How to send Valentines to children's hospital patients

With Valentine's Day only one sleep away, many Oklahomans are signing cards and ordering flowers for their special someone.

At Bethany Children's Health Center, patients and hospital staff are encouraging others to also send a card to someone who may need a little extra love.

The Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch visited Bethany Children's Health Center on Thursday to learn how.

Rayann Williams, a teaching assistant at the hospital, said it is easy to send a card to someone in need.

"All you have to do is go to our website, bethanychildrens.org," Williams said. "You go to the 'Ways to Connect' tab and go to 'Send a Card,' from there, you're able to either personalize it for a specific patient, or you can do a general one. You get to write your message for Valentine's Day, and then we do the rest. We print it out, we handwrite the note, and then we deliver it to the kids."

Williams said in 2024, the hospital received over 1,200 Valentine's Day cards, and they are hoping for more this year.

"It was so cool to see the community reach out," Williams said. "We already had a lot, and then after we put the word out, we got so much more, and we're hoping to beat it this year."

Williams said the reaction the children get from opening a Valentine is one of joy, and they are happy to have the chance to celebrate the holiday.

"It's so sweet [and] amazing to see when they open it," Williams said. "The smiles, the joy in their eyes, and you can tell it's really special because they get to know that people care for them and love them, and they get to celebrate just like they would if they weren't here."

If you are interested in sending a card to a patient in Bethany, visit the Bethany Children's Health Center website.