This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
There is magic growing within the Longmont community and it all began from the dreams of Rachel Oehlert, a 21 year old local who wants to use her time and skills to bring happiness to Colorado’s sick children.
Rachel and her team of volunteers dress as princesses and story book characters to visit Children’s Hospital Colorado hoping they will bring a moment of joy to the day of some of the most poorly kids in the state. Working under the charity name of ‘Truly Make Believe’ they also visit senior centers and attend birthday parties to spread the fun. The Longmont Observer spoke to Rachel to find out where the idea for the organisation came from and what plans she has for the future.
With a history of acting, a flare for the dramatic and a love of making people smile, Rachel explained how she believes her family have helped to inspire and guide her to bring the charity idea to life. Her mother has worked in childcare since before Rachel was born, first as a principle of a private school and now running a home based child care business. Rachel works alongside her Mom and says she has learnt valuable lessons about working with children from her. Rachel’s father is a Preacher and often took her along to hospital visits when she was younger. These experiences combined with Rachel’s love of the stage are what triggered the idea last June to start dressing as a princess whilst visiting sick children. She also discussed how being diagnosed with learning difficulties has pushed her to follow her dream.
“I have Dyslexia and Dysgraphia which made school super hard. I wanted to show that just because I've got a learning difference doesn't mean I'm incapable of doing things that are difficult for me.”
Rachel chose to dress up as Belle from Beauty and the Beast for her first ever visit to the Children’s hospital because she felt she was a character she could relate to but also to help her overcome a fear of reading in front of others
“Who wouldn’t want to be Belle? She’s a fantastic princess and I grew up loving her and her love for books but mostly her love for her father. I think family is so important.”
The first time dressing up at the hospital was for a Christmas party. Rachel said she was hooked straight away and knew she wanted to expand the idea.
“I felt very passionate about the effect it would have not just on the kids but the adults as well”
Not long after ‘Truly Make Believe’ was born. It’s been a steep learning curve for Rachel as she has needed to teach herself the full business end of setting up as a non-profit. She spends her days researching insurance, tax laws and everything else needed to run the organization. It’s grown at a rate much quicker than expected and has between 7-9 volunteers helping out at any one time behind the scenes. They also now have another 2 people dressing up as Cinderella and the Arabian Princess. Rachel has added Snow White along with Belle to her own line up of characters.
To continue the work they do the group is offering princess and character visits to children’s birthday parties for a donation which then funds the outfits and visits to the hospitals. They are also fundraising to apply for their non-profit license and have an amazon wish list people can buy part of a character's outfit from. Rachel explains all this hard work is worth it when they get to visit with the children,
“It’s really amazing when the child is going through something that’s incredibly hard for them and you can give them a moment of peace where they’re not thinking about being sick. They’re just thinking about who they’re talking to.The best part though is seeing the look on the parents faces. It’s really cool to have them there to witness that moment of their child at peace”
Truly Make Believe are planning a meet and greet with the Belle after the screening of Beauty and the Beast at the Longmont Museum on June 20th at 11:30am . They also have plans to add other characters later on in the year. You can follow them on Instagram and Facebook to see what they are up to as well as making a donation to their cause.
