Then Akron Children’s social media manager Amanda Adey got a call from a child life specialist in 2022, saying that she needed to drop everything to find a Spider-Man costume for a patient who really needed cheering up. The getup was tough to find in February, but Mr. Fun’s costume shop came through. A male nurse donned the costume so Spidey could visit the patient.
“If there’s one little thing that can come in and be uplifting in a really challenging time — that did that that day,” Amanda shares. “I don’t know that I would have ever thought of something like this before having that experience and seeing how important and meaningful that can be.”
In September 2022, Amanda and her husband, Nathan Adey, started Lyndee’s Costume Closet, a nonprofit that stocks costumes at Akron Children’s for adult volunteers to wear and visit with patients. It was named in honor of their then-10-year-old daughter, Lyndee. As a newborn, she was in the Akron Children’s PICU to treat heart defects for three months — and had open heart surgery. She still sees specialists there.
“Even though those kinds of experiences are scary and can be painful and stressful, she has always loved coming here, and she loves her doctors,” says Amanda, adding that special touches like the Doggie Brigade lifted her spirits.
Now 13, Lyndee loves singing, Broadway, Disney, dressing in costumes and helping others.
“I wanted to do it because to some kids to say, It’s gonna be OK,” says the Copley student, who started a Kindness Club and buddy table at her school. “They’re there to support you while you’re going through something, and they’re also there to tell you, Everything’s gonna be fine and stick to the bright side.”
The Akron closet has 24 cosplay-quality costumes, including Bluey, Wonder Woman, Batman, Black Panther, Chewbacca, Pikachu and more. It takes time and money to sanitize the expensive costumes so they are safe to use around patients. Costumes come out for superhero or Disney days, before treatments, to celebrate health milestones, for birthday parties and more. Akron Children’s also does “Frozen” days around the holidays, when Anna, Elsa and Olaf costumes appear. Sometimes a character will go room to room. In 2025 so far, volunteers in costumes visited more than 100 patients.
“Whenever you walk into a room with a costume, it makes the patient’s day so much better, and that’s what they need. It’s something different, something else to focus on,” says Vicki Parisi, Akron Children’s volunteer and visitor services director. “It’ll light up the room. … There’s joy. There’s laughter, and it brings about some big smiles that we really like to see, even in difficult circumstances.”
Lyndee recalls a little girl who requested Elsa for her birthday. “When she walked in, she was so happy to see her,” she says. “She said it was in that moment that Elsa was supporting her to get better.”
By the end of the year, Amanda is hoping to offer a second location of the closet — with 12 costumes — at Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley location.
“I want to keep that up and see how we can build that into other hospitals. It feels like a really special resource,” Amanda says. “It is the little details that make all of the difference in your experience here.”
Lyndee looks forward to turning 16 — that’s when she can volunteer to wear a costume for patients through Akron Children’s volunteer program. It requires training, flu shots and more. In the future, she is hoping to sing, be an intervention specialist or work at Akron Children’s — and continue giving back
“It makes me happy that these kids get to be supported while they’re going through these times,” Lyndee says. “It’s really important they get to see these characters that are supporting them to help them get better. I’m also really happy that all these kids are getting smiles on their faces.”
Donate: lyndeescostumecloset.org, Volunteer: akronchildrens.org
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