Newsletter Spring/Summer 2016

Take a look inside to... Learn about our BBC Radio 4 appeal Find out how your donations made a difference Find out how we're measuring our impact Photo: Jessica Mann Jessica Photo: 1 Tune into our BBC Radio 4 Appeal...

Sunday 26th June 7.55am and 9.26pm Thursday 30th June 3:27pm

Presenter Kerry McCarthy shares how the Giggle Doctors made a difference to her daughter Ava.

"Dr Bananas will always have a special place in our hearts, as he was the first Giggle Doctor Ava ever saw. He peered his head through Ava's window in Great Ormond Street at the perfect time to give some light hearted relief to Ava, and without knowing, was an amazing tower of strength to mummy when it was most needed." 3-4

4-5 Missed the 6 broadcast? Listen again at: 7 www.bbc.co.uk/ radio4

020 7713 0044 [email protected] twitter.com/giveagiggle 2 Hello from Emily...

Contents:

Maisie's story 3 - 4

Michaela's story 4 - 5

Impact Measurement 6

Give a Giggle: Make a donation 7

Welcome to the Spring edition of our newsletter. We hope that you enjoy reading about our latest news and activities.

We try hard to convey to you how important your support is, and how much this enables us to do. We are always keen to improve the Giggle Doctor visits and are focusing more than ever on collecting feedback about the difference being made to the 30,000 sick and disabled children we visit (see page 6).

In this edition we’re excited to be able to share the story of a Play Specialist who was visited by a Giggle Doctor when she was in hospital as a child! (see page 4 - 5).

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank GSK who have been hugely supportive of The Theodora Children’s Charity for many years Missed the here in the UK. A large team of them have recently been volunteering with us and helped to stuff the envelopes for this mail broadcast? out so a massive thank you to them. Listen again at: www.bbc.co.uk/ I hope you feel inspired to ‘spring’ into action, and thank you so much for your support. radio4 Emily Swords Chief Executive

facebook.com/giveagiggle youtube.com/giveagiggle www.theodora.org.uk 3 Maisie's Story Charlotte Skinner got in touch to tell us about how the Giggle Doctors helped her daughter Maisie.

"Maisie has been admitted to hospital 10 times in the last 15 months (most of which have been for 2 week periods at a time). When she was first admitted she was a little frightened as she didn't know what to expect. The Giggle Doctors really helped to make her relax and forget her surroundings. They are all fantastic.

Maisie absolutely loves the Giggle Doctors. Dr Fab is her favourite and we see her forward to seeing them. quite frequently It makes me smile to see Thursdays are now her at Addenbrooke's her smiling and laughing favourite days! Hospital. Maisie's with them. They dance around and sing with her, clinic days are on All of the Giggle Doctors it’s magical to see, she just Thursdays, the we have come across LOVES them. same day as the have been absolutely Giggle Doctor FANTASTIC, they visits, so every week she looks change the atmosphere and for the time they are present Maisie has such a fun and memorable time, she really has a 'giggle' and as a parent it is great to see. It makes me smile to see her smiling and laughing with them. They dance around and sing with her, it’s magical to see, she just LOVES them.

Maisie often talks about the Giggle Doctor visits outside of the hospital.

020 7713 0044 [email protected] twitter.com/giveagiggle 4

They make a big difference to how she views her hospital visits, making the experience more positive.

The Giggle Doctors really are brilliant and live up to their name. For her birthday Maisie even asked for a ukulele so that she could be just like Dr Fab!" Michaela's Story Michaela Taplin first encountered the Giggle Doctors as a patient over 10 years ago and shares her story of how her experience has had a lasting impact.

When did you first meet the Giggle Doctors as a child? I first met the Giggle Doctors when I was 14, almost 15 (that was back in 2005, I’m 26 now).

What did you think and how did you feel when you first met the Giggle Doctors? At 14, almost 15, I was too ‘cool’ for the Giggle Doctors. I had just come round from an anaesthetic and was in a really bad mood. It was a few years ago now, back when there were hardly any Giggle Doctors in . It was Dr GeeHee that came to visit me that day and I can remember being told off by mum for ignoring her. However, with her amazing skills, charm and just pure brilliance, she won me round. She got me talking, making spiders that Radio Lollipop had provided and managed to persuade me to eat something so I could go home.

facebook.com/giveagiggle youtube.com/giveagiggle www.theodora.org.uk 5

How did the Giggle Doctors make a difference to your experience of hospital? They put a smile back on my face. They made the whole experience so much better. Looking back at it now, I don’t remember any of the things that happened to me whilst in hospital or to do with the surgery, but I remember Dr GeeHee coming to cheer me up.

Did the Giggle Doctors influence your choice of career? A few years after my surgery, when I turned 18, I started working as a Health Care Assistant in A&E at Hospital. I used to love watching what the Giggle Doctors did with the children and how happy they made everyone. A few years later I got a job as a Play Leader and I remember thinking I’m one step closer to being an honorary Giggle Doctor. I even have my own Giggle Doctor name, Dr Bubbles!

Why do you think the work of the Giggle Doctors is so important? Some of the children on the oncology unit I work on as a Play Leader can be in for ages, so having the Giggle Doctors come in is something to look forward to. The work they do is priceless. They will work with children during procedures, hard times and just be generally entertaining and amazing.

Why is play in hospitals so important? Play comes naturally to children and young people. It’s a universal language and despite being so poorly, children always find a way to play. It’s all they want to do. Play is so important to recovery and can aid treatment and procedures during their stay in hospital.

What's your favourite memory of the Giggle Doctors? This is such a hard question for me to answer, as every time I see them it makes me smile. It is my favourite day of the week.

020 7713 0044 [email protected] twitter.com/giveagiggle 6 Impact Measurement...

The quality of the Giggle Doctor programme is really important to us. We want to provide the best service we can to ensure we keep making a big difference to children.

We take all feedback we receive seriously and use it to monitor, improve and adapt the way we work. Giggle Doctors now carry feedback cards at all visits and make parents aware of our online survey when they wish to give more extensive feedback. We also reach out to medical staff to ensure their comments are recorded too.

This year we have started to conduct hospital focus days where parents are asked to give their feedback. We have visited five hospitals so far and are so proud to be able to share the results with you…

- 82% of parents believed that the Giggle Doctors increased opportunities for fun and play in hospital - 80% of parents believed that the Giggle Doctors improved their child’s mood - 75% of parents believed the Giggle Doctors helped to reduce the distress and anxiety their children were feeling

We are committed to ensuring that every penny we receive helps to improve the wellbeing of sick and disabled children. By measuring our impact we can say with certainty that your donations are making a big difference. Thank you.

facebook.com/giveagiggle youtube.com/giveagiggle www.theodora.org.uk 7 Give a Giggle: Make a donation

Every £10 can help us send a Giggle Doctor to bring a wonderful, magical smile to a child's face.

Please give what you can to help the laughter continue. Every pound really does makes a difference.

To make a regular or one off donation online by card please visit: www.theodora.org.uk Or to donate by cheque please complete the form below: Name: ______Address: ______Postcode: ______Tel: ______Email: ______

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Please make cheques payable to: The Theodora Children's Charity

Please Gift Aid my donation. I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for the current tax year that is at least equal to the amount of tax that The Theodora Children’s Charity will reclaim on my gifts for the current tax year. I understand the charity will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I have given.

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Please post this completed form to: The Theodora Children’s Charity, 40 Pentonville Road, , N1 9HF www.theodora.org.uk Registered charity no. 1094532 DST/JUNE16/3000