HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Marek Czerwinski likes to dabble in a lot of things. 

The 7 year old is learning to play the drums and has a few puppets. However, his real love is inflatables.


What You Need To Know

  • Marek Czerwinski has been collecting inflatables for the last few years

  •  In 2013 Czerwinski was born ten weeks early, spending most of his time in Levine’s neonatal department

  • Czerwinski plans to deliver the inflatables and other gift to children at Levine's Children Hospital this holiday season

Czerwinski owns nearly 30 different inflatables and has been collecting them for years. 

“I pretty much just like them because they give a lot of joy to people in the neighborhood and me of course,” he said. 

Czerwinski wants to spread that joy beyond his neighborhood, so he and his mother, Laura, got together to create a campaign called Inflated Joy. 

“I did some research and contacted the folks at Levine’s and asked them if maybe we could collect smaller inflatables so that they could be in the kids rooms for the holiday season,” she said. 

They picked the Levine Children’s Hospital for a special reason.  In 2013, Czerwinski was born 10 weeks early, spending most of his time in Levine’s neonatal department. 

“It can be very scary,” his mother said. "We were very lucky. We just felt lucky to be at Levine’s because we know that they’re the best at so much of what they do.” 

For the last few weeks, they’ve been requesting and collecting different inflatables along with books and games for children this holiday season. 

“We just wanted to bring something to make it feel more normal at a time in their lives where maybe things are a little up in the air and they don’t have the comforts that they are use to during the holidays, “she said. 

It’s a small gesture that will soon grow into something Czerwinski can’t wait for others to see. Czerwinski and his mother are currently collecting inflatables that they will soon deliver to the hospital towards the end of the year. 

If you are interested in sending an inflatable, or other items for children at the hospital, you can find more information here. You can also check out the video Czerwinski and his mother created about Inflated Joy here