Gavin Smith, shown with his father, Keith Smith, has a visit from a therapy dog. He is wearing a poncho made by his mother, Meg Smith. (December 2016). Photo contributed
Meg Smith of Great Falls and her friend and business partner, Cindy Hargroves, are on a mission to provide fun, warm, fuzzy ponchos to hospitalized children. Meg’s son, Gavin, was a student at Colvin Run Elementary School, Vienna, during which time he was in and out of hospitals battling CVIP, Common Variable Immune Deficiency. Meg designed ponchos for Gavin to wear because robes, sweaters and jackets aren’t functional with IV and PICC lines. The poncho design of the capes provide warmth in hospital beds, wheelchairs, and when traveling between home and hospital.
On Monday, June 24, Meg and Cindy, through their business CapeIvy.com, delivered 22 ponchos to INOVA Children’s Hospital in Fairfax. Through purchases of ponchos from their website (buy one and CapeIvy.com donates one) and monetary gifts to CapeIvy.com, they hope to give away as many capes as possible to “frequent flier” children in hospitals, to honor and remember Gavin, who lost his battle with his disease 2 years ago.