Catholic Foundation supports children at Diamond Children’s Medical Center

By Carissa Krautscheid 

There are bound to be some smiles at Diamond Children’s Medical Center this week when the Catholic Foundation drops off care packages for more than 120 children. Every quarter, diocesan staff participate in Thankful Thursday, a day dedicated to collecting items for an organization in our diocese. This month, the Catholic Foundation partnered with the Longoria family and diocesan staff who donated $2,000 worth of stuffed animals, blankets and sensory toys. 

This was a special Thankful Thursday because the staff was joined by 92-year-old Deacon Leo Longoria, who last year established a charitable endowment to support the foundation’s service projects. Deacon Leo and his wife Anita started the endowment to honor the life of their daughter Veronica who had special needs. The family said Veronica had a childlike compassion for serving others. In 2021, Anita passed away; regardless Leo said the mission will continue.  

When establishing the endowment, Deacon Leo asked that the Catholic Foundation designate one service project each year to support children battling cancer. These children always held a special place in Veronica’s heart. The Foundation announced that, in Veronica’s memory, Diamond Children’s Medical Center will be an annual beneficiary of Foundation’s Thankful Thursday service projects. 

Present at Thankful Thursday were other members of the Longoria family, as well as Hadley Trull, who is the Associate Director of Child Life at the hospital. “I feel very honored and blessed to meet you all,” she said, “and thankful for our patients who will benefit from all the love and support you’re providing us.” 

Child Life is a national service offered at hospitals to provide mental health support as children prepare for all kinds of medical procedures. “Our team is specially trained to promote psycho-social and emotional support for pediatric patients,” Trull explained. “We talk with the child and the family about what is about to happen. We’ll use developmentally appropriate language and tools, many of which are toys, like those you provided. Before a procedure, we help the child understand what to expect. We create a coping plan and communicate the plan to the medical team. We’re with the patient, coaching them through. We make sure children have a voice. We try to honor and validate their feelings, and let the child know that they’re heard.” 

Child Life’s services are free to all patients and families. Trull said, “We normally purchase these types of resources through philanthropic dollars, as we can’t bill for services, so these donations are vital to the work that we do. The kids will keep all these things. I thank you so much!” 

Deacon Leo Longoria invites you to attend the first annual Campanario Banquet, a benefit dinner supporting the Deacon Leo and Anita Longoria Family Endowment. To join the Longoria family on Friday, May 10 at 6pm at Bishop Kicanas Pastoral Center Ballroom, please RSVP by May 3 at www.cathfnd.org/longoria. You can also support the Catholic Foundation’s Thankful Thursday service projects by donating directly to the Deacon Leo and Anita Longoria Family Endowment.