Musician Taylor Swift attends the 'Charles James: Beyond Fashion' Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014 in New York City.
Stephanie Rogerwick, child life manager at CHOP’s Cancer Center, explained the cart and its importance in a press release, She said, "Essentially a recording studio on wheels, this new tool will enable our Music Therapy Team to eliminate traditional barriers, and allow for limitless musical expression by our teen patients," She continued, "Teenagers who are being treated for cancer have emotional and social needs that are different than their younger counterparts. They're facing a frightening diagnosis and treatment during what is already a time of great physical, social and emotional change."
Since 2010, CHOP has been working on an Adolescent and Young Adult initiative after recognizing that teen cancer patients have far better outcomes when they are treated by a "comprehensive, multidisciplinary program of psychosocial services geared specifically towards teens rather than younger children. One important component to meet teens’ unique developmental needs involves providing emotional support and building resiliencies."
Swift regularly spends time visiting young patients with cancer at hospitals across the country. In March, she visited Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NY; in May, she was visiting young patients in Los Angeles. But her giving doesn't stop there. Last month she donated items for a GRAMMY Foundation auction and stopped in at the Taylor Swift Education Center at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (which she donated $4 million dollars to build) and visited with a 4th grade class that was there on a field trip. Earlier today, her involvement with the American Library Association's Celebrity Read campaign was announced.
