“There was just something about Gilda’s Club that really stood out to me,” shares Nina Braovac, the Amy Nickles Above and Beyond the Call of Duty (ABCD) volunteer award winner for 2025.
She started her involvement at Gilda’s Club in October 2022, at Noogiefest, our Halloween social. She’d heard about the need for volunteers through the Edgewood Child Life Association. At the time, she was a sophomore in college, on the Child Life Specialist track.
Nina knew that she wanted to become a Child Life Specialist early on in life. Her brother was in and out of the hospital while going through cancer treatment when they were both younger. At that time, she was able to see the impact that the Child Life Specialists had on her and her family. “That just really stayed with me,” she explains.
Becoming a part of Family Night
Fast forward to becoming a student at Edgewood University, and she knew that she wanted to become a Child Life Specialist. She joined the Edgewood Child Life Association, which has partnered with Gilda’s Club Wisconsin for many years. In fact, Elizabeth Kunz, Program Manager at Gilda’s Club, is an alumna of the program.
After her experience with Noogiefest, Nina knew she wanted to increase her involvement. So, she talked to Elizabeth, and started volunteering each Tuesday night at Family Night.
“There’s just something about being a part of Family Night that is so special,” Nina shares. She loved being able to build long-term relationships with the children and families in the program, as well as her fellow volunteers. “We really created a unique, family-type of dynamic,” she continues.
Each weekly session with the kids would start with a guided meditation, which Nina would specially create. One of the kids’ favorites, “Ice Cream Dream,” can be found on our blog.
At the end of each night, the kids would have free time. While they had the option to do things like play board games or foosball, they often gravitated towards medical play. They used items like teddy bears with medical bandages, ports, or IVs, which gave them, “An opportunity to talk about the really hard things in a really non-threatening way,” Nina explains. The kids were able to talk to the volunteers about challenges without judgment.
Taking the weight of the word ‘cancer’ off their shoulders
For Nina, there was joy in seeing the transformation in the kids in the program over time. “From seeing kids on their first day at Gilda’s Club, to seeing them months in- you can see how much more comfortable they are in talking about cancer.” By working with the kids in Family Night, Nina shares, they are, “Able to take the weight of the word ‘cancer’ off their shoulders.”
Now, Nina is taking her Child Life Internship at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. While she is no longer physically present at Gilda’s Club, she has left her mark on the children and families she worked with during her years of volunteering here.