The young patients looked out their windows last Tuesday to find Power Rangers cleaning the glass panes.The majority of us are not familiar with what a seriously ill child’s day consists of in the hospital. Undoubtedly, they undergo plenty of medical treatments, enjoy visits from loved ones, and partake in whatever activities their family or the hospital arranges. Like most children, their days are a routine. For hospitalized little ones, however, when something thrilling and unexpected pops up in the midst of that routine, their whole world brightens.
Thanks to the creative, kid-loving employees at Jenkintown Building Services, the young patients at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia looked out their windows last Tuesday to find a few Mighty Morphin Power Rangers cleaning the glass panes. The costume-clad window washers “stopped at each floor, waving to patients and high-fiving them through the glass,” according to Fox 29 news.
This isn’t the first time Jenkintown Building Services has brought this kind of excitement to Children’s Hospital, since window washing in character for the kids has become a heartwarming tradition of theirs. As one Facebook commenter put it, “[For] years they have helped kids find positive power and strength.”
Last summer, two JBS employees delighted the children by showing up outside their windows dressed as Spiderman and Captain America.
It was a repeat donning of the Spiderman attire, though, since years ago, he was the first of many in the superhero theme that JBS has adopted.
The whole thing actually began with a Santa Claus outfit, according to the company’s CEO, Marty Tuzman. “We started to do this years ago around Christmastime by putting on a Santa Claus outfit downtown. Then I thought of doing it for the kids at CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). And then one of the [hospital employees] said, ‘How about Spiderman?’ So that really launched it … and it was right around the time of the Spiderman movie. It was a hit and the kids completely loved it.”
Two years ago, the imaginative window washers went to work on CHOP’s windows as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, captivating the kids inside once again.
“It [makes] my employees feel great,” Marty said, indicating the fulfillment that comes along with doing good for others. “The guys get into putting on a complete show.”
In 2014, the chosen cast was the Sesame Street gang as beloved characters like Grover and Count von Count playfully interacted with the precious little patients from outside.
Since the costume clad cleaning usually takes place around Earth Day, Marty revealed that they’ve even made up their own superhero in the past to honor the occasion: Recycle Man. “The guy was all green and he had a couple buckets on the side of his chair … a recycle bucket and a trash bucket. And there were other window cleaners coming down alongside him and he was trying to teach them how to recycle.”
“What’s amazing,” Marty said, “is that no matter what, it just becomes a love fest for the kids. It gets my guys really engaged with them. Without me telling them what to do … they’re touching each other through the glass and they’re playing all sorts of games with each other through the window.”
For children who spend their days in a hospital, there are few things more cherished than unique expressions of love, especially from a powerful figure appearing outside their window, sporting the costume of a celebrated superhero. “It’s the kid transcending to this figure outside, hanging from a rope … the kids are just living that experience with them, Marty said.”
