Dr. Clown coloring book coming soon! For hospitalized children nation-wide!
One of the things that makes C4C’s Dr. Clown teams so popular with children they visit in hospitals, is, that they don’t have a predefined time limit for their visits. Their stays range anywhere from one to five hours depending on the situation they encounter. “It would sometimes just break out hearts to pack up after an hour, when we see that the kids are responding, enjoying themselves and forgetting about where they are and the sickness they’re fighting”, says Rafal Wojas, who is C4C’s Dr. Clown director and producer. “So, we’ve made it a point to stay as long as we’re needed, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the hospital schedule.” That sets Dr. Clown aside from many similar endeavors of its kind.
But every visit, no matter how much fun, has to end sometime. And then it’s back to the beds and the oftentimes frightening and overwhelming hospital environment for our sick little patients. Even in a best-case scenario, clowns can only come a few times a week.
After pondering what can be done to help the kids bridge the time between clown visits and provide them with tools to beat boredom, stay positive and in an child-friendly environment, the idea was born to design a Dr. Clown magazine and coloring book. That way their little minds could stay busy and challenged for hours and hours.
At first the obstacles seemed daunting. An artist with a real touch for children had to be found first to develop a concept. Next, the question of financing the endeavor would need to be resolved. Artists and printers take money. Money is always scarce. Any honest NGO will attest to that fact. And these days, the problem is not only confined to NGOs anymore. Read the papers!
Then destiny struck. Twice! Firstly in the form of an artist, enormously talented and, it’s hard to believe – generous and kind enough to donate her services for free! Enter Romana Angelova of Angel Art into the equation. She attained nation-wide fame as the creator of the popular kids magazine Bertik which became a household name because of the lovable characters she drew. Romana also created the Krkouni theme of popular children’s accessories and the concept of the Planet of Bimbuli – a world full of laughter and joy for children. Click here to see it.
Romana’s concept for the Dr. Clown magazine and coloring book immediately struck a responsive chord with every member of the C4C team. Just what we had imagined and more than we had hoped for.
Destiny’s second strike came in form of a company, not exactly local, but very willing to print the A4 mags for us for free. All 50.000 of them!! Enter Netservice Media AG of the tiny enclave of Lichtenstein, of all places, into the picture. Right down their alley. They love children, especially those battling sickness and disease and they jumped whole-heartedly onto our speeding little band-wagon. Check them out here.
Here’s what they said in their recent press release: “To inspire children to keep fighting is something we here at Netservice want as well and because of this we support the “Dr. Clown” program with 50.000 A4-sized coloring books.”
We think that is just remarkable and nothing short of a miracle! And, as a result, children in hospitals nationwide, even those not serviced by Dr. Clown visits yet, will be able to enjoy these beautiful magazines and coloring books. To take their minds off their illness and help them to keep fighting – sometimes even for their very lives.
