Haney with his 8-foot-tall , plywood Waldo. Photo Credit: Where’s Waldo Memorial Children’s Hospital Facebook groupA jobsite foreman in Indiana is going the extra mile each day to bring smiles to the faces of children at South Bend’s Memorial Children’s Hospital with a life-sized, daily game of “Where’s Waldo?”.
A photo from the hospital’s Waldo Facebook group shows one of the character’s many jobsite hideouts.According to a report from the Huffington Post, after Jason Haney and a few co-workers built and displayed a snowman on the jobsite of a $50 million expansion of the hospital last winter, Haney got word that it “delighted patients and staff.” Hoping to give the kids a bit more to smile about, he followed the real snowman up with an inflatable one and a buddy, Sponge Bob Square Pants.
Soon after, a co-worker joked that it would be funny if they started hiding a Waldo for the kids to find. Haney, who as you’ll see in the video below is not only an artist himself but the father of a very good one as well, loved the idea. He drew Waldo on a sheet of 4-foot by 8-foot plywood, cut it out and painted it.
The plywood Waldo made his first appearance on the jobsite in April and quickly got the kids’ attention. Haney has even started a Facebook group for patients, family and friends to share their photos of Waldo when they find him.
“He’s 8-feet tall and a pain in the butt to move around sometimes,” Haney told the Huffington Post. “He’s 50, 60 pounds and he’s awkward to carry. But it’s worth it for the kids.”
In the Facebook Live video below, Haney gives a look inside his at-home art studio.
