A Moment of Magic Foundation: Creating Moments that Matter

Join Sophs as we talk to Maddie Stanton-Johnson, Operations Manager of A Moment of Magic Foundation, to uncover the real magic behind the mission and hear firsthand what it means to help make someone’s biggest dreams come true. From inspiring stories to the people who make it all possible, Maddie gives us an inside look at the impact A Moment of Magic has on children and families. Tune in to discover how a little bit of magic can create hope, joy, and memories that last a lifetime. https://www.amomentofmagic.org/leadership 

Oak City Move is a podcast produced by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2, student-run radio from NC State University. Like what you hear? Consider supporting it with a gift to the WKNC Enhancement Fund. Visit our podcast page to hear more and follow us on all social media platforms @WKNC881. Thanks for listening.

Creators and Guests

Host

Sophs Magnanini

Public Affairs Director (2025-2026)

What is Oak City Move?

A radio program and podcast from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 celebrating those who enact positive changes in the Raleigh community.

00:00
Sophia Magnanini
Oak City Move is a podcast on WKNC's 88.1 FM HD1 Raleigh, where we highlight people and organizations creating positive change in the Triangle and beyond. Oak City Move can be heard on air Every Monday on 88.1 FM HD1 Raleigh or online at wknc.org to listen to episodes and more, go to our blog at blog.wknc.org or follow us on SoundCloud @wknc881. Hello 88.1 WKNC Raleigh. The song you just heard was Sweaty linen by Surf Ninja 3. I am Sophia Magnanini, your host and you're listening to Oak City Move. Today we are joined by a very special guest, Maddie Stanton -Johnson, who is the national Operations Manager of A Moment of Magic foundation, which also has a branch at NC State as well.

00:49
Sophia Magnanini
First off, I just wanted to say thank you so much for taking the time to join me and thank you for listeners who may not be familiar with A Moment of Magic. What is the foundation and what's its mission?

01:00
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Yeah, thank you so much for having me and giving us the platform to talk about our amazing organization today. So A Moment of Magic is a 501c3 national nonprofit and our mission is to harness the power of play to spark joy, foster connection, reduce isolation, and support the mental health and emotional well being of medically vulnerable children and their families.

01:25
Sophia Magnanini
That's amazing. How did A Moment of Magic get started? Do you kind of know what inspired the creation of the organization and how long it's been around?

01:36
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Yeah, absolutely. So I have the privilege of having been with the organization almost since the beginning, and it really goes back to our founder and executive director, Kylie McGrain. So back when she was in college at our very first school, College of Mount Saint Vincent, she had a very special and close relationship with her grandparents and they both needed to be hospitalized toward the end of their life. During that time, she would do everything in her power in order to make their experience in the hospital a little less cold and clinical and sterile, the things that we often associate with hospitals. So she would come in wearing her prom gowns because she was going to see them before her big events and she'd be sneaking them food that were absolutely not on their dietary list.

02:25
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
And she would, you know, decorate their beds around Christmas time with a bunch of jingle bells, all these little playful, joyful moments to kind of bring that normalcy and positivity back into their time there. And they did ultimately pass away later in that year within just a few days of Each other actually. And it was such a poignant thing that really stuck with her. She went home over their holiday break and she's just, you know, reflecting back on all these things that happened. And the idea kind of came to her to continue to bring this joyful experience into hospitals. But for children, Frozen was super big at the time and her mom made like a passing comment that she kind of looked like Elsa.

03:11
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
So sure enough, she and her roommate donned the most rudimentary Elsa and Anna costume that you could possibly find and they kind of started the journey there. So a moment of magic is really special because we are this beautiful nonprofit, but we didn't start in a boardroom and we didn't start in a meeting hall. We actually started in a dorm room.

03:33
Sophia Magnanini
That's awesome. That's so wholesome and heartwarming to hear, like sad situation. And amazing for her to turn it around and then turn it into something even bigger that affects everyone, not just her family. And so amazing how now it's all around the U.S. which is so cool. Can you describe kind of what a typical moment of magic visit or experience kind of looks like?

04:00
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Yeah, absolutely. So a moment of magic is often most known for our in person character or magic maker experiences. So especially when we first started, one of the biggest things that we did is we brought your favorite characters or even some incredibly well trained college student volunteers into hospitals in order to interact with children and help them be brave, strong and fearless in themselves. Remind them that they are a person first and a patient second, and allow them to kind of step away from the tests and the treatments and the diagnosis and instead focus on their joy and play and that psychosocial support as we've developed over the years. We had our 10th birthday not too long ago, so we're soaring, as it were, in timeline. And what sets us apart a little bit is our dedication to psychosocial care.

04:59
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
We have really pivoted our focus into providing not only these play based experiences that are child first and dignity centered, but also really kind of leaning into how we can provide additional mental health support. Teaching things like coping skills, teaching things body mapping, but in an age appropriate way all throughout the play experience. So while that in person experience might look a little something like our volunteers stepping into a hospital and going from room to room and playing with children or even singing with them while they get a treatment or a medicine, sometimes it can also look like a video call. So we are able to provide our services virtually to children who are perhaps under Isolation or in another part of the country where they don't have that access.

05:51
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Or even something like a family visit, where we are going to see children right where they are and kind of make magic for them right in their very own home. And the possibilities are endless, really.

06:02
Sophia Magnanini
That is so just what you guys do is so important. And kind of like you were saying earlier, even though you guys are coming in as, like, these characters and helping make such, like, a great time for the kids, it also brings a sense of normalcy back to them where they can just be a kid and they don't really have to think about what's going on, like what situation they're in. But it definitely makes such a change for these kids and these families. You were talking about it kind of towards the end. But how does a Moment of magic make sure that its experiences are inclusive and meaningful for the children and families it serves? I know you were saying how you guys have been making video chats, going to people's houses. Yeah.

06:51
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
So I love that question. Because at a Moment of magic, we believe that care should not be determined by your geography or life circumstance or condition or any of those situations. We believe that everyone has a right to care. Every child has a right to care. And so it's important to us that we are accessible to a diverse kind of perspective of situations. Now, one of the biggest ways that we do that is by partnering with hospitals. Most hospitals are where we're going to get our direct access to people of varying situations, because health care is the great equalizer. It's something that we all, no matter our circumstance, will be experiencing in one aspect or another, or have a need for at some point. So that allows us to meet with children who are in Title 1 impoverished communities.

07:42
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
It allows us to meet with children who are on the spectrum or have differing abilities. It allows us to meet children who are at end of life care or those who have chronic illness and then some. And then just the different opportunities for getting out there, whether that be our virtual, what we call a mom, unlimited programming, or if it is something like a house visit, or we also have the privilege of partnering with many other wonderful nonprofits. So that could be something less like a big outdoor event, or it could even be something like attending a Ronald McDonald house. We are dedicated to going to where the need is, wherever the need may be.

08:23
Sophia Magnanini
And that's so awesome because I feel like there are a lot of different organizations that are kind of. They. They try to kind of help the community, make it a little better, but there's still a lot of areas that they're leaving out. So it's so amazing and important that reach all walks of life. Like having a very broad type of approach to it is just so awesome. For you personally, you have such an integral role with the national operations manager. What made you want to get involved with the foundation in the first place?

09:02
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Yeah, I love this question because I always say a moment of magic is something that chose me. I didn't exactly choose it. I got started back with the organization when it first branched out to its first 10 chapters, it was like this big application opportunity. There was a viral video that went out and all these colleges wanted in on the action. And I was a wee freshman at the time and I was like, gosh, I love performing, I love what I'm doing. But I was in one of the most intensive programs at my college. And so I went to an interest meeting that our founding chapter president put together so we could build our application. Because at the point we hadn't even been accepted. We're just like, we really want to do this.

09:45
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
And I'm like, I love this, I want to be a part of it, but I can't get too involved because I'm so busy. And then, you know, a little bit of time passed and I realized that there were some gaps in the knowledge that the leadership team she was putting together, especially in regards to like performance, because I had a lot of interest in theater at the time, I knew a lot of contacts. So I'm like, well, I can offer my knowledge and training and help with this a little bit while we're getting started. I just, I can't get too involved. So I asked originated a type of E board position that never existed before because I didn't want to get too involved. But I got involved. And then I continued to see some gaps in this beautiful wood budding organization.

10:24
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
And our amazing founder and executive director, Kylie was kind enough to meet with me and I'm like, I just have some questions as to like why we do things the way that we do. And I was talking about some of the things that, you know, I had questions and concerns about. And she did this really powerful thing that a leader can do and she kind of turned the script and she's like, well, what would you do? And I actually became one of the first national team members that way. And that relationship and position kept growing despite the fact that it all started with I can't get too involved because I'm very busy. Turns out I was not too busy for A Moment of Magic. And in fact I needed to become so much more involved with A Moment of Magic.

11:05
Sophia Magnanini
I love that so much. The fact that at first you wanted to be a part of it so much, but you knew that you had to take a step back and then now. And the fact that Kylie, the founder, just took the time out of her day to talk with you and kind of make you feel heard that I feel like that the organization as a whole, it's not just about helping to make different children or elderly mentally feel better, but also just to keep the team and the people around them feel supportive. And it's really cool.

11:41
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
I love that we believe in joy at all levels in our organization.

11:45
Sophia Magnanini
Who are the volunteers kind of behind these magical moments and what does it take to become one?

11:52
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Yes. So A Moment of Magic is so privileged to be powered by college age student volunteers. So we exist in different chapters at different schools all around the nation. We currently have 35 chapters of varying involvement. And to be involved in A Moment of Magic at one of those chapters, it really is like A Moment of Magic is a place where any type of person could be involved. There are different levels of involvement that you can do to fit your own interest and availability. You just kind of need to show up, express that interest and give what you have to give. You're like, this is what I've got and here's what I have to give.

12:30
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
But if you're not at a college, first of all, if you're at a college that doesn't have a chapter of A Moment of Magic, you can always start a chapter. We are always looking for more hands on deck and boots on the ground in order to fulfill this amazing mission. Because there are children everywhere who need the support of well trained volunteers. I'll even go so far as to say the reason we choose college age students is not only do they have a heart for care and giving and volunteer service, but they're closer to a peer, to a child than typically they're going to get from their parents, family or child life staff or hospital care team. It's something that is a little bit more relatable and a little bit more humanizing because we are very dedicated to a human heartfelt and hopeful experience.

13:20
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
And then if you still aren't in a college situation, we do have some high school ambassador chapter opportunities that you can look into or you can even just like and share our posts. Donate online, Share, tell a friend, direct us to a family in need that you know There really is no way to not help. As long as you are engaging with us, it's helpful.

13:43
Sophia Magnanini
Well, that's so good to know and so great to hear because also just the fact of how willing a moment of magic is to, like you're saying, create those new chapters at different schools or take on different volunteers or anyone who wants to get involved can get involved just shows also it's such a positive environment and it's positive people wanting to make positive changes.

14:05
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Yes, well said.

14:07
Sophia Magnanini
So it's really awesome the kind of reach that you guys have with those volunteers. Along with that, how do you guys kind of organize like hospital visits, family visits, like that type of stuff? Do you have certain things on your websites or is it kind of different relationships with hospitals?

14:28
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Yeah, so we have both external and internal approaches to our services. You can, as a potential partner, we'll say if you want to partner with us as a hospital nonprofit child life specialist, what have you can find everything you need on our website, a momentofmagic.org it's very easily laid out and we have a partner interest and contact form that anyone can fill out. However, we do a lot of internal networking and contacting and cold calls because we want to have access and help and provide the psychosocial support that so many hospitals are really hurting for right now. And we do have a department internally that also kind of reaches out and encourages the same avenues. So whether we're talking to you from the inside or you're finding us from the outside, the website is a great place to start.

15:20
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
And we're always happy to have a.

15:22
Sophia Magnanini
Conversation kind of also leading from that. If there are people who want to volunteer but are kind of, they're not too into dress up or kind of, you know, a little like shy when it comes to that or what are some other ways that people can support the foundation from kind of behind the scenes?

15:42
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Absolutely. I think it's a little bit of a misnomer that to be involved in a moment of magic, you need to dress up and be a character. That is an amazing part about what we do, but it is actually a very small part of our psychosocial support that we offer. We also train our volunteers to be what we call magic makers first. So they come as they are or characterized version of themselves, whatever they feel most comfortable with. And they are interacting with children in a human to human connection point and experience. And studies show that has a significant impact of their long term mental health support and success. You know, when children are in A hospital setting, they are often, especially for long term care, they're missing out on these really important social, developmental points.

16:35
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
And so having that kind of connection, even just person to person makes a huge difference. And then play is added into that. And we can actually do something called our Express, create and heal programming, which is that mental health targeted support that was developed by our medical advisory committee that is just really focused on kind of teaching mental health support skills to children through play. So just for example, you know, if you're a child going through something really intensive, it's not always the most helpful for someone to tell you to take a deep breath. Like what does that mean? How does that differentiate from something like hyperventilation?

17:12
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
But if a magic maker asked you to help her draw her little star shine by sticking out her hand and tracing breaths in and out over her fingers like as you go, that's something that we call starfish breathing. And it is an age appropriate way that we can teach kids something like a grounding skill of a deep breath in the middle of play. And it's just one of those really cool services we're able to offer that anybody can do. Even if maybe characterization is just not your forte.

17:44
Sophia Magnanini
That's so awesome. I love that so much because it also, it helps these people that are coming in to make people's day. It also gives them these skills that then they can help learn and teach other people or take that for themselves in the future. And it's just really awesome how you guys morph to the different people's needs, which is much needed, like you were saying. And at the end of it, what do you hope children and families take away from their experiences with the Foundation?

18:17
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
You know, it can sound a little cheesy, but I really do lean back one of our little mantras of human heartfelt and hopeful experiences. We want people after they've had the opportunity of working with a moment of magic, to feel empowered, to feel like they are seen. Because so often, again, especially in these long term care things, it is so quick to become a patient and a loss of personhood. So we want them to have that personhood. We want it to be dignity centered. We don't want a sense of pity, we want a sense of joy. We don't want a sense of the typical things that they're experiencing with charts and numbers and stats. We want connection and so leading back to that human heartfelt and hopeful experience. That's what we really want people to.

19:08
Sophia Magnanini
Take away from it, which is so important. And I feel like People most definitely are taking away from the experiences that you guys create for them. It's just so amazing. And I bet so many families can kind of just feel a sense of relief after someone in their family has experienced someone from a moment of magic coming in and just seeing that change, seeing that difference, just a time to be themselves and to be a kid again. So, so awesome and just wholesome, heartwarming. All of the above.

19:40
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Thank you.

19:41
Sophia Magnanini
It really is our privilege, but as we kind of come up towards the end, what are some. Are there any kind of big goals that a Moment of Magic is moving towards or any big events that you guys kind of have in the future?

19:57
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Yeah, absolutely. So I think it's fair to say a moment of magic is always working on something. We're actually always working on a lot of things we can't talk about. There are always things happening behind the scenes because we're a little bit non stop in that way. We're never satisfied with just doing what we're doing. We want to continue to grow and develop with the science that's out there, with the healthcare policies that are out there. We want to be a part of systems change. And so with that, we're always working on something. But for some immediate things coming up, first of all, our Express, Create, Heal programming that I mentioned a little bit earlier is about to have its biggest year yet. We are incorporating more of that programming type on every single visit that we do.

20:41
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
And we are also having the opportunity for more ACH exclusive workshops where children can come and really just learn a little bit more about those mental health support skills that they can develop. And the more interest we have in those, the more we can do. It's kind of a beautiful synergy thing and I would be remiss to not mention our biggest fundraiser of the year, our Night of Magic gala in New York. It is, I believe, September 25th this year and that has a slightly different website. That's nightofmagic.org and it is beautiful. It is a fun, joyful event where we celebrate our volunteers, the children, the work that we do. And we hope to raise thousands of dollars each year to help go directly back toward the work that we're doing.

21:30
Sophia Magnanini
That's so exciting. I'm so excited for you guys also for the upcoming year and just the future. That sounds like so many different cool things. It's just gonna help you guys grow and help so many more people, which is just so awesome. As we come up on the end of our chat, I just want to thank you again so much for coming in, talking about A Moment of Magic. What you guys do is amazing. It's just so great to hear about. I feel like there's so much going on these days and like the media and everything, it's kind of hard to kind of look on things on the bright side. And this is just all what you guys are doing is one of the. It's really great.

22:12
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Well, thank you so much for the platform and for your time and care and listening to a little bit of our story. Those of us in A Moment of Magic really love this organization and we really love getting to support that, the children that and the families that are so kind to welcome us into these vulnerable spaces. And so also to those children and family out there, thank you for letting us be a part of your journey.

22:35
Sophia Magnanini
If you wanted to shout out the website or any socials before we head off.

22:41
Maddie Stanton-Johnson
Yes, absolutely. So again, the number one place where you can connect and learn more about A Moment of Magic [e-mail] We are on Facebook, we are on Instagram, we are on TikTok in various chapters ways. But Facebook and Instagram is one of the best ways to stay in the loop of what's going on with us. All of our chapters have those social as well. And then if you have any interest in joining us for Night of Magic, you can learn [e-mail] and we hope to see you at the end of September.

23:12
Sophia Magnanini
As we come up on the end of our chat, I just want to thank Maddy again for coming in and talking about A Moment of Magic. It's so amazing and just heartwarming and I feel like we all kind of needed that little bit of goodness in the world and just, yeah, what they do is amazing. So please check that out if you guys are interested in getting involved, you know. And thank you all again for listening to Oak City Move. I'm your host, Sophia Magnanini, and if you're interested in listening to this episode again or to past episodes of the show, you can go to wknc.org/podcast and make sure to tune to our show Every Monday on WKNC 88.1 FM Raleigh. Have a great day.