(ABC 6 News)- As a part of their annual balloon brigade, kids at Mayo Clinic in Rochester were treated to a delivery of 670 balloons on Wednesday, December 18.

This has been going on for 8 years now, all to put a smile on the faces of kids who are going through a tough time during the holiday season. Kids at the Mayo Building, Baldwin, and Saint Mary’s all got balloons. Hy-Vee officials say this was all made possible by Hy-Vee customers who donated money for the balloon brigade.

“It’s great for us to be able to have that interaction and community involvement here in Rochester with all the visitors that we have and all the people that are coming up here to seek treatment at Mayo Clinic,” said Chad Launderville, district store director at Hy-Vee.

A Mayo child-life manager, Jenn Rodemeyer, says this is a good way for kids to take their mind off of why they’re at the hospital.

“We see so many kids that will get this balloon today and they’ll tie it to their IV pole and in the hospital they’ll walk around with it, until it deflates,” Rodemeyer said.

And with with Christmas less than a week away, Mr. and Mrs. Claus also made sure to make an appearance and visit with the kids.

It took about 3 hours for all 4 Hy-Vee chain stores in the Rochester area to fill up each balloon., according to Hy-Vee. Over 150 were filled in 4 vans before being delivered to the Mayo.