By Ellen Blessington | Fundraising Officer
We want to say a big thank you for your very kind support of our work through GlobalGiving. At Theodora Children’s Charity we improve children’s experience of hospital by combining music, play and storytelling. Our 33 Giggle Doctors aim to improve well-being and increase opportunities for play by bringing magical Giggle Doctor moments to children at a time when they need it most. We have been visiting children in hospitals, hospices and specialist care centres across England for 25 years.
During their visits our Giggle Doctors aim to:
Each interaction is tailored to the child and the Giggle Doctor visits are designed to provide whatever the child needs at the time, whether it’s a joke, a song or simply companionship.
We get so much wonderful feedback from the families of the children we visit and, to show the impact of your support, we would like to take the opportunity to share some of it with you.
“Just before his 3rd birthday, Lewis was diagnosed with Leukaemia. He has had to spend a lot of time in hospital for his chemotherapy treatment and to prevent infections. The hospital staff are very lovely, the nurses in particular, but they have little individual time with Lewis because they have a lot of children to deal with. He gets lonely and upset at times and it is hard for us to keep him entertained.
That’s where the Giggle Doctors come in. They spend time with Lewis, blowing bubbles. That immediately brings a smile to his face. They make us giggle too! Having the Giggle Doctors really makes the hospital routine more positive. Lewis gets so excited when he knows the Giggle Doctor are coming. I particularly remember the first time, with Dr Dotty and Dr Easy Peasy. It was right after Lewis’ diagnosis so it was quite a difficult time, but seeing them made us all laugh, it was amazing. It gave us hope that it would be alright, that we could get through it.
What’s particularly extraordinary about them is that they always know exactly what Lewis needs. Sometimes, Lewis is not in the mood for bubbles, and they sense it immediately and offer something a bit different. They always get it right. When they come in, it’s all about Lewis, what he wants and needs. They make him their one and only priority. This brings humanity to the hospital environment.’’ A Parent
We work closely with hospital staff to monitor the quality of our work through regular meetings. We collect feedback from children’s families through our online survey which is open all year round. This provides us with detailed information about the impact of the Giggle Doctor visits. We also carry out in depth interviews with parents of children who have been seen by the Giggle Doctors and who are keen to share their story with us. Through this we are able to learn more about their child and the impact our visits have had.
How your support helps children in hospital
We receive lots of feedback from families about how our Giggle Doctors have made an impact for their child, and it is thanks to support like yours that we are able to bring these magical moments.
"Two days after surgery, the Giggle Doctors arrived on the ward for their weekly visit. I was concerned – I could hear them coming with lots of noise and laughter and I felt that my daughter was not strong enough to cope with this. However, they were calm and gentle, immediately modifying their performance to meet the needs of the individual child. My daughter smiled (she couldn’t laugh, physically, at this stage) and we all immediately felt better. The beneficial effects of play for a sick child have been researched and documented, but until you have had your own child sick I don’t think anyone can fully appreciate just how important those benefits are." – A parent
We are so grateful for your generous support, which has allowed us to continue bringing fun and laughter to children in hospital at a time when it is most needed.
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about our work, please feel free to email ellen.blessington@theodora.org
Links:
By Ellen Blessington | Fundraising Officer
By Ellen Blessington | Fundraising Officer
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser