So, what exactly is Bring Magic?
The short answer is right there in our name: we bring magic to kids in hospitals.
Bring Magic brings trained Volunteer Specialists into children’s hospitals to create moments of laughter, surprise and connection for kids and families. We use magic as a way to help kids step outside of the hospital experience for a little while and simply be kids.
But if you’re wondering what that actually looks like, there’s a little more to the story.
It depends on the kid.
That’s one of the things that makes hospital magic different from performing on a stage. There isn’t a set audience, a spotlight or a routine that works for everyone. Our Volunteer Specialists meet each child where they are and figure out what kind of interaction makes sense for that particular moment.
Maybe a child is excited to see a magician and immediately wants to know how every trick works. Maybe they want to try the trick themselves. Maybe they want to show the magician a trick they already know. And sometimes, a child isn’t interested in magic at all.
That’s okay, too.
Our Volunteer Specialists are trained to read the room and adjust to what a child or family needs. The goal isn’t to put on a perfect performance. It’s to create a moment that feels different from the rest of the hospital day.
Sometimes that moment is a laugh. Sometimes it’s a surprise. And sometimes it’s simply giving a kid a little control in a place where so much is out of their control.
Bring Magic works with kids across a wide range of hospital settings. Our Volunteer Specialists visit children in pediatric oncology, intensive care, burn units, isolation rooms and other inpatient settings.
The circumstances can be very different from one child to another, but there is something they all have in common: they’re kids.
They still want to laugh. They still want to play. They still want to be surprised. They still want moments that have nothing to do with being sick.
Kids in hospitals need to be kids, too.
A hospital isn’t a theater, and hospital magic isn’t a traditional performance. There may be nurses coming in and out of the room, medical equipment nearby, a treatment happening or a family having a difficult day. A child may be tired, uncomfortable, nervous or simply not in the mood to interact.
That’s part of what makes the role so different from performing on a stage. “Each room is so distinct and different. And it’s not about doing this like a cookie-cutter performance,” Bring Magic U trainer, Kelly, explains. “It’s about being in that moment with that child.”
Our Volunteer Specialists have to know more than a few good tricks. They have to pay attention to what’s happening in the room and adapt to the child in front of them. Sometimes that means changing a trick, changing the tone or deciding that the best thing to do is something completely different.
No. In fact, you don’t need to know magic to become a Volunteer Specialist. That’s what Bring Magic U is for.
The 12-week training program teaches volunteers the foundational skills they need to feel comfortable with the magic, while also building the confidence to adapt in the moment.
As Kelly puts it, “[Bring] Magic U is really good at getting those foundational things tight and building the confidence around doing the magic, so you can adapt in the moment when you’re in the room.”
Because when you’re working with kids in a hospital, knowing the trick is only the beginning. It’s knowing how to use it, when to change it and how to respond to the kid in front of you that makes the difference.
A hospital stay can take up a huge amount of space in a child’s life. There are appointments, procedures, treatments and long stretches of time spent away from home and their normal routines.
Bring Magic gives kids something else to think about.
For a few minutes, the conversation might be about how a trick works instead of what happens next at the hospital. A child might get to laugh with a parent. They might learn a trick themselves. They might surprise their sibling or show off for their nurse.
Magic doesn’t change what brought a child to the hospital, and it doesn’t make a difficult situation disappear.
But it can change what happens in a particular moment.
And sometimes, a little moment of joy can go a long way.
Bring Magic currently brings bedside magic to children’s hospitals across Chicago, Ann Arbor and Cleveland, with plans to reach more kids and more hospitals in the years ahead.
That’s really what Bring Magic is about.
Not just one trick or one hospital, but creating more opportunities for kids to laugh, play and feel like themselves during a time when they need it most.
More magic. More kids. More hospitals.
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Can We Do This? #03: Volunteering
