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Cheery Charlie and child life

February 7, 2023 by Savannah A. Keller

Tamar Adler holding craft bags.

Avi Adler was lying unconscious underneath a truck when his family found him in June 2020.  

A delivery truck driver had reversed without looking, striking Avi on the 20th mile of his bike ride. After the accident, the 18-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where he awoke with broken bones and a concussion.  

A child life specialist helped Avi while he was hospitalized, making him and his family feel calmer and at ease. 

Missouri State University student Tamar Adler was inspired by how much the specialist helped her brother through his traumatic injury. 

“The accident changed Avi, and it also changed me,” Tamar said. “It made me realize I wanted a career that benefits other people.”     

Since the accident, Avi has fully recovered. Tamar changed her career trajectory from fashion to child life.   

Bringing joy with Cheery Charlie 

Tamar Adler and Charlie smiling.Tamar had to think outside the box to find ways to volunteer in this field since it was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I started making craft bags and donated them to the child life departments at local St. Louis hospitals as a way to volunteer from home,” Tamar said. “The bags help kids be creative and experience normalcy while in the hospital.” 

She named her volunteer project Cheery Charlie and turned it into an official Missouri nonprofit corporation.  

“I chose the name because I had just gotten a puppy named Charlie, and Charlie makes me cheery,” she said.  

Since the inception of Cheery Charlie in January 2021, Tamar has donated over 6,000 craft bags to children in St. Louis hospitals.   

Tamar won the St. Louis Jewish Light 2022 Unsung Hero Award for her time, service and commitment to the St. Louis Jewish community through Cheery Charlie. 

Learn more about Cheery Charlie

Furthering her passion through education 

Tamar enrolled in Missouri State’s online child life graduate program two years after her brother’s accident.  

She plans to graduate in May 2027. As a future child life specialist, Tamar will help children and their families deal with the challenges of trauma, loss, long-term illness or injury and more.  

She said the knowledge she has gained about child life through her program has been invaluable for her future and nonprofit.  

“Being able to study child life at MSU while working on Cheery Charlie has been so powerful to me,” Tamar said. 

“My time at MSU has only allowed me to love child life even more.”

Despite the program being online, Tamar feels a great connection to her fellow child life students and her advisor, Dr. Lindsey Murphy.  

“Tamar is a natural,” said Murphy, assistant professor of childhood education and family studies at Missouri State.  

“She exudes joy and many characteristics and skills needed to be a great child life specialist. I have no doubt she will continue to touch many patients, families and staff throughout her career.” 

Explore child life studies 

Filed Under: Child Life Studies, COE Students, Graduate Program Tagged With: child life specialist, childhood education and family studies

The heroic role of a child life specialist

March 30, 2020 by Sydni Moore

Grace Pipkins poses outside of Mercy Kids Children's Hospital in Springfield.

There is power in deep breathing. It’s a coping mechanism Missouri State graduate student Grace Pipkins keeps in the toolbox of her mind.

It led to one of her favorite moments during her training to become a child life specialist.

She was working with a patient, completing a practicum in Cape Town, South Africa, when it happened.

“While working with this boy, I could tell he was in a lot of pain,” Pipkins said. “Through the play activity we were doing, something didn’t seem right.”

The boy’s face read that he was uncomfortable — that he was unable to concentrate.

So, Pipkins took his hand and started breathing deeply. Soon, he began to do the same.

Later that week, Pipkins was asked to work with the same patient. As soon as they sat down, he showed her just how much she had helped.

“He grabbed my hand and started taking deep breaths,” Pipkins said. “It was the moment I saw all my training come into place.”

Experience Gained

Some methods may be simple, but the responsibilities of a child life specialist are vast.

According to the website for the Association of Child Life Professionals, “In both healthcare and community settings, Certified Child Life Specialists (CLS) help infants, children, youth and families cope with the stress and uncertainty of acute and chronic illness, injury, trauma, disability, loss and bereavement.”

Gracie Pipkins smiles with coworkers during her time as an intern.
Pipkins, second from left, smiles with coworkers during her internship.

Pipkins is not yet certified, but her training in Africa, as well as in Springfield, put her on the right path. Her time as an intern at Mercy Kids Children’s Hospital August-December 2019 was especially rewarding, she said.

“My experiences as an intern have shaped me into the professional I am now,” Pipkins says.

A few of Pipkins’ duties during her internship included:

  • Providing education, preparation and distraction for patients undergoing procedure.
  • Providing play opportunities to patients to normalize hospital settings.
  • Extending support to families by listening.

It’s a job she took very seriously, Pipkins added. She liked how she could be her most authentic self at work, as well.

“Every patient, every experience, every game of UNO and every laugh made my time at Mercy exactly what it needed to be,” she said.

Pipkins and her coworkers dress up for Halloween.
Pipkins and her coworkers dressed up as the three-eyed aliens from “Toy Story” for Halloween.

Additionally, since Mercy Kids Children’s Hospital is attached to Mercy Hospital Springfield, for adults, Pipkins’ internship experience was unusual. She not only worked with children dealing with ailments — she helped children watch older loved ones combat illness and injury, too.

“That is not something students like me are exposed to often in a children-only hospital,” she says.

Almost There

As experienced as Pipkins is, graduation is still ahead of her. Today, Pipkins is living in St. Louis, taking a single online class as she concentrates on studying for her certification exam.

“I’m just taking it slow and steady while I search for jobs,” Pipkins says.

In the meantime, she’s reflective of the tasks she’s already accomplished — and the patients she’s already served.

“Of course, there are a lot of behind-the-scenes things that get done when child life specialists aren’t working with patients, but I’ve learned they are always our top priority,” Pipkins says. “Patients in need always come first.”

Filed Under: Child Life Studies, COE Students, Graduate Program Tagged With: child life specialist, CLS, Grace Pipkins, internship

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