Founded by two underclassmen in 2014, A Moment of Magic is now a national organization that has done great work and made a real difference in the lives of children all over the country.
Check out the video on the third page to see all the amazing work they do and SHARE on Facebook to let your family and friends know about this incredible foundation!
Meet Kylee McGrane.
Kylee, originally from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is a senior at College of Mount St. Vincent in New York, specializing in English and Communications with a minor in Business.
Once upon a time...
Kylee watched the Disney movie Frozen.
"I really identified with the characters and realized that I even looked like Elsa a little bit," she has said.
She had an amazing idea and immediately texted her friend Maggie, a fellow student at College of Mount St. Vincent.
"I really identified with the characters and realized that I even looked like Elsa a little bit," she has said.
She had an amazing idea and immediately texted her friend Maggie, a fellow student at College of Mount St. Vincent.
Meet Margaret McAndrew (Maggie).
Maggie is a junior studying English and Secondary/Special Education.
Maggie received Kylee's text, asking her to dress up like a princess and visit sick children, and "She fearlessly jumped in without hesitation," Kylee said.
Maggie received Kylee's text, asking her to dress up like a princess and visit sick children, and "She fearlessly jumped in without hesitation," Kylee said.
Together these two intrepid young ladies founded "The Princess Project."
They took to GoFundMe and, within a couple of weeks, had raised $2,000 to purchase wigs, costumes, and supplies.
What started as a small venture for two friends quickly grew. The Princess Project evolved, and is now known as "A Moment of Magic" with two very distinct branches.
What started as a small venture for two friends quickly grew. The Princess Project evolved, and is now known as "A Moment of Magic" with two very distinct branches.
A Moment of Magic was adopted by colleges across the country.
Located at campuses over 11 states, the programs either fall under The Fairytale Force or Mission Super Hero, a new initiative. Volunteers either focus on famous fairytale princesses or popular superheroes to visit hospitalized children. 15 college athletes are signed up to become superheroes.
As they continued to grow, they partnered up with The Magic Yarn Project.
The Magic Yarn Project creates children's wigs out of soft acrylic yarn to resemble pirates or princesses. These wigs are some of the gifts that students bring to children when they visit.
They now have 40 volunteers playing princesses in hospitals.
"We’ve never said no to a visit," says one, Ashley Clayton. "We always try to make it work."
Sometimes that means Skyping into a visit, but as the project grows, more students all over the country are able to make those visits.
Kylee has said, "We want to remove kids from the hospital setting and help them believe in beautiful things." Obviously not actually, as that might be dangerous, but just altering their reality for a little while by being there helps them remember to believe in magic.
Sometimes that means Skyping into a visit, but as the project grows, more students all over the country are able to make those visits.
Kylee has said, "We want to remove kids from the hospital setting and help them believe in beautiful things." Obviously not actually, as that might be dangerous, but just altering their reality for a little while by being there helps them remember to believe in magic.
Every week, Kylee and Maggie meet with their volunteers.
They practice being princesses: Teaching them about interacting with the children, singing famous Disney songs, reading stories in an animated way, trying to make the experience as magical as possible.
These students are making a real difference in the lives of so many children.
Maggie recently witnessed the difference she's making firsthand — she visited with a little girl who didn't speak English.
"When I started speaking Spanish, her eyes lit up and she grabbed my face," Maggie said. Her family had been prepared for the worst; up until just before Maggie's visit, she had been in a coma. "I almost didn’t get to meet her... By some miracle, she was awake when I was there." Now that's magic.
"When I started speaking Spanish, her eyes lit up and she grabbed my face," Maggie said. Her family had been prepared for the worst; up until just before Maggie's visit, she had been in a coma. "I almost didn’t get to meet her... By some miracle, she was awake when I was there." Now that's magic.
They run off of donations — it's hard for college kids to pay all the associated costs of their acts of kindness.
Their donation page breaks down the cost of parking, transportation, website costs, and gifts for the children. All of the money goes right back into the project and helping them get to the hospitals each week.
Impacting children and inspiring the world.
"I really value how small, simple acts can have such a big impact on others and this is something so simple that can have a huge impact," Maggie said. Kylee agrees, "At the very least, I hope that our message and our story inspires at least one person do something kind today, whether it’s simply holding a door for someone else, donating clothing, or joining our team."
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