Children treated in hospitals receive excellent medical support. Hospitals, however, can be a frightening, distressing and boring environment, especially for children – away from the safety of home and school, far from their friends. Doctor Clowns visit children’s hospitals throughout the year to empower young patients through play and laughter.

Your donation will help us organise weekly visits of joy by Dr Clowns to Tallinn Children’s Hospital, Tartu University Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Surgery and Oncology Department of Maarjamõisa Hospital and Narva Hospital all year round.

The role of humour in the treatment of children has been recognised by all medical professionals treating children in Estonia. The mission of Doctor Clown is to bring children out of the hospital routine and into a world of mischief, where they can play and forget about painful and scary medical procedures. Doctor Clowns also play a big part in child therapy that supports children, which is based on playing and making children laugh in a very distressing environment. Research has shown that children who have experienced positive emotions and laughter thanks to hospital clowns are better able to cope with various procedures, and their fear of a doctor in a white coat has decreased.

Hospital clown organisations have been working around the world for more than 40 years and hundreds of hospitals have adopted hospital clown programmes. Doktor Kloun MTÜ was founded in 2006 and over a period of 16 years, Dr Clowns have visited more than 24,000 hospitalised children.

• A permanent donation of €5 can be used to buy toys for children’s hospitals.
• A permanent donation of €10 can be used to get even more gifts for children as well as props for the visits of joy by Dr Clowns.
• A permanent donation of €25 can be use to help the kind and brave Dr Clowns by giving them the chance to receive consistent training, attend covisions and receive targeted grants to continue putting their heart and soul into these important voluntary missions.

The organisation is included on the list of non-profit organisations eligible for income tax incentives. Read more about taxes here: Donations and taxes.

See also: doktorkloun.ee