Giggle Doctors – magical moments for children in hospital

The goal of the Theodora Children’s Charity is to fill the everyday lives of children in hospital and specialist care centres with moments of laughter and happiness. And this undertaking obtains the financial support it needs thanks to efforts such as the collaboration between TEXAID and the clothing company OVS.

Working as one: TEXAID and OVS
For three years now, the clothing company OVS (previously Charles Vögele) has teamed up with TEXAID to offer convenient drop-off points for used clothing in its fashion stores. Customers can bundle up their old clothes at home and hand them in while shopping at an OVS branch. TEXAID makes a financial contribution for every kilogram of textiles collected at OVS. OVS, in turn, donates the full amount of these contributions to the Theodora Children’s Charity.

The gift of laughter
Since 1993, the Theodora Foundation has sought to brighten the daily lives of children in hospital and specialised care centres by providing them with moments of joy and laughter. To fulfil its mission, the charity organises and funds weekly visits by professional artists called “Giggle Doctors” to various hospitals and institutions for children with disabilities in Switzerland. All Giggle Doctors are professional artist who are mandated and trained by the Theodora Foundation in order to perform his art by considering the particularities of the hospital environment. Furthermore, they are obligated to participate on a continuing education which contains artistic, psychology and hospital aspects of their activity. 

A second life for old clothes
OVS gives all the clothes from its collection points to TEXAID, which then ensures that they are recycled in an ecological manner. Whether they are worn again or made into cleaning cloths and insulation materials – at TEXAID, old clothes are given a new lease of life. This preserves valuable resources while considerably reducing damage to the environment. The majority of the company’s proceeds are donated to charity (2016: CHF 7.2m). In this instance, it is the Theodora Children’s Charity that benefits from the collaboration between TEXAID and OVS. Click here for other examples of charitable projects which receive financial backing via the textile recycling carried out by TEXAID.

December 2017