VCH patient Chelsea Barnett, 9, receives a visit from the Hershey’s Kiss this week. (photo by Dana Johnson)
Hugs and Kisses for everyone
Resembling three giant Hershey’s Kisses chocolates, the Kissmobile has the capacity to store 230,000 pieces of candy in a refrigerated compartment. It also has a built-in blower to disseminate a smell of chocolate around the vehicle. (photo by Dana Johnson)
It was an odd site to see on the Vanderbilt Medical Center campus: three large Hershey Kisses perched atop a moving vehicle. People pointed, waved and laughed. The moving chocolate lover’s delight was designed to draw attention, and it did just that.
As the Kissmobile parked in the plaza just outside of McDonalds, adults and children stopped to stare in amazement. Children showed an interest in the large candy on wheels. Adults wondered what it was and why was it sitting outside the medical center.
“It’s hard not to smile when you see that,” one passerby commented. “No matter how jaded you are.”
Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital was the second stop for a national tour by the Kissmobile and two Chocolate Ambassadors. The tour is promoting the message that “every kid deserves hugs and kisses,” explained Chris Dorsel, one of the Hershey’s Chocolate Ambassadors.
“The tour also helps raise donations for Hershey’s long-standing charity partner, the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN),” Dorsel said. “We take donations for postcards, Polaroid photos and magnets and all of those donations stay within the local community.”
Dorsel and fellow ambassador Carrie England are in one of two Kissmobiles. They kicked off their nationwide tour in early February in New York and will finish 50,000 miles and 43 cities later in Santa Barbara, Calif.
While at Vanderbilt, England donned a large Hershey Kiss costume and toured Children’s Hospital, having her photo made with children and passing out coloring materials to the kids.