– It is a very generous donation that means a lot for SMILfonden's work and our creative workshop SMILET at Rigshospitalet. The money contributes to our ability to keep SMILET open and provide seriously and chronically ill children with bright spots and a respite from illness – often in community with their families and other sick children. It is only thanks to donations like this that SMILfonden can make such a significant difference, says the association's director, Jonas Giersing.

SMILET opened in 2020 with the aim of providing children and young people associated with Rigshospitalet a creative oasis and thus a break from illness and a common meeting place for families in difficult life situations.

The workshop is open every day and staffed by three children's art facilitators and around 15 volunteers.

Great significance for the users

In 2023, nearly 7,000 visited the hospital workshop. Experiences have shown that the visits help reduce anxiety and feelings of loneliness among the users, and SMILET has contributed to changing children's experiences of their hospital visits.

– SMILET has become an indispensable part of Rigshospitalet's children's and youth program. We hear daily how significant it is for the well-being of the children and families and their experience of being in the hospital. We are told how big a difference we make and how SMILET has caused anxiety and insecurity about the hospital to disappear. Many report that a lot of children would rather go to the creative workshop than to a toy store or similar. We often meet hospitalized children who wake up in the middle of the night because they want to go to SMILET, says children's art facilitator Anna-Lica Lange Hansen.

– At the hospital, everything is adult-controlled, and the child's autonomy is greatly reduced. In the hospital workshop, the child regains their autonomy along with play and creativity, which is the child's language and world, says Anna-Lica, mentioning specific examples of what SMILET means for the patients.

– One family lost their child to cancer, and the child's siblings regularly visit SMILET, partly because the time they spent in the workshop represents something safe and significant in a difficult and pivotal part of their lives. The sick child had many good hours in SMILET, where both the child and the family experienced having all their creative wishes fulfilled, which was needed to take a break from the insecurity of the illness process, Anna-Lica explains, adding that many friendships arise through SMILET not only between children and young people who have been hospitalized but also between parents.

A dream has come true– I am glad that we can support an organization like SMILfonden, which makes a big difference for seriously and chronically ill children and their families. There is no doubt that SMILET has a significant impact on how children and young people experience their treatment process, says Margit Andersen.

The couple Margit and Kjeld Andersen established Sol og Strand Holiday Home Rental A/S in 1979. The couple has now transferred ownership to a foundation with the desire to both preserve and develop the business in Danish hands and to support charitable and local causes.

– With this foundation, we have both secured a future for Sol og Strand Holiday Home Rental, which we have always referred to as our "third child," and we have realized our dream of contributing to making a difference for others, says Kjeld Andersen.

In total, the foundation donated nearly three million kroner in 2023, and the expectation is that this amount will increase in the future.

In total, the foundation donated nearly three million kroner in 2023, and the expectation is that this amount will increase in the future.