Dr Clown at Ste Justine Hospital • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2011
“The clowns bring laughter, give the children something to look forward to, relieve some of the boredom of hospital stays and help lighten the burden and relieve some of the tensions that can build up for the children and their families in hospital…The work the clowns do is not easy and they use their humour in a careful and sophisticated way to be both fun and a therapeutic tool.” The benefits of clown doctoring show that regular visits from clown doctors have a positive impact on the recovery and rehabilitation of children in hospital. Laughter has been shown to be cathartic and uplifting, while the presence of clown doctors is found to be stimulating to children, raising their self-esteem and confidence. Clown doctors use creative methods of distraction, which can be of invaluable help to hospital staff, while they build relationships that support families and help children to cope with their experiences in hospital.
The Sabrina & Camillo D’Alesio Foundation proudly supports the Dr Clown program. Ste. Justine Hospital has been the recipient of funds raised for the Dr Clown program for three years!
Le Phare Lighthouse • 2008 • 2009
At the Lighthouse, parents entrust their child to a qualified healthcare team, who are very understanding and sensitive to the specific problems of children who stay at the respite home. Despite the disease, each child needs stimulation. Activities are offered by specialized individuals to stimulate the children. Swimming, music, visual arts, cinema outings are among the favourite activities of children. For a second consecutive year, The Sabrina and Camillo D'Alesio Foundation presented Le Phare with a $10,000.00 donation. The donation will go towards the centre’s “J’explore et je sors avec La Fondation Sabrina & Camillo D’Alesio” program.
The program provides educational activities and entertainment tailored to the needs of children during visits to Le Phare thus enabling the children to live unique experiences that contribute to their personal development.
On December 30th, 2008 The Sabrina and Camillo D’Alesio Foundation made a difference in the lives of many sick children at Le Phare, which is the first respite and paediatric palliative care centre in Quebec. The centre has 12 patient beds in the facility, plus a two-bedroom “end-of-life” suite for the family of a dying child. On this day the board of directors presented Le Phare with a $10,000.00 donation. The donation will go towards the centre’s “J’explore et je sors” program, which is a socio-recreational program that will help the children from the centre explore different excursions that are not offered at the centre. Accompanying the cheque presentation, the foundation had a Christmas party for the children whereby Santa Clause gave the children presents. The children were in awe of Santa and their smiles and laughter said it all!
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Montreal Elite Football Camp • 2007 • 2008
The Elite Football Camp’s mission is to gather 14 to 17 year-old student athletes and impart to them the kind of life teachings that will help them reach ELITE status in all aspects of life. Through the context of football, the camp’s goal is to take youngsters and help them gain the strength the character needed to face their daily challenges. The ELITE Football Camp is a non-profit organization aimed at supporting student athletes in Quebec High Schools. The Sabrina & Camillo D’Alesio donated $10 000 to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Montreal Elite Football Camp.
The Hematology / Oncology Ward of the Montreal Children’s Hospital • 2006
The Hematology / Oncology Ward of the Montreal Children’s Hospital was the major recipient of funds raised from our First Annual Dinner Gala.
The Hematology/Oncology ward received $60,000 for the purchase of flat screen televisions complete with DVD players, DVDs, video-game consoles and games. The Hematology/Oncology ward also received $5865 for the purchase of a snoezelen sensory cart.
Music Therapy at the Montreal Children’s Hospital • 2006
Music therapy is provided for 3 days per week to ill children both in the hospital and in their homes over the past 3 years. The music therapy program consists of 2 music therapists.
The profile of the children seen in music therapy ranges from those with serious degenerative neurological conditions or life limiting illness to those who are hospitalized for long periods of time. Children are seen in their hospital room and often times other children sharing the room are included in the activities. Children who have the therapy provided in their own homes are mostly those followed by the Palliative Care Program.
Children are referred by many sources including the Palliative Care Team, Child Life staff, nurses, social workers and sometimes by parents themselves. On average up to 15 children from newborns to adolescents are seen each week. Each session is for one hour and there are some children who request more hours that are not always available.
Examples of young patients helped by Music Therapy:
- A severely handicapped teenager with very low ability to communicate and who has been living at the Hospital for a long time is benefiting from listening to live music played by the therapist. Each week she listens to melodies played on the guitar or the keyboard. The style of music is adjusted to her level of energy and attention.
- A teenager waiting for a heart transplant had special songs of her choice sung to her. When her energy level permitted, she would sing along. Unfortunately, she passed away, but the time she spent listening to music was significant in her life. Music motivated her and she often mentioned to the staff that she was impatiently waiting for her music time each week.
- Music therapy provided a one-year-old baby with Ewing’s Sarcoma (a rare form of bone cancer) the means of communication, of expression of various feelings ranging from fear and sadness to anger, and of stimulation for his motor abilities and his attention span. He benefited form music therapy for approximately eight months until he was discharged from the Hospital.
Friends of Mental Health West Island • 2005
On behalf of all here at Friends for Mental Health, I wish to extend heartfelt thanks to you for your donation of $7600.00 which will fund our new art therapy program for children. Your generosity and support for the valuable work we do here at Friends for Mental Health is sincerely appreciated by all.
As a result of your gesture, those children whose lives have been touched by mental illness in some way may be helped to cope better with their difficult life circumstances, within the non-threatening counseling environment of art therapy.
Our sincere appreciation,
Lucie Discepola
Dr. Clown the Montreal Children’s Hospital • 2005 • 2006
We would like to thank you for your generous support. We are touched by the commitment that your organization shows and it is a pleasure to feel that we are part of your recipients. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication. With your help we are able to create positive and happy memories for children and their parents. Here are some examples:
"A mother told me the other day that the clowns are a moment of distraction for her child. During the procedures my baby has his eyes wide open, he is watching the bubbles, it makes me feel good to see him like that.” (An oncology nurse at the Montreal Children’s Hospital).
"They are so funny I almost forget that I am in the hospital” (A patient at Sainte Justine’s Hospital).
"The Clown Doctors bring new perspective to the atmosphere that radiates a sense of joy, peacefulness and life. The quality of the interaction is so significant that the service is irreplaceable.” (Martine Legault, head of the unit at Ste-Justine).
Thank you for helping to make it all possible.
Carole Mercier, Executive Director
Hematology/Oncology Well Siblings Group Program at The Montreal Children’s Hospital • 2009
The needs of well siblings are often overlooked in the diagnostic and treatment process of children with cancer. The significant amount of literature pointing to the psychosocial adjustment difficulties of well siblings led to the development of a sibling centered preventative group at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. This is a strength-based group composed of an interdisciplinary team that aims to demystify illness and death, decrease feelings of isolation, shame, guilt and anger, and teach children through creative means that they have the ability to cope with and work through the changes brought on by the illness. This can enable these children to identify their own aptitudes and maturity resulting from the cancer and develop a sense of mastership over this very complicated situation. Ultimately it will improve psychosocial adjustment in the short- and long-term.
Muscular Dystrophy of Canada • 2009
The Sabrina & Camillo D’Alesio Foundation presented Muscular Dystrophy Canada with a $6300 donation. This donation will fund 3 pool lifts for children with neuromuscular disorders.
Share the Warmth • 2009
Share The Warmth is a Montreal based Foundation that runs programs “to awaken hopes and dreams by overcoming hunger and poverty”. They accomplish this by providing programs that assist in reducing the hungers of the mind, body and spirit. On October 6, 2009, The Sabrina and Camillo D’Alesio Foundation proudly presented Share The Warmth with a cheque in the amount of $11,280.00 for the expansion of a “Mini Music” program for under privileged children. This money was used to purchase guitars, various music supplies and materials to repaint and decorate their music room! With the money, Share The Warmth was also able to hire additional music teachers to give guitar and keyboard lessons to children who would never have had the opportunity otherwise.
Art Therapy Program at the Montreal Children's Hospital • 2006
The Art Therapy Program uses art expression and therapeutic play, to offer children and adolescents an opportunity to gain a sense of control during their illness, medical treatment, and hospitalization and to express their feelings associated with these experiences. Art Therapy allows children to express feelings too difficult to discuss and helps clarify issues and concerns. The Art Therapy Program provides a safe environment that aids in developing healthy coping skills, in increasing self esteem and confidence, in stimulating imagination and creativity, and in promoting the development of physical, emotional, and learning skills.
Resto Vie • 2006
To all the members of the foundation: We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your generous donation of $5,000.00 to Resto-Vie in Pierrefonds. Rest assured that your kind gesture is truly welcomed and that this money will help us feed the many children in need of a good hot meal at school.
As you may know, the demand is always expanding and people like you help us meet those in need. We, at Resto-Vie, depend on benefactors and voluntary workers and the least we can do is to extend our sincere thanks for the bottom of our hearts.
Sincerely,
Chantal Bergeron, Manager Internal Administration
Snoezelen Sensory World • 2005
Imagine how wonderful it would be to transform a patient’s hospital room into a safe haven, thanks to Snoezelen Sensory World this is now possible. This machine is able to fill a child’s room with colored lights dancing on their walls, gentle sounds playing in the floating air, and gigantic bubble tubes that provide distraction. Beautiful and fascinating to watch, sound and light walls paint an ever-changing light picture in harmony with the changing pitch and timbre of a variety of soothing music. All these sensory components are designed to be stimulating but not overwhelming.
Thanks to the Sabrina & Camillo D’Alesio foundation, the Montreal Children’s Hospital hematology/oncology department is now able to offer these magical opportunities to children who spend numerous hours in their hospital rooms awaiting treatment.
The snoezelen cart has been in circulation for several weeks, offering our patients and families opportunities to relax, explore and express themselves in an open atmosphere of trust and pleasure.
On behalf of the children, their families and the hematology/oncology department at the Montreal Children’s Hospital I would like to take this moment to thank the Sabrina & Camillo D’Alesio foundation that has brought this reality to our families.
Snoezelen is a wonderful experience to enjoy and share in an environment that replenishes the spirit.