Local Scout Launches Project to Bring Comfort to Isolated UCLA Patients During Pandemic

By JENNIKA INGRAM | Reporter 

Chloe Moshrefi, a member of Palisades Scout Troop 223, has independently partnered with UCLA Health to create a program for isolated patients who are ill at a time when loved ones cannot be near them due to coronavirus restrictions.

“My grandfather spent weeks alone in the hospital, and I began this project while he was in the ICU,” the 15-year-old told the Palisadian-Post. “I believe this is of immediate concern because there are so many people suffering from the safety repercussions of COVID-19. Many are depressed and need activity in their day.”

Moshrefi started her fundraising project called “Here For You” on May 29 by partnering with UCLA Health, and, to date, she has raised almost $7,000, with proceeds going directly to the hospital and the intent to raise more.

Moshrefi has created activity kits for patients in the hospital and is in the midst of a plan for teen volunteers at UCLA to create content patients will be able to access on their hospital iPads.

“My grandfather had Parkinson’s and his entire life was given away to this disease,” Moshrefi shared. “In the past year, he deteriorated so much it was hard for him to walk.”

On April 16, Majid Daneshmand was admitted to the hospital. After 19 days, he went to the ICU where he was put on a feeding tube and he died on May 5. Moshrefi shared that the family was not able to visit with him while he was there, even though his stay and passing were unrelated to COVID-19.

“I kept trying to think of a way for patients to have some kind of comfort in their days,” Moshrefi said. “A lot of awareness has been raised on the virus but not the repercussions. He went in for something so small and ended up dying.”

Moshrefi connected with Carey McCarthy, director of volunteer services for UCLA Health, to purchase materials, and Katie Brown, associate director of annual giving for UCLA Health Sciences Development, helped create the UCLA page.

On Wednesday, June 24, Moshrefi and many of her friends, including several Palisades residents, created 500 kits, each with handwritten notes.

Moshrefi created the activity kits in an effort to help patients feel less isolated and lonely. There are different kinds of activity kits: journaling, Sudoku, crosswords, sketchbooks and more.

She shared that she believes the activity kits provide a sense of comfort when ill patients are not able to see their loved ones.

“Chloe exemplifies pure love, kindness and excels in everything that she does,” Moshrefi’s grandmother Touran wrote to the Post. “She is our shining star and Papa could not be more proud of her. Many thanks to her for brightening our world and making a difference for lonely patients.”

Moshrefi and her siblings attend the Geffen Academy at UCLA. They are also members of the all-gender Palisades Scout Troop 223, with Moshrefi being a senior member after joining over a year ago. She will be one of the first girl Eagle Scouts.

“I thought it was really cool that girls could do what boys do,” Moshrefi shared, admitting it was her younger sister Selene, 12, who decided to join first. Then, her brother, Kameron, 14, joined one month later after her, when he saw how much fun they were having.

The Scouts are separate from her fundraising project, but members of the troop helped with the project by contributing to the activity kits.

“The 50 scouts and 40 adult leaders of Girl’s Troop 223G, Scouts BSA, are extremely proud of Chloe and her very successful efforts to mobilize members of the Troop, other friends and adults to provide this creative, extremely helpful, and heartfelt project in honor of her late grandfather,” Scoutmaster Mike Lanning shared in an email.  “We are especially proud of Chloe’s demonstrating the leadership skills and the serving mentality that our program hopes to instill in every member. Chloe, your grandfather is proud of you.”

Moshrefi said that a UCLA website for the Here For You project is in the works so that UCLA patients will have access to playlists with new uploads daily on the iPads provided for the patients in the hospital.

Soon patients will be able to access all of these videos, created by high school volunteers at UCLA, and choose what they want to watch based on interests, such as pets, wellness, music therapy, meditation and more, Moshefri explained.

In the meantime, her friends are submitting videos to upload so teen volunteers at UCLA will have an idea of what she’s hoping to create.

“I started it, but hopefully people at the hospital will run it for me,” Moshrefi concluded.

For more information go to spark.ucla.edu/project/21247.