For most children, dress-up is simple childhood magic. A sparkly princess gown. A superhero cape. A dragon mask. A moment of imagination where anything feels possible.
But for children facing serious illness, that magic can become something much deeper.
Inside hospital rooms filled with IV poles, treatments, surgeries, and uncertainty, the Chelsea Hicks Foundation is helping children rediscover joy, confidence, and the freedom to simply be kids again through therapeutic dress-up and play.
Founded in memory of five-year-old Chelsea Hicks, the Tigard-area Chelsea Hicks Foundation has served more than 27,000 children and families since 2009 through programs that bring brand-new costumes, toys, and accessories to support imagination, laughter, and emotional escape for children in hospitals and medical settings throughout Oregon and beyond.
Through Chelsea’s Closet mobile closets, children visiting partner hospitals are invited to choose costumes and accessories they can keep forever. Whether becoming a princess, firefighter, astronaut, cowboy, ballerina, or superhero, each child is given something many illness journeys take away: choice.
For Development Director Laura Queen, that mission has always been about far more than costumes.
“Play is healing,” Queen says. “For a few moments, children are not defined by a diagnosis, treatment, or hospital room. They get to dream, imagine, laugh, and feel like themselves again.”
The impact often stays with families long after the costumes are worn.
“For our daughter Lexi, dressing up wasn’t just something that happened in the Oncology Ward,” shared Krista, Lexi’s mother. “She wore costumes everywhere — radiology, surgery, the grocery store, and at home almost every day. Those smiles were surely important in her day-to-day life, but the memories we have from her times as Jesse the Cowgirl, Snow White, Rapunzel, and a giraffe — those memories allow us to cope with her death. We are so grateful to Chelsea’s Closet for helping us make them.”
Stories like Lexi’s are why the foundation continues to grow its programs throughout the region. The organization currently partners with hospitals including Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Shriners Children’s Portland, and Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center. In addition to in-person hospital visits and two permanent hospital closets, the foundation also sends Costume Care Packages to children unable to participate in person, reaching families in more than 35 states.
Behind every sparkling gown, superhero cape, and tiny crown is the belief that even during the hardest moments, children still deserve to play, pretend, and laugh.
This fall, the community will have the opportunity to help continue that mission during the foundation’s signature fundraising event, “Once Upon a Time: A Night to Sparkle,” the annual Costume Ball & Gala taking place Saturday, October 10, 2026, at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel.
The elegant fairytale-inspired evening will bring together nearly 300 guests for dinner, auctions, entertainment, storytelling, and unforgettable mission moments celebrating the children and families served.
Guests will step into a sparkling black, white, gold, and silver atmosphere while supporting programs that bring therapeutic play and emotional healing to seriously ill children year-round.
Making its debut this year, the “Moment to Shine” runway experience will celebrate children impacted by the foundation as they take center stage and their stories are shared with the audience.
“These children have endured so much,” says Alison Hicks, Executive Director and Founder of the Chelsea Hicks Foundation. “Seeing them walk that runway smiling, confident, joyful, and proud will be incredibly emotional. It’s going to be a powerful reminder that every child deserves to feel seen, celebrated, and loved.”
Funds raised from the gala directly support hospital visits, permanent hospital closets, costume care packages, and expanded outreach to children facing medical hardship.
The foundation is currently seeking sponsors, auction donations, volunteers, and community partners to help make the evening possible. Businesses and individuals can support the event through sponsorships, donated experiences, desserts, auction items, or by attending the gala itself.
Throughout the year, volunteers and community partners help bring joy to children through hospital visits, costume preparation, care packages, and special events — creating moments of play, imagination, and comfort for families facing difficult journeys.
For families navigating the unimaginable, the Chelsea Hicks Foundation offers something powerful: moments of light in the middle of darkness.
Because sometimes the most powerful kind of healing begins with the chance to play, pretend, and laugh.
The Chelsea Hicks Foundation’s “Once Upon a Time: A Night to Sparkle” Costume Ball & Gala takes place on October 10, 2026, at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel. For tickets, sponsorships, or more information, visit chelseahicksfoundation.org.
