They bring the joy of Halloween to hospitalized kids!

As CEO of the world's biggest Halloween retailer, Steven Silverstein has been well-versed in the fun the holiday brings children. But what about sick kids in hospitals? They deserve to have fun most of all, he thought, and began hosting Halloween parties, with decorations and costumes, for these special kids

- Diane Nichols 

For Spirit Halloween, the largest Halloween retailer in the world, headquartered in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, 2005 had been another prosperous year. Steven Silverstein, CEO since 2003, was grateful and wanted to share their success with the community. “Any ideas?” he asked, gathering his team to brainstorm ways to make a difference.

“Maybe we could throw a Halloween party in a hospital,” someone suggested, and it got Steven thinking. What about the children in hospitals who are scared and going through the hardest time of their lives and can’t even take part in the joy of Halloween?

In that moment, his colleague’s idea took hold in his heart. “Let’s do it,” Steven said.

No child should have to miss out on making fun Halloween memories, he thought.

A ‘boo-tiful’ idea

Right away, Steven’s wheels began turning. He envisioned kids trading their hospital gowns for fun costumes and brightening their sterile surroundings with colorful, festive Halloween decor. And maybe, just maybe, his heart hoped, they could help the kids and their families forget the difficulties they faced for a little while and experience smiles and laughter.

With that goal in mind, Steven and Spirit Halloween founded Spirit of Children (SpiritOfChildren.com) in 2006. That year, they hosted Halloween parties for young patients in 11 local hospitals. The result was such a success that Steven knew they were on to something big.