Theodora Children's Charity

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Theodora Children's Charity

www.theodora.co.uk The Theodora Children's Charity was founded in 1994 by two brothers, in memory of their mother, Theodora Poulie.

At the Theodora Children's Charity we believe that all children deserve laughter. Our vision is to contribute to the wellbeing of children in hospitals, hospices and specialist care centres across England by providing visits from professional performers who have been trained to work in a medical environment called Giggle Doctors. By combining music, play, magic and storytelling our 33 Giggle Doctors bring joy and laughter to brave children in challenging times. The visits often have a lasting impact on the children and families they visit. We often receive feedback from parents telling us the visits have helped to improve a child's long-term experience of hospital.

09/10/2026

Play is essential in children's lives, as it is through play that children explore the world around them, learn how to communicate and how to relate to one another and build meaningful connections with friends and family. It boosts their mood and supports their wellbeing. This is why it is essential to create opportunities for play in hospitals and healthcare settings.

As Play in Healthcare Week comes to and end, we wanted to say thank you to all of our supporters who have helped our Giggle Doctors bring opportunities for play to thousands of children in hospital, not just this week, but every week of the year! It is thanks to you that we are able to support their wellbeing and bring joy, laughter and many magical moments🧡

08/10/2026

Play, giggles, silliness and fun continues across the country this week whilst the Giggle Doctors celebrate Play in Healthcare Week with visits to:
🧡 Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital
💛 Birmingham Children's Hospital
💚 St George's Hospital
💙Leeds Children's Hospital
🧡 Sheffield Children's Hospital
💛Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
💚North Manchester General Hospital
💙Great Ormond Street Hospital
🧡Southampton Children's Hospital
💛The Royal Marsden
💚Bradford Royal Infirmary
💙Royal United Hospital
🧡Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
💛Addenbrooke's Hospital
💚Wythenshawe Hospital
🧡and Calderdale Royal Hospital!

07/10/2026

Our first Giggle Doctor Takeover day took place on Monday at Birmingham Children's Hospital and Charity!🥳 Dr Scribble, Dr Geehee, Dr WotNot, Dr Flowerpot and Dr Dilly Dally created many playful moments for families to experience first-hand the difference play can have on your emotional wellbeing and hospital journey.

From bedside visits on the wards to designing their very own Giggle Doctor coats, colourful crowns and animals made from hospital gloves, there were many playful activities take part in👑

“It’s such a special and magical thing to help create many happy memories for children. It is also such a fun surprise, some families haven’t met us before and we have parents watching in wonder as their children are laughing and playing with us – sometimes it is the first time their child has smiled or laughed in days."

"A few times staff like nurses, cleaners and porters stop by the door or ward and watch, it’s like everyone gets the ripple effect of the fun too!” - Dr Scribble🧡

05/10/2026

Happy Play in Healthcare Week!🤹🥳

This special week is about celebrating and raising awareness of the healthcare play community who support the mental health and wellbeing of children in healthcare settings. We sat down with Julie and Katie who are Play Specialists at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, to hear how play is a very important tool to help children cope with anxiety, reduce trauma, supporting their emotional wellbeing, and help them understand their medical treatments.

That you both for taking the time to share why play is vital for children and families in hospital. We are so pleased the Giggle Doctors are able to work with so many brilliant Play Teams across the country!💙

29/09/2026

Play in Healthcare Week is just around the corner!✨

Every week is a busy time for the Giggle Doctors with many visits taking place across the country, but we are going all out next week for such an important time of year! We have planned extra visits to reach more children and families in hospital, and organised Giggle Takeover Days at two of our hospital parters🤹🎉

Play in Healthcare Week helps raise awareness on the benefits of play in supporting children's development, emotional wellbeing and mental health. It is also a time to celebrate all those who create these vital opportunities for play, helping to transform a hospital experience from somewhere that can be scary and isolating, into a place full of creative activities, fun and happiness to support children's wellbeing🧡

24/09/2026

"Fabulous work from Dr Nic Nac, she was amazing with Alix and definitely cheered her up 😁" - Anne, a parent

Thank you to our wonderful supporters who help us create special moments for young people like Alix, transforming a hospital experience from somewhere that can feel very distressing, into moments of silliness and laughter. Thanks to you, the Giggle Doctors are able to support the wellbeing of 1,200 children in hospital every month!🧡

15/09/2026

"My daughter was a day patient at GOSH for 2 days and we had the pleasure of meeting Dr Fancy Pants, Dr Dilly Dally (twice) and Dr WotNot. They made her day so much fun, it was the highlight of her day and she loved it. The way they interacted with her and made her laugh was brilliant."

"She was really hoping they would be back the second day she was in, so it made it even more special that Dr Dilly Dally remembered her from the first time and it made it an even better experience for my daughter! 🥰 The Giggle Doctors made what was a highly anxious time for us a little bit lighter - thank you for bringing smiles and laughter to children!" - Michaela, a parent🧡

Want to help the Giggle Doctors bring even more smiles to children in hospital?✨
A £15 donation could help a Giggle Doctor visit a child and their family in hospital, bringing laughter, smiles and brightening their day when it is needed most: https://theodora.co.uk/make-a-donation

02/09/2026

"Had the pleasure of meeting these two whilst in clinic at Sheffield with my daughter...thank you 😀" - Emily, a parent

What a great moment captured at Sheffield Children's Hospital!🧡 Giggle Doctors visit children and families in 17 hospitals across the country - if you would like to see which ones, click here! https://theodora.co.uk/locations

26/08/2026

Did you know it takes over 20 hours to design and create a Giggle Doctor coat?

During their training years, Dr Famous, Dr Holiday, Dr WotNot and Dr Dilly Dally imagined and developed their Giggle Doctor names and characters, and then worked with incredibly talented coat makers to design and bring their characters to life.

The power of a Giggle Doctor’s coat is that it gives them the ability to create a world of their own, and invite the children in hospital into their world full of fun, play, colour, and magic🤹

These photos are very special to us at Theodora's as they capture the first time they got to see and try on their very own Giggle Doctor coats!🧡

19/08/2026

How do you measure the power of laughter?✨

We work in giggles, smiles, silliness and peaceful moments, and these can be tricky to measure with numbers. This is where Isabel comes in - our fantastic Impact Measurement Lead! Isabel works hard to capture and demonstrate the meaningful difference Giggle Doctor visits make for children and families in hospital🧡

“I’m trying to capture this incredible atmosphere, but how can you show a feeling changing? It’s in the details: a quiet moment of hands touching, a toddler’s wonder at the chance to press the button which makes the bubbles flow, the little girl who received the gift of a magic wand and uses it to take control of her situation, the row of nurses at the station laughing.”

If you have 2 minutes to spare, Isabel would love to hear what it was like for you to meet them, you can complete our Giggle Doctor survey here: https://forms.office.com/e/hdDwtHfBiM

Address

Office 872 Salisbury House, 29 Finsbury Circus London
London
EC2M5SQ

Telephone

+442077130044

Website

http://www.theodora.co.uk/

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