LocalJune 25, 2024

Small Business of the Day: Conversations with Silvia Dominguez Vanni

Local Stories

Artist of the Day: Meshach Berry

Artist of the Day: Monique Williams

Today’s Small Business of the Day features an interview with Silvia Dominguez Vanni. Please find our conversation below.

We’re thrilled to have the chance to ask you some fun questions today, but before we get started, can you introduce Mystic Force Foundation Heroes Hangout to our readers.
Our Mystic Force Foundation’s Heroes Hangout is a fun and magical Childhood Cancer Haven dedicated to restoring some of the joy and happiness that is always lost to a child upon a cancer diagnosis. Opened in 2018, the Heroes Hangout was the first Childhood Cancer Haven of its kind in the country. Located in the beautiful city of North Miami Beach, FL, it is central to all of our South Florida hospitals.

Heroes Hangout was specifically designed for children undergoing cancer treatment as an escape, a magical haven for the kids to celebrate Birthdays, attend monthly themed events, enjoy celebrating every holiday and special occasion, and to just to ‘hang out’ between their very difficult treatments. Due to their constantly compromised immune systems, children battling cancer most often cannot visit parks, playgrounds, or toy stores. Our Heroes Hangout offers a unique and exciting venue for them and their families to have fun away from the stress and anxiety of the hospital and not have to worry about the germs of the outside world. Fun crafts tailored to the day’s theme are always enjoyed by the children as well as the parents. We have video game stations with gaming chairs and an abundant supply of games. There is also an area to play board games with comfy bean bags and a large window seating area. Our local police departments join us for parties and events and take kids for rides in police cars, and we partner with Ride2Revive to bring Lamborghinis and exotic cars to the Hangout to take the children and their siblings for thrilling rides around the neighborhood. Our walls are lined with hundreds of toys and games for the kids to choose from before they leave, which is an absolute favorite part of coming to the Hangout. Most often, at least one parent must leave their job to take care of the child undergoing treatment, so for some of the parents, buying a toy to bring their child some happiness is a luxury they cannot afford. Having fun and being able to play and act like regular kids is an essential factor to getting through the difficult and debilitating treatments and we do everything that we can to make this possible for them. These families love coming to the Hangout and upon the first visit they instantly become a part of our family.

Our Heroes Hangout and all of the amazing celebrations, toys and goodies are always free to the families. We are 100% community-supported, relying on donations from public and private individuals and companies who want to help and support our sweet children battling this devastating disease. We are grateful for our loving and supportive community and all the businesses that donate their time and services to help us bring joy to our children.

Our Mystic Force Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity dedicated to raising awareness and desperately needed funds for Childhood Cancer Research while keeping children in treatment as happy as possible.

What is your favorite service offering and why?
Everything we do is my favorite, because it brings joy and happiness to children that are suffering the unimaginable, that are battling for their lives; but if I had to pick, it would be both our Birthday Celebrations and our End-Of-Chemo Celebrations. Birthdays are so important, it’s your own special day that should always be celebrated in the grandest way possible. The truth is, for some of our kids, we don’t know if it will be their last Birthday, so we make each and every party over the top spectacular for all of them. We decorate the Hangout and turn it into a magical oasis of fun, tailored to their own unique personally chosen theme. We always have a beautiful and delicious cake donated by one of our favorite bakeries, Bettersweet Vegan Bakery, or sponsored by our friends at Sofia’s Hope, beautiful balloons and decorations are always provided by Hats Off Party and Events and special Characters are always provided by our friends at Thamidi Mascots. We have had super fun themes like Dinosaurs, Encanto, Spiderman, Hello Kitty, Dragon Ball Z, Wednesday Adams, Super Mario, Spongebob, Harry Potter, Minecraft, Peppa Pig, Hot Wheels, Princess, SuperHeroes, Police, and even a Sloth party! Whatever our kids love, we make it happen and make sure they have the absolute best time possible. There is no greater feeling than at the end of the party when a child hugs me and says it was their “Best Birthday Ever!”. If one of our kids is admitted to the hospital for a long duration around the time of their Birthday, we are always happy to decorate their hospital room and bring the party to them with lots of toys and goodies.

Our End-Of-Chemo Celebrations are always a very emotional and exciting time. As one can imagine, a child finishing cancer treatment is such a joyous occasion, one that a parent eagerly and nervously looks forward to from the moment they receive their child’s diagnosis. The road to this day for each of them and their families is very long, filled with pain, torturous treatments, surgeries, radiation, transplants, anxiety, and of course constant fear. When that day finally arrives, we are here to celebrate in monumental style, with a huge Parade across the front of our Heroes Hangout full of family, friends, community leaders, local police and fire departments, fellow foundation friends, and so many others that have been a part of their courageous journey. After the exciting Parade everyone is invited to a very emotional public Bell-Ringing outside the Hangout which signifies the end-of-treatment. The fun festivities then continue for the families inside the Heroes Hangout with lots of activities, snacks, music, games, and goodies. These children are a part of our Mystic Force Family throughout their years of treatment and we are always beyond proud of them and so happy for them to continue their lives in as much normalcy as possible. They will still need to have routine scans and oncology checkups for years to come, but NO MORE CHEMO, radiation, surgeries, or harsh treatments! Instead, they will hopefully enjoy school, outdoor activities, sports, and new friendships made outside of the hospital and the Hangout. We continue to support these families after treatment and love seeing how each child continues to grow and thrive. It is our hope that in years to come, the children only remember the ‘fun days’ of their treatment and not all the bad.