At Children’s Hospital, a Note with Lunch
Patients at Children’s Hospital of Alabama now get a little extra pick-me-up. Every day, kids there receive a note with their lunches. These notes are called napkinisms. The project sprung from a local writer, who spent years writing lunchbox notes for his own children.
Just about every morning, Billy Ivey hand-writes a note for each one of his five kids. Using a Sharpie, he scribbles down a witty joke or a simple “I love you” on a paper towel. Then he adds it to their school lunch. Ivey’s been doing that for over a decade.
“Couple years ago,” Ivey says. “I wrote a note that I thought was particularly funny and I took a picture of it.”
Billy Ivey
For over a decade, Billy Ivey has been hand-writing notes for his kids’ lunches.
Ivey posted the picture to social media.
“It said, ‘Remember, every time you smile, a mean kid gets diarrhea.’ And people, again, people couldn’t believe that I would write something like that to my kid, but the purpose of it was to make my kids laugh, to surprise them with something in the middle of their day.”
That idea resonated with people. Ivey started calling the notes “napkinisms.” He created a website and has a dedicated following on social media. Starting this year, kids at Children’s Hospital of Alabama are getting their own napkinisms. Every day, patients receive one of Ivey’s notes, printed onto postcards and passed out at lunchtime.
Six-year-old patient Blaklee Tew enjoys it. He picks up one of the napkinisms and reads it aloud.
“Potato chips are vegetables,” Tew reads. “Just go with it.”
Tew laughs, because he says potato chips do not count as vegetables.
Garland Stansell, head of communications for Children’s Hospital, helped launch the napkinisms partnership. He says the idea is simple.
“That somebody wrote a personal message, somebody’s thinking about you,” Stansell says. “Somebody cares that you’re here.”
And it never hurts to make a patient smile. Stansell says napkinisms is set to continue indefinitely, with plans to give staff the opportunity to write their own notes for the kids.
Outside of the hospital, anyone can join in and submit an idea on the napkinisms website. Billy Ivey says just a few words can go a long way.
“That’s where the power of this comes, you know,” Ivey says. “It’s not my responsibility to change the world or change somebody’s life, but I do have an opportunity to change somebody’s day, on a daily basis.”
Ivey says since starting the program at Children’s Hospital, there’s been an increase in public submissions on the napkinisms website. He says some of those notes may eventually wind up on patient lunch trays.
Auburn tabs USF’s Alex Golesh as its next coach, replacing Hugh Freeze on the Plains
The 41-year-old Golesh, who was born in Russia and moved to the United State at age 7, is signing a six-year contract that averages more than $7 million annually to replace Hugh Freeze. Freeze was fired in early November after failing to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three seasons on the Plains.
Alabama Power seeks to delay rate hike for new gas plant amid outcry
The state’s largest utility has proposed delaying the rate increase from its purchase of a $622 million natural gas plant until 2028.
Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones announces run for Alabama governor
Jones announced his campaign Monday afternoon, hours after filing campaign paperwork with the Secretary of State's Office. His gubernatorial bid could set up a rematch with U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican who defeated Jones in 2020 and is now running for governor.
Scorching Saturdays: The rising heat threat inside football stadiums
Excessive heat and more frequent medical incidents in Southern college football stadiums could be a warning sign for universities across the country.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring an Audio Editor
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring an Audio Editor to join our award-winning team covering important regional stories across Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.
Judge orders new Alabama Senate map after ruling found racial gerrymandering
U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, issued the ruling Monday putting a new court-selected map in place for the 2026 and 2030 elections.
