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 Docto

rs 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.

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

13/08/2026

"My little boy absolutely loved the Giggle Doctors after meeting Dr Nic Nac before he was transferred to Leeds for his operation. She remembered we were in L42 and came to visit us again when she was due over in Leeds the following Monday. The whole time during his stay in hospital, despite being very poorly, he would talk about her and her magic cheese ball trick. He was so excited when he saw her on the ward when he was feeling better. I honestly needed to see him smiling and getting excited again after what has been a very scary experience. What a wonderful charity and your Giggle Doctors are fantastic” - Vicky🧡

If you would like to help the Giggle Doctors visit more children in hospital, donating £15 can help pay for a child to receive a visit, bringing joy and magical moments when they need it most! Donate the gift of giggles here: https://theodora.co.uk/make-a-donation

10/08/2026

"From the youngest baby to the almost grown teen, music reaches places where words can’t🎶 I play a ukulele that looks like a water melon and bang out the chords for a number of nursery rhythms, name songs and the odd pop classic, as well as devising original songs to the delight of our young audiences and carers alike! Children and young people with disabilities and complex needs also find music a common ground to communicate in an already complicated environment. I love to sing, but sometimes just to hum is enough!" - Dr Flowerpot🌸

https://theodora.co.uk/giggledoctors/dr-flowerpot/

28/07/2026

We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with Joie Baby UK to help improve the mental health and wellbeing of children living with illness, disability and complex needs. Joie is a global baby gear brand founded in 2011 and its products are designed with families at its heart. As well as making award winning car seats, pushchairs and in home baby gear, Joie works hard to educate consumers about the importance of car seat safety and the benefits of extended rear facing.

Being in hospital can be a very traumatic and stressful experience, especially for a child. Through this partnership, Joie's generous support will help our Giggle Doctors to bring moments of joy, laughter and connection to nearly two thousand children in hospitals across the country, while also having a positive impact on thousands of parents, carers, siblings and hospital staff💛

Managing Director of Joie UK, David Welsh, said: “We are extremely proud to be an official partner of Theodora Children’s Charity. Their commitment to bringing joy and support to children living with illness, disability and complex needs, aligns with our own ethos of family first. We are delighted to be able to support their mission to spread fun and laughter, where it is needed most, through the incredible work of their Giggle Doctors.”

Together, Joie and Theodora Children’s Charity are helping transform hospital experiences, proving that even in the most difficult circumstances, joy and laughter can make a meaningful difference🧡

https://theodora.co.uk/news/joie-partnership/

27/07/2026

From racoons as best friends, squeaky chairs, dinosaur dance raves to magic cheese ball tricks - no two Giggle Doctor visits will ever look the same! Over the years we have received wonderful messages from families which are all so different, and that is because Giggle Doctors are experts at improvising on the spot for each individual child🤹

"I just wanted to give a massive shout out to Dr Boogie Woogie and Dr Scribble! You guys need your own show as a double act, I think I found it more entertaining than my child and that says something as he absolutely loved meeting you at Sheffield and treasures his pigeon sticker. Thankfully we weren’t in for long, but you certainly brightened up our day after a tiring 24 hours. Much love, Emma and Oliver (the pigeon rescuer and co-creator of eau de donkey farts)"🧡

It makes our day to hear all of the creative silly and fun ways that families connect with the Giggle Doctors, thank you Emma and Oliver for sharing!✨

20/07/2026

"I met a 10 year old girl who looked very fed up in her wheelchair with her leg in plaster. She and her mum welcomed me over saying cheering up was very needed, and we did lots of magic tricks with the sponge balls, the girl of course holding the magic wand. The nurses joined in the magic as well as the staff member at the reception desk, and a little boy I had played with earlier. She was really enjoying making the red balls appear and disappear and was completely thrilled when I said she could keep the wand as a present." ✨

"I went on to play with other children in the department before seeing her again a while later. She said to me with a knowing smile "Dr Dotty, I tried to fix my leg with my magic wand and it didn't work." I offered her a smile back and said lightly, "The real Doctors will fix your leg, they are much better at fixing legs than me." And without a pause, she simply replied "But Dr Dotty, you're really good at fixing feelings!"🧡

https://theodora.co.uk/giggledoctors/dr-dotty/

08/07/2026

Did anyone spot a Giggle Doctor this week? Giggle Doctors love to engage and have fun with everyone they meet in hospital, working hard to bring moments of silliness, laughter and magical moments whilst visiting children and families on the wards✨

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

📍CW+ charity

06/07/2026

Hanna one of our Trainee Giggle Doctors has been busy working alongside experienced Giggle Doctors like Dr Fancy Pants, Dr Dilly Dally and Dr Flowerpot to learn the many different ways to connect with children going through challenging times in hospital🧡

Hanna and her fellow Trainee Giggle Doctors are learning vital skills on how to creating playful encounters no matter a child's illness, disability or complex need and developing artistic techniques such as improvisation, comedy, music and magic🤹

This lovely photo was taken during a visit to Birmingham Children's Hospital and Charity and we were delighted to have Orla from the EnjoyArt team join us on the day!

30/06/2026

The best sound in the world is a child laughing✨ It is thanks to our wonderful supporters that our Giggle Doctors are able to create moments like these, transforming a hospital experience from somewhere that can be very distressing and frightening for a child, into moments of magic and laughter🤹

If you would like to help Dr Teapot support the mental health and wellbeing of more children in hospital, you can give the gift of giggles here🧡 https://theodora.co.uk/make-a-donation

23/06/2026

“It’s hard to put into words how special and amazing the Giggle Doctors are. They bring so much joy and happiness to the children and young people and their families. When the children are going through some tough times and are in an unfamiliar environment, they bring reassurance and empathy in a unique way. Can’t imagine not having them come to visit!” - Emma and Pip, Health Play Specialists🧡

Address

Office 872 Salisbury House, 29 Finsbury Circus London
London
EC2M5SQ

Telephone

+442077130044

Website

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

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