POWERGRAMS

17 We take our healthy children for granted sometimes. It's a true joy to be able to help in some small way," said DeArman, who retired in 2016 as a regulatory analyst. The volunteers try to shop at thrift stores, which saves money and aids other good causes, such as the Salvation Army. If the decorators can't find what they are looking for, they make do with what they have. "If we find Christmas decorations there, they might not be the right color. We make them the right color. We spray-paint, add some glitter or whatever it takes," Daly said. "It always comes together." The annual project means much more than a fun time to Daly, who gets goosebumps describing how it impacts her. "It has almost become a ministry because we set up our three trees right by the café. That's where all the patients and their parents come in and gather to get out of the hospital rooms," Daly said. "We see the kids in their wagons. We get to pray with them. A lot of them want to come, see, hold and decorate our trees. We just let them join in. It's not so much we are trying to make the fanciest tree … it's just a way of blessing those who are at the hospital at Christmas." One story particularly sticks with Daly. Several years ago, she missed the tree-decorating weekend because a close friend's young son died unexpectedly. After the decorating was over, Daly called Children's to see how everything went and learned there was one tree left undecorated. She immediately claimed it. Not having funds to decorate the additional tree, Daly went to craft stores and rummaged through the Halloween and fall decorations on clearance. She ended up pulling together a "Fall Into Christmas" tree with pumpkins, deep reds and oranges, and sunflowers. She still didn't love the tree though, which probably showed on her face as a girl about 5 years old rode through the lobby on her tricycle. Daly asked which tree she liked best. The girl, who was battling cancer, said she needed to look at all of them and took a quick spin around the trees before circling back to Daly. "She came back and said, 'Yours is my favorite because sunflowers are my favorite flower,'" Daly said. "That was God. And here I was questioning my decorating choices." Once the story got out, the "Fall Into Christmas" tree ended up raising the most money that year. The decorated trees are part of the hospital's annual fundraiser, the Children's Ball, formerly called Illuminations, which includes separate live and silent auctions. "Working with Alabama Power and Prissy Daly's group is always a pleasure," said Shelly McCarty, community development coordinator at Children's. "Prissy's group is always full of the holiday spirit when they are decorating the trees. Their trees are always among the most popular and have raised a lot of money for the hospital." Opposite page: APSO volunteers decorate trees at Children's of Alabama hospital each year.

• Cover