Radio Lollipop believes in the healing power of play – creating smiles and laughter for children at a time when they need it most.
One in four children are admitted to a hospital before reaching age 14. Although some patients are short-stay, many have a recurring need for care and repeatedly return to hospital. Some who are terminally ill spend much of their short lives in hospital. Radio Lollipop gives young patients a voice and a choice during their stay. While they can’t say “no” to taking their medicine or receiving treatment, they can request their favourite songs, win prizes and hear their own voices on the radio. Those activities give youngsters a haven of normality in the hospital day, which in other respects is strange, different, and often scary.
The Radio Lollipop Fund in the Perpetual Guardian Foundation is designed to create an endowment that will enable Radio Lollipop to continue to provide accessible care, comfort, play and entertainment that isn’t just a frilly add-on, but improves clinical results, where a number of children have had better recoveries.
