Peristalsis Dance Group

Our Mission:

• To give pediatric patients the creative tools and outlet to express themselves.
• To alleviate stress associated with an inpatient hospital stay through “therapeutic movement”.

Our Activities:

We lead weekly dance and therapeutic movement classes for these patients, which in turn reduces the stress associated with hospital stays. Each week, we come up with a theme, such as “Broadway,” or “space” for the volunteers and kids to dress up as, and then we create a music playlist and then lead various physical activities such as dancing or games.

Student Leaders:

• Breanna Brownson – Co-Coordinator/Co-President

Mission

To give pediatric patients the creative tools and outlet to express themselves. To alleviate stress associated with an inpatient hospital stay through therapeutic movement.

Student Leaders

Sunny Vuong – Coordinator/President

Activities

Weekly Movement Classes Direct Service Yale Peristalsis volunteers weekly at the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. Our movement classes aim to give pediatric patients a creative outlet to express themselves and to alleviate stress associated with an inpatient hospital stay through therapeutic movement. Clothing Drive Direct Service Yale Peristalsis hosts a semesterly clothing drive to collect clothing as well as purchase clothing from Goodwill to donate to pediatric patients at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. End of Semester Showcase Direct Service While we will perform with the children, the End of Semester Showcase is mainly about celebrating the children’s artistic progress and highlighting the fun they have had over the school year. The pediatric psychiatric unit at YNNH has changed its policy of mandatory to voluntary Peristalsis sessions, which has actually had the effect of increasing childrens’ attendance at dance lessons. Because children have the choice to participate in weekly lessons, those who come are highly motivated to learn how to dance, and find dancing to be an intrinsically rewarding activity. In order to accomodate the children’s increased interest and passion for dance, we put on special events such as the Showcase, and having costumes are very important to creating a performance atmosphere. This could be many of the children’s first time performing in an artistic setting. These costumes will be safe (ie no choking hazards) and will be purchased in bulk to reduce costs. Movement Classes Direct Service Yale Peristalsis volunteers weekly at the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. Our movement classes aim to give pediatric patients a creative outlet to express themselves and to alleviate stress associated with an inpatient hospital stay through therapeutic movement. Clothing Drive Direct Service Yale Peristalsis hosts a semesterly clothing drive to collect clothing as well as purchase clothing from Goodwill to donate to pediatric patients at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. Clothing Drive Direct Service For the Clothing Drive, we plan to host a clothing drive by posting and sharing on social media, encouraging donations of gently used children’s clothes. We’ll place a collection box in Dwight Hall to make it easy for people to contribute. To ensure the clothes are clean, we?ll request that donors provide washed items and will inspect all donations before distributing them. New Volunteer Training Social/Cultural/Team-Building Learn about what volunteering with Peristalsis looks like and receive training on working with kids, appropriate dance etiquette, etc.

How Others Get Involved

Around 10 volunteers and people can join by following us on instagram @yaleperistalsis and DMing us