Current Texas Christian University student and founder of nonprofit, Once Upon A Room, Siena Dancsecs, announced the opening of the organization’s 36th chapter at the USA Women and Children’s Hospital in Mobile, Alabama.
Once Upon a Room is a nonprofit that aims to bring positivity to chronically ill pediatric patients through personalized hospital room decorations. “We are so proud to see how the organization has grown throughout the years and has brought joy to the lives of so many patients. Making a patients room feel a more like home through warm and colorful decor can have an incredible impact on their emotional health and experience in the hospital. Through our work, we hope to enrich the lives of these strong, hopeful, and inspiring patients.”
Once Upon a Room was founded in 2014 by Jenny Hull, Josie Hull, and Siena Dancsecs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). Josie Hull, Co-Founder and Visionary, was the inspiration for the organization as her mother Jenny, and friend Siena, would decorate her hospital room when she was a patient. The personalized decorations transformed Josie’s hospital room into a space filled with positivity and reminders of home. Jenny and Siena saw the joy this brought Josie and started Once Upon a Room.
The organization started at a local level, but has grown nationally. Josie’s story has inspired many of her friends and contacts across the country to do the same at nearby hospitals.
Annually, Once Upon a Room spends an average of $500,000 across its chapters on decorating 2,500-3,000 rooms. On average, it costs around $300 to decorate a room, making the nonprofit reliant on donations and sponsorships of rooms.
source: press release
