A strong female lead, with a passion for all things theatre, magic and caring about other people — Belle Galante is selfless, optimistic and enthusiastic. She’s a people person, always looking for ways to make someone else’s day even the slightest bit brighter. Being in A Moment of Magic has only furthered her passion for this.
A Moment of Magic is a nonprofit organization founded by executive director, Kylee McGrane. She founded the organization under the notion of “restoring the magic of believing at a time when a child needs to ‘just be a kid’ and reminding them to be brave, strong and fearless.” Members in A Moment of Magic are college-aged student volunteers who visit and interact with medically vulnerable children, providing them with magical experiences unlike any other. Members in the organization engage in services such as hospital visits, fundraising events, sing-a-longs, individual home visits and hotline calls.
Belle Galante joined A Moment of Magic in the second half of her freshman year at Temple University, and has since gone on to become a training coordinator with their executive board under Temple’s president, Stephanie Fallon. Below, she recounts some of her favorite memories from being involved in the foundation.
Christina: What inspired you to get involved with A Moment of Magic?
Belle: I grew up in a household that held the idea of magic as something of happiness and hope. This created an outlook on life for me that felt like pixie dust was always just around the corner, and that believing in my dreams was the best way to go out and conquer them. I’ve always seen princesses and heroes as role models, and I knew I wanted to grow up to be like that for someone else. I actually started my own princess company around the age of 13, starting with parties and dance-a-thons. Once I got to college and heard about A Moment of Magic, I knew it was exactly what I needed to be apart of. It was like everything in my life was aligning. I couldn’t be more grateful for the experiences I’ve had thanks to this organization.
Christina: What was the casting process like?
Belle: The casting process is actually very fun and relaxed. We hold ourselves to the standard that anyone can be a princess or hero no matter their size, shape, color or background, so every single person has been casted with complete accuracy to their personality. We have a national board that reviews video submission of monologues, songs and headshots to find the perfect fit for each individual and character.
Christina: How have you connected with your character, and what does portraying her meant to you?
Belle: Through this organization, I’ve had the chance to spend a lot of time with a certain chocolate loving, snowman building princess, and may I just say — getting to portray her has made her an extension of who I am, and I’m grateful beyond words. Some days it’s easy to feel really down on yourself, or feel like maybe you didn’t want to wake up at 4 a.m. to do your makeup, but the second a kid’s face just smiles ear-to-ear and says your name, or how much they love you… all of that just goes away. My character is very outgoing and funny, and has really reminded me that even during the toughest times, it’s important not to take yourself so seriously and just enjoy every second of the day you can. She is so selfless and puts her sister, her kingdom and everyone she loves before herself. Getting to portray such a strong female character, especially for a younger generation, is a responsibility that could really thaw a frozen heart.
Christina: What is it like being a training coordinator; what are your responsibilities on the e-board?
Belle: Being training coordinator means that I’m basically a character and movie dictionary. I help members of our club know everything about their character to give them the best integrity possible. Especially when visiting older children, we need to ensure we are keeping the magic alive, so my job is to help everyone portray their characters as if they have lived their entire lives as them! I love my position so much, especially because I really do just have all this insane trivia sitting in my head and I finally have a good use for it!
Christina: For you, what’s the most rewarding part of being in A Moment of Magic?
Belle: The most rewarding part of A Moment of Magic is that the kids are teaching me so many life lessons that, as I get older, I find myself forgetting. Kids are so grateful for the tiniest things like handing them the color crayon they want to use on the whole page, teaching them how to spell their names, or just sitting next to them. I feel like as we get older, we complain about things more and more and it’s always the silliest things. I love the idea of being grateful for two things everytime you’re complaining about one. Kids have taught me so much about compassion and friendship, even in the short time I’ve gotten to spend with them on each visit. It’s really so special.
Christina: Any special or favorite memories you can recount?
Belle: I recently met a kid on a visit who’s already met my character a bunch of times with other chapters. I was so nervous I wouldn’t do as well as the others, but she loved me, and was talking so fast at one point that I said, “wait, what?” in a silly way. I completely forgot this was one of my character’s iconic lines, and she just looked up at me like, “… oh my god. You’re the real one.” She had such awe in her eyes, and I’ve never felt more like my character than in the moment.
For more information about A Moment of Magic Foundation, visit amomentofmagic.org, or find them on social media with the username @momentofmagicfoundation.