‘I just loved that feeling’: Las Vegas entertainer visits Valley Children’s Hospital

MADERA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Patients at Valley Children’s Hospital were in high spirits Tuesday, as patients received a dose of the best medicine: laughter.

While some patients may have a short stay and others a longer one, a hospital is not necessarily a place where children or their parents want to be.

So, having an entertainer pay a visit makes a world of difference.

“Having shows like this that you really can’t get anywhere else is pretty important, I think, not just for my son, but for all the kids here to take their mind off of whatever treatment or whatever else they’re going through here,” said Danny Salas, who’s son Emanuel is a patient.

Through his non-profit, Win Win Charity, Las Vegas-based entertainer Jeff Civillico found a way to spread cheer by bringing professional entertainers to children’s hospitals across the country.

“I think naturally just kind of more and more entertainers were drawn to do this kind of work by sharing, and then more hospitals started saying, ‘Hey, can you book us? Can you book talent for us? Can you help us?’ And really, over the last 12 years, it’s organically grown into this incredible philanthropic network,” Civillico explained. 

And they are making an incredible impact, allowing children to have a sense of normalcy and just remember what it is like to be a kid again.

“I loved it and I felt like I was really making a difference and I just loved that feeling,” Civillico shared.

And Civillico knows how to put on a show.

Whether he’s juggling apples, performing a balancing act, or turning the kiddos into little performers, the room is completely captivated.

“Just how entertaining he was and how, like loud he was,” said patient Emanuel Salas, who described the performance. 

“You see that kind of looks on their faces and they’re, you know, lethargic or understandably tired, not really feeling it, and then by the end of the show, they’re like laughing and they’re, you know, wanting to spin the plates and they’re on to sign autographs, take pictures, have some fun,” said Civillico.

Through Win Win Charity, entertainers visit dozens of hospitals a week, putting a smile on the faces of both patients and parents.