A local woman hopes to help ease the time that parents and family members must spend at hospitals tending sick children this holiday season.

“Being in the hospital at any time is hard, but during the holidays it can be especially trying. We hope that by providing snacks and movies to watch we can make it a little easier,” states a flyer being distributed by Paige Chisholm promoting her fundraising project, “Snacks and Movies for Blair Batson.”

Donations of DVD movies, individually wrapped snacks and gift cards for McDonald’s and Subway are being solicited. The gifts will be taken to the child life coordinator at Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children in Jackson so they can be distributed to families staying with children at the hospital.

Chisholm’s dedication to the project stems from her experiences in her career and with her own family. She works at the emergency room at King’s Daughters Medical Center and also has a son, Darron Pierce, 14, who underwent two open-heart surgeries at Batson.

“When I work in the ER,” Chisholm said, “families don’t know they are going.” The waits can be long, and they will need food and other items to help sustain them during the vigils with a sick child.

“The snacks we provide help,” Chisholm said. She and a coworker who also had a child treated at Blair Batson hope to secure donations of portable DVD players and movies to help sick children pass the time in their hospital rooms.

Several locations around town are serving as drop-off sites for contributions, Chisholm said. These include: KDMC Performance Center, KDMC Pediatric Clinic, KDMC Pediatric and Adolescent Clinic, Mary’s Barber Shop, Brookhaven Barber Shop and Sta-Home Health.

For more information or to schedule pickup of your donations, call Chisholm at (601) 754-2835.