elizabeth, 21 months old, were at home, although Abigail usually joins in.
“Everybody gets excited about free ice cream,” Edwards said.
Patients are served first, along with their parents and their siblings. They also take orders from children not feeling up to coming to the playroom. Staff, doctors and nurses are also invited to stop by for ice cream.
When asked her assessment of Ava’s Flavas’ success, Ava looked around the playroom, filled with the chatter of children, and said, “It’s actually better than I expected.”
She and her parents wore petal pink T-shirts with a drawing of the Ava’s Flavas ice cream cone logo and the group’s motto on the back: “Bringing a little sweetness to the children and families affected by “All the drawings were done in house,” said Ava’s father, Devin Edwards.
Susan Edwards said Ava’s Flavas brings more than ice cream; it brings hope to cancer paitents and their families.
“Seeing Ava has been through it and is well, it is always comforting to the parents,”
Devin Edwards said.
Ariella Stein’s father, David, endorsed the visits.
“I think it’s great. It keeps the kids engaged. It keeps them happy,” he said.
He said Ariella wants to do something similar “to help kids” when she is well again.
Susan Edwards said she and her husband spend time with parents while their daughters scoop ice cream.
“It gives us a change to talk with other parents. They share their stories and Abby and Ava talk to some of the kids,” she said.
“It’s a way to lean on each other and get support.”
“It’s bittersweet when we go,” she said, explaining that she understands what these children and their parents are going through, from the illness to the treatments to the long days in the hospital.
Edwards said she contacted area hospitals to see which might be receptive to units. Sinai embraced the idea.
Kristen Minch, a Child Life specialist at Sinai and an Ellicott City resident, coordinates the visits.
Minch said Ava’s Flavas fits in with the regular programming of the hospital’s Child Life Therapy Program. The playroom offers a variety of entertainment, nutritional presentations and holiday celebrations.
Ava’s Flavas is one of several local organizations to visit.
“All these additions definitely add to the fun,” Minch said. Ava’s Flavas, she said, “has had a wonderful reception. Everyone looks forward to it.”
Funding for the nonprofit Ava’s Flavas comes mostly from the Edwards family.
Devin Edwards’ company, Phoenix Operations Group, sponsors the program and neighbors and friends have held fundraisers to help pay for the ice cream and little gifts.
Ava’s Flavas also participates in the Amazon.com Smile Program. However, Susan Edwards said she is looking for a donor to help with ice cream costs.
“We hope to continue doing this,” she said, adding that they’d even like to expand to other hospitals.
“The kids smile and that’s all that matters,” Susan Edwards said. “That’s why
Her father, David Stein, sat beside her, as did her doll Katrina, donning the unicorn horn and tail Ariella had made for her.
The doll was a gift from the 9-year-old’s dance studio. The ice cream came from Ava’s Flavas, a program begun by an Ellicott City girl who wanted to do something nice for children in the hospital.
Ava Edwards, a sixth-grader at Mount View Middle School, knows from experience how important it is to break up the monotony of a hospital stay.
She was in third grade when she was diagnosed with a form of cancer rare in children, chronic myelogenous leukemia.
That was October 2013. She spent months undergoing treatments, including a bone marrow transplant, which required a long hospital stay.
“Our life was turned upside down,” said Susan Edwards, Ava’s mother.
“While we were there, the days grew long and monotonous. There was not a lot to get excited about,” she said. “Ava said she wanted to do something to give back, to help other kids.”
“In the hospital I was really bored,” Ava said. When she decided to do something positive for children who, like her, had to spend time in the hospital, Ava said she thought of serving ice cream.
“It’s something everybody likes,” she said.
Although Ava missed all of fourth grade, she was able to return to school for fifth grade.
“She didn’t miss a beat,” her mother said.
Ava, who turns 12 on June 7, was considered “cured” after she hit her twoyear post-transplant mark last September.
She still returns to Hopkins for blood and oncological evaluations about every three months.
In the meantime, she never forgot her idea of helping other children in the hospital.
Ava’s Flavas made its first visit in December 2015 to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where Ava was treated. They expanded to Sinai in May 2016 when Ava, her twin sister Abigail and her parents got permission to bring ice cream and toppings, along with little toys and crafts. They visit every few weeks — except during winter months when the flu virus could compromise the young patients’ health, according to Edwards.
Their two-hour visit May 21 was Ava’s Sinai Hospital.
The brightly decorated play room was filled with the sounds of children. Three patients, as well as parents and siblings, were spending time there on a Sunday afternoon.
Ava served up scoops of fudge ripple, Neapolitan, cookies and cream and a couple other flavors of ice cream, as well as toppings from sprinkles to gummy worms.
Her sisters, Abigail and Elizabeth, 21 months old, were at home, although Abigail usually joins in.
“Everybody gets excited about free ice cream,” Edwards said.
Patients are served first, along with their parents and their siblings. They also take orders from children not feeling up to coming to the playroom. Staff, doctors and nurses are also invited to stop by for ice cream.
When asked her assessment of Ava’s Flavas’ success, Ava looked around the playroom, filled with the chatter of children, and said, “It’s actually better than I expected.”
She and her parents wore petal pink T-shirts with a drawing of the Ava’s Flavas ice cream cone logo and the group’s motto on the back: “Bringing a little sweetness to the children and families affected by “All the drawings were done in house,” said Ava’s father, Devin Edwards.
Susan Edwards said Ava’s Flavas brings more than ice cream; it brings hope to cancer paitents and their families.
“Seeing Ava has been through it and is well, it is always comforting to the parents,”
Devin Edwards said.
Ariella Stein’s father, David, endorsed the visits.
“I think it’s great. It keeps the kids engaged. It keeps them happy,” he said.
He said Ariella wants to do something similar “to help kids” when she is well again.
Susan Edwards said she and her husband spend time with parents while their daughters scoop ice cream.
“It gives us a change to talk with other parents. They share their stories and Abby and Ava talk to some of the kids,” she said.
“It’s a way to lean on each other and get support.”
“It’s bittersweet when we go,” she said, explaining that she understands what these children and their parents are going through, from the illness to the treatments to the long days in the hospital.
Edwards said she contacted area hospitals to see which might be receptive to units. Sinai embraced the idea.
Kristen Minch, a Child Life specialist at Sinai and an Ellicott City resident, coordinates the visits.
Minch said Ava’s Flavas fits in with the regular programming of the hospital’s Child Life Therapy Program. The playroom offers a variety of entertainment, nutritional presentations and holiday celebrations.
Ava’s Flavas is one of several local organizations to visit.
“All these additions definitely add to the fun,” Minch said. Ava’s Flavas, she said, “has had a wonderful reception. Everyone looks forward to it.”
Funding for the nonprofit Ava’s Flavas comes mostly from the Edwards family.
Devin Edwards’ company, Phoenix Operations Group, sponsors the program and neighbors and friends have held fundraisers to help pay for the ice cream and little gifts.
Ava’s Flavas also participates in the Amazon.com Smile Program. However, Susan Edwards said she is looking for a donor to help with ice cream costs.
“We hope to continue doing this,” she said, adding that they’d even like to expand to other hospitals.
“The kids smile and that’s all that matters,” Susan Edwards said. “That’s why
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