June 5th, 2026
By Veronica Blankenship, Chief People and Communications Officer
Key Takeaways:
- In May, Talking Rain marked 39 years with purpose.
- Rain Makers built 350 “Rain Shaker” sensory craft kits for Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Child Life program.
- Inspired by a visit to Seattle Children’s Hospital playroom, the Rain Shaker kits support creativity, comfort, and moments of happiness for young patients and their families.
One of my favorite Talking Rain traditions is our annual birthday party. There’s something so magical about coming together with Rain Makers to celebrate the people who make our culture, growth, and innovation possible. As they say, you only turn 39 once!
Our birthday celebration was packed full of connections, planting succulents, music, and laughter. One activity though sparkled above the rest as Rain Makers came together to assemble Sparkling Rain Shaker kits for the Child Life program at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Back in April, I brought a few Rain Makers with me on a trip to the Seattle Children’s Hospital playroom to experience their Child Life program. The program itself and the incredible Child Life Specialist team have an immeasurable impact on patients and their families. The staff provide therapeutic arts and crafts, story time, and games for the patients and their families while receiving care. They also help explain complicated treatments in a child-friendly way that they and their siblings can understand.
Their enrichment work, which includes therapy dogs, music, play therapy, and art, inspired us to create something we dubbed “Sparkling Rain Shakers.” Crafted from Sparkling Ice bottles, Sparkling Rain Shakers are sensory bottles using beads, foil, stickers with a dash of imagination for a sound experience, or water, glue, and glitter for mindfulness.
Seattle Children’s program manager, Madeline Williams, shared “Play is healing. For children in the hospital, stepping away from screens and getting back to the basics of pure, tactile play is a vital part of recovery. Together, we’re bringing that timeless, nostalgic joy of hands-on creation and imagination to our kiddos when they need it most.” Each patient in the playroom had the chance to create a Rain Shaker that reflected their unique interests and personality. Their smiles, excitement, and fascination with the project showed us that even a simple craft can spark joy.
Working with the Child Life team and spending time with patients and their families made for a fantastic day, which is why I was so thrilled that Seattle Children’s staff decided to come to our 39th birthday party! As a group, we put together even more of the Rain Shaker kits for kids at the hospital while hearing firsthand how the Child Life therapist can customize the experience for each child. They shared that even the parents were getting in on the fun making their own shakers, too!
Asked what she thought of the Rain Shaker kit activity, Katherine Midwood, one of our Rain Makers, said, “What made this event especially impactful for me was knowing the incredible work Seattle Children’s does goes far beyond medical care. From my own personal experience when my children were little, and those of close friends and family, I’ve seen just how deeply they support entire families through some of life’s hardest moments.”
During the party, Rain Makers assembled 350 kits, which are now available in the Seattle Children’s playroom and can be shared with young patients in the ICU and throughout the hospital, including those who are unable to leave their rooms.
“To me, we’re not just creating fun activity kits at the company’s birthday party,” Katherine continued. “We’re helping create meaningful moments of normalcy, creativity, and happiness for kids and their families who may be going through incredibly difficult times.”
Rocio Arrelano shared, “I loved seeing the care and creativity that went into every Sparkling Rain Shaker kit assembled for Seattle Children’s Hospital. Watching Rain Makers jump in and personalize each kit with thoughtful details and trinkets was such a special reminder of the caring culture we have at Talking Rain.”
People are at the core of everything Talking Rain does – whether it’s our Rain Makers who create those extraordinary flavors, or the innovation that happens behind the scenes – in streamlining our supply chain, refining warehouse management, and creating moments that spark joy for our consumers. Community partners like Seattle Children’s remind us that joy is more than a feeling we talk about; it’s something we show up and create together.
Williams reminded us, “Thanks to community partners like Talking Rain, this is how the Child Life team can continue to make a family’s experience at the hospital, a positive one.”