Turning Pages, Healing Hearts Brings New Stories to Blank Children’s Hospital
Caitlin Clark Foundation program creates opportunities for pediatric patients to read, explore, and experience moments of joy during their hospital stays.
August 19, 2026
On August 19, The Caitlin Clark Foundation and patients at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines celebrated the launch of Turning Pages, Healing Hearts, a children’s hospital book program that combines reading, activities, and the excitement of choosing a book to take home.
Patients, families, and hospital leaders gathered to mark the occasion with a ribbon cutting and an introduction to the program. Patients also had the chance to be among the first to use the new Caitlin Clark Foundation book vending machine, selecting a book that was theirs to enjoy and keep.
Bringing Comfort Through Books
For children spending time in the hospital, opportunities to play, learn, and make their own choices can bring a welcome sense of normalcy to an unfamiliar experience. Turning Pages, Healing Hearts was created with those moments in mind.
Working in partnership with Scholastic and Blank Children’s Hospital’s Child Life team, the program begins with Joy Packets filled with activities children can complete during their stay. Those activities help patients receive tokens to use at the book vending machine, where they get to decide which story they want to take with them. Each quarter, the program will also introduce a featured book and accompanying activity, giving the Child Life team new ways to encourage reading, creativity, and connection throughout the hospital.
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A hospital stay can make a child feel like so much is out of their control. Turning Pages, Healing Hearts gives them something that is theirs to choose, theirs to enjoy, and theirs to take home. A book may seem simple, but in a hard moment, it can offer comfort, imagination, and a little bit of normalcy. That’s what we hope this program creates for kids and families.
MARY COFFIN, PRESIDENT OF THE CAITLIN CLARK FOUNDATION
Starting a New Chapter in Des Moines
The celebration at Blank Children’s Hospital marked the third pilot launch of Turning Pages, Healing Hearts, following launches at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at Ascension St. Vincent in Indianapolis and University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City. With the program now underway at all three pilot hospitals, more children and families will have access to books and experiences designed to inspire courage, independence, and care.
About the Caitlin Clark Foundation
Caitlin’s passion and joy on the court inspire her Foundation’s work off the court. The Caitlin Clark Foundation exists to open doors for kids to learn, grow, and thrive through education, nutrition, and sports.
