Disco Fever! A Halloween Celebration at the Berrie Center
The day after Halloween is always the best day of the year at the Berrie Center. For more than twenty years, the Berrie Center Halloween Party & Candy Exchange has provided a special opportunity for children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to donate their sugary sweets and select a brand-new toy. This signature event is a chance for children and families to bond with one another and with the Berrie Center staff.
Having diabetes on Halloween is no easy feat, but time and again patients find comfort in uniting at the Berrie Center to turn in their candy for a toy, play games and meet new friends.
“It takes a tremendous team effort to bring an event like this together, and it was wonderful to see everyone come together to create such a fun, festive, and memorable evening for our patients and families,” said Rachelle Gandica, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and the Director of the Pediatric Diabetes Program at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center. “It is one of the many things that makes the Berrie Center such a special place.”
The theme of this year’s party was “Haunted Disco,” and the Berrie Center staff got into the spirit with colorful disco outfits, while Pushkin, the therapy dog, showed up dressed as a hippie! Art therapist Cara Lampron and pediatric coordinator Kindra Matthews transformed the space into a festive Halloween wonderland filled with tricks and artistic treats. As guests arrived, they traded in their Halloween candy for a chance to choose from an assortment of wonderful toys. The fun continued with activities including Pin the Pump on the Skeleton, potion making, a magician, and pumpkin decorating, courtesy of the Nonna’s Garden Foundation.
Pizza, vegetables, wraps and cookies were served, with carb counts provided for each item to help families make informed choices.
“An event like this really speaks to who we are,” said Robin Goland, MD, Co-Director, Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center and J. Merrill Eastman Professor of Clinical Diabetes at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “The children and their families were so happy and joyful. I am grateful to everyone for all their work to make it the success it was.”
The Berrie Center Halloween Candy Exchange Party is made possible through the generosity of our donors. To contribute to events like this, and other programs at the Berrie Center, please visit https://www.columbiadoctors.org/about-us/make-gift.
