Anna’s Gift Foundation helps hope bloom for hospitalized children

Since 2012, Liz Tomalis and the Anna’s Gift Foundation have been assembling arts-and-crafts activity kits to provide to children’s hospitals across the region.

The parish community at St. Ignatius of Loyola in Ijamsville partnered Aug. 4 with Anna’s Gift, assembling more than 800 kits for sick children in need of some comfort and happy memories.

Tomalis’ daughter, Anna Leigh Tomalis, was diagnosed with a rare tumor on her liver followed by multiple metastases. After about three years, she died in 2008 at age 13.

One morning in the hospital, Tomalis’ bubbly, optimistic daughter was in an unusually flat mood. Anna had reached an age where she lost interest in the so-called “baby stuff” available at most children’s hospitals. Her mother decided to go to a nearby Michael’s and collect birdhouses, paints and stencils for them to work on together.

Before she knew it, Tomalis said, they were laughing and talking – and her daughter was “back.”

“I watched this transformation before my eyes and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what just happened?’” said Tomalis, a New Market resident and parishioner of St. Peter the Apostle in Libertytown. “I knew that I wasn’t the only one. This happens to other parents.”

After Anna passed away, Tomalis and some friends assembled make-your-own-pillow kits to donate to Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center on Anna’s birthday. The hospital’s child-life specialist loved them and requested more.

Before long, that work led Tomalis to found Anna’s Gift – something she recognized God was calling her to do.

“When you’re a parent with a broken heart looking in on a child who’s enjoying something, it just gives you such a sense of relief,” Tomalis said.

Tomalis met St. Ignatius pastor Father Patrick Carrion after attending some daily Masses at the church. She asked earlier this year if the church could host a kit-making night, and Father Carrion was happy to lend a hand.

In addition to recreational summer activities, the parish was looking for service opportunities aligned with the corporal works of mercy. Earlier this summer, volunteers cooked casseroles to feed the hungry. They also worked with a national organization called Sleep in Heavenly Peace to build about 40 twin beds for children in need, helping shelter those without adequate housing.

Now, partnered with Tomalis’ foundation, they were ready to comfort the sick.

About 60 people of all ages came out to help. Most of them were parishioners, along with some volunteers from a local chapter of the American Heritage Girls.

St. Ignatius parishioners Adriana and Juan Carlos Barberena and two of their three children, Briana and Marco, went to volunteer that night. They moved to Urbana from the state of Texas a year ago and were looking for ways to get involved with their new church community.

“I know that through Liz’s testimony, we received more than we actually (gave) that day,” Adriana Barberena said. “Her message of love and service was truly inspiring.”

The Barberena family worked assembly-line-style to put together birdhouse kits, a staple of the foundation’s 13 variations of kits. Something as modest as preparing napkins and cups of paint became vital work to the children.

“I’m sure after hearing (Tomalis), they felt like they were doing something great for others,” Barberena said. “You could see it in their faces.”

Father Carrion said the night was a success and looks forward to hosting another kit-making night.

“I think people felt a lot of sense of accomplishment and enjoyed it,” the priest said.

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