06/12/2021
Welcome to Monster Smiles!
My name is Joe and I am 13 years old. With the help of my family, I started Monster Smiles as a way to be a role model to others, inspiring random acts of kindness, creating smiles and raising awareness of Crohn's Disease.
I go to Perth Children's Hospital a lot because I have the aggressive kind of Crohn's Disease. Even though hospital isn't a fun place, the staff and volunteers that I have met there are amazing! They are kind, selfless, and dedicated people who come in to help children like me and caregivers. They are very inspiring to me.
After a big operation I had which made me stay in hospital for quite a long time I laid in my bed thinking WHAT can I do to help others? The staff and volunteers at the hospital had made my journey so much easier, and I wanted to be able to do the same for others going through hard times. But because I am a child, I knew that the things I could do were limited, however, I knew there must be SOMETHING!
I wanted to start something MEANINGFUL, LONG LASTING, POSITIVE, FUN AND COLOURFUL, and something that everyone could have, not just children. But most importantly it had to be something that brought a SMILE to someone's face.
For weeks I was stuck on this idea.
Towards the second half of my hospital stay my pillow began to get more and more uncomfortable. I had been lying in the hospital bed for waaaaay too long. I moved positions and fluffed my pillow many times. Then I stopped and had a long, hard look at the pillow.
A PILLOW CASE! A SOFT, COLOURFUL, AND FUN PILLOWCASE! "That's what I am going to do!" I told myself.
I told my parents about my idea, and that I wanted to make pillowcases with big monstrous smiles on them to inspire smiles and positivity to people who would receive them. Mum and dad were very supportive and with their support and encouragement we started to plan HOW I was going to tackle what seemed like an impossible task for a 13-year-old.
I thought about the design I wanted, and my parents helped me to get in contact with a graphic artist and a textile manufacturer. Because I wanted to get as many pillowcases as possible to spread as many 'monster-ous' smiles as possible, my parents and I worked to negotiate the best price we could. I used all my pocket money savings I had, and my parents made up the difference and we purchased the initial pillowcases.
The pillowcases are 100% brushed microfibre. The material is super soft. They are individually packaged in a pvc packet with my fun Monster Smiles sticker on the front which makes them perfect for gift giving. I also include one of my black Monster Smiles pens for free as a gift from me to you.
I donate them to the Perth Children's Hospital, Royal Darwin Hospital, Queensland Children's Hospital, Broome Hospital, Royal Hobart Hospital and Townsville University Hospital to the Post Op and General Wards for them to be given out by the staff and volunteers to the patients
https://www.monstersmiles.com.au/
