Last week, the Brillient BEST (Brillient Engagement and Service Team) served the “Family Dinner” to children and their families at The Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIH Clinical Center is the nation’s premier biomedical research hospital, working to advance medical discoveries and improve the health of people all over the world. The Children’s Inn is a residential “Place Like Home” for families with children who are receiving medical care at the NIH. These children often have dire medical issues and are at the NIH as a last resort after other medical providers have been unable to help them. The ”Family Dinner” allows the families to relax, alleviating the worries of preparing a meal after a long day at the hospital.
The Brillient team decorated the dining room in our Brillient green and provided treats and toys for the children. We thought the families might enjoy some “comfort food” so we served fried chicken, biscuits, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, French fries and onion rings. We also served salads, drinks, cakes and cookies. We enjoyed meeting and talking with the families.
At the end of the evening, we were surprised and delighted to receive a “thank you” card from the families we served. One of the children wrote, “It was the best thing I ever had. Thank you.’ A parent added,” Your support through time and food is very important and means more to us than you will ever know.”
It was a privilege for us to serve the Family Dinner, and a pleasure to meet the staff and families. We enjoyed the evening, and, more importantly, felt good knowing that, today, we made a difference to the families we served.