A child’s life should be filled with lots of fun playtime, but for sick and injured children who are forced to stay in bed at a hospital, a lack of quality playtime is frustrating, and nowhere near fun. Jillian Kaplan, owner of Williston’s Kalax Creations, is helping to change that by donating her colorfully hand-painted lap desks to bedridden children at Vermont Children’s Hospital in Burlington.

Available in a wide range of bright colors and hand-painted with unique whimsical designs, Kalax Creations’ lap desks are the perfect size for kids of all ages and provide a fun and comfortable flat surface for children to paint, color, play games, and even eat while in bed. “When my two-year-old daughter was hospitalized in January of 2008, I noticed there was no comfortable place for the kids confined to hospital beds to play, color, or eat,” says Kaplan. “We brought in our daughter’s lap desk from home and it was an instant hit among all the children in the pediatric ward.”

Since then, Kalax Creations has donated more than 50 lap desks to Vermont Children’s Hospital. Not only are the desks giving children a new way to play while in bed, they’re helping kids get through difficult medical procedures and treatments as well. “I noticed the hospital’s pediatric infusion bay had no comfortable place for young patients to rest their arms during Remicade® or chemotherapy treatments,” says Kaplan. “To remedy that problem, we donated a lap desk for every infusion bay.”

Kalax Creations’ lap desks are each one of a kind, just like the kids they bring smiles to. Made of colorful plastic, they have two side pockets to store art supplies, games, toys, and other essentials, and wipe clean easily to ensure a sanitized work and play space.

In addition to the lap desks, Kalax Creations has also donated 25 hand-painted totes to Vermont Children’s Hospital. Made of colorful, lightweight plastic, the totes are used by nurses and other members of the hospital staff to carry a collection of supplies, games, and other goodies to patient and medical procedure rooms. “The totes and their contents have proven to be a great way to distract pediatric patients enduring lengthy and/or painful medical procedures,” reports Kaplan. “When the patient is discharged from the hospital, the nurses will often send the totes home with the child. We’re thrilled the lap desks and totes have been so popular and useful. It is our goal to support the children of our community.”

Kalax Creations, LLC was established in 1999 and is dedicated to restoring smiles, one Kalax Creation at a time. Named after two of the owner’s children – Kaitlyn and Alexander – the company specializes in whimsically hand-painted toys and personalized keepsakes for children of all ages. For more information, call 802-238-8972 or visit www.kalaxcreations.com or kalaxcreations.blogspot.com.

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