What These Construction Workers Did for Kids in Hospital Will Melt Your Heart

A construction site isn’t usually what you think of when it comes to feel good stories about kids. But, that’s exactly what happened when a life-size “Where’s Waldo” cut-out appeared at a site next door to a children’s hospital so the kids could have a good smile and laugh, thanks to some kind construction workers.

Jason Haney is a construction worker currently building a $50 million expansion at Memorial Children’s Hospital in South Bend, Indiana. He recently told the Huffington Post about how he and his coworkers often try to do something kind for the kids in the hospital. For instance, last winter, they built a snowman and a Spongebob Squarepants on-site. But then a coworker gave him a brilliant idea. Haney told the Huffington Post:

“He came up to me, and was kind of joking around, and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if there was a Waldo up here?’ And I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s kind of cool.’ Then the idea sat in my head for a little while and I was like, ‘I’m going to make him, I’m going to do it!’”

So, Haney did. He used a sheet of plywood to create a life-size cut-out of Waldo–and started hiding it in various places around the construction site this past April–just like in the books. Once the kids see it, the hospital lets him know, so he can move it for the next search. It’s become so popular that the Waldo now has its own Facebook page, where people post photos of their Waldo sightings.

Haney was inspired to do these acts of kindness because of his own teen daughter who was in the hospital when she was 3 years old–so he understands how important it is to have a fun distraction sometimes. It’s amazing that Haney and his coworkers didn’t just do it once, but have kept doing it, because they know it infuses a bit of joy and magic into the kids’ lives–and reminds them that beauty is always there as long as you look for it.

Here are some of our favorite photos from the page below:

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Joanna C. Valente

Joanna Valente is the former Staff Writer at Kveller. Joanna is the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Xenos, and Marys of the Sea, and received an MFA at Sarah Lawrence College. You can follow @joannasaid on Twitter and @joannacvalente on Instagram.