Oliver’s Make-A-Wish
The Oliver Patch Project Mobile!
The idea for the “Oliver Patch Project Mobile” is a drivable vehicle for our family to travel the US, visiting hospitals making children smile. The RV will have an Oliver Patch Project vehicle wrap and be outfitted with an exterior conversion relating to creativity and expression allowing children a one-of-a-kind experience to design their own patch with their family, siblings and other children in treatment. Oliver also came up with the idea to have custom “plushies” designed with the OPP monsters and characters that could be given away to kids as something soft to cuddle in the hospital. There would be a sticker and patch “dispenser” as well as a button making station, STEAM creativity area with tables, chairs, Crayola markers, color pencils and paper, as well as music for spontaneous dance parties! Oh, and plenty of hand sanitizer!! ☺
Oliver and Peter hard at work!
It’s all about family…
Now, a little background – the Oliver Patch Project is the nonprofit organization our family started to support children with pediatric cancer.
The inception of our nonprofit came from us (Oliver’s parents) asking our family and friends to send patches to Oliver during his treatment as a way to send and receive love through the mail. (Who doesn’t like getting something fun in the mail!)
After receiving over 2,000 patches (in a month), Oliver said, “Guys, we should do this for other kids!” It was his inspiration, that helped us begin to conceptualize the project as it would look for others.
The www.oliverpatchproject.org website contains 100% original content to make kids smile and help them learn about what is happening to their bodies. When a child is given a “welcome patch” by a hospital partner, they join the program, selecting a jean jacket or tote bag, and 20 of their favorite starter patches through the online portal, which are then sewn onto their garment and sent to them at home. This enrolls them in the program for 12 months, or the duration of their treatment, whichever is longer. The goal is to give them a suit of “armor” they can wear to doctor’s visits and treatment appointments, as well as sending them a smile every month through the mail (in the form of a patch), allowing them to just feel like kids. The program is completely free for our Warriors and is supported 100% by public donations. We became a 501c3 nonprofit corporation in March of 2021, have 30 children enrolled in the program, and are growing daily! We have active relationships with 3 hospital partners in Miami and 1 in Phoenix and have plans to grow relationships with Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Children's National Hospital in DC, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. We are continuing to build relationships and add children as funding becomes available.
Check out some of our
cool RV concept ideas!
Exciting technology & Instagrammable moments
Each side of the Oliver Patch Project Mobile will be outfitted with our custom graphics, and set up for an interactive experience, allowing kids and their families to interact with the OPP characters in real life (almost).
Key Sponsorship opportunities for corporations: Sponsors will be identified on the rear of the vehicle with customized bumper stickers.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to do something amazing for our son. Although cancer has completely changed our lives, we have taken the experiences we have had and the love we have received and used them to power something good. Oliver has always been a loving and caring individual and this project will allow him to continue to grow that side of himself giving back to other children who have been impacted by cancer.
With gratitude,
Oliver, Peter, Brian & Trisha
Learn more about How it Works in this video and feel free to explore the
Oliver Patch Project website.
