Would you like to be part of it?
At Vlaštovka, we believe that even in the most difficult moments, there is space for joy, closeness, and relief. Through play and art, we help create such spaces — in hospitals, hospices, and family homes. We bring lightness into the lives of children and their families, offering moments that can change the atmosphere of an entire day.
Our work complements top-level medical care with a crucial layer of humanity — one that helps prevent fear, stress, and loneliness. In the Czech Republic, pediatric palliative care is developing rapidly, and with it, the need for emotional and psychological support for children, parents, and siblings. Together with professionals from healthcare, social work, and education, we are exploring ways to make hospitals and care settings more child-friendly — places where children feel safe and free to be themselves.
To reach more families, we need a community of people who share our values. Every contribution — whether a one-time gift, ongoing financial support, or organizing a fundraising event — brings us closer to where we are needed most. Together, we can transform the healthcare environment into a space that is kinder and more open to the world of children.
Thank you for being part of this with us.
One-time donation
One-time donations help us mainly with the purchase of items that are quickly used up during play work with the patients (e.g. wax pads, stickers, bubble blowers, notebooks, watercolor papers, clean correspondence cards and stamps,...). They also allow us to provide families with simple tools they can use with their children during hard times — like medical play dolls, sensory pouches and memory games, stress balls and fidget toys, or printed materials to help prepare children for procedures.
Bank account:
2602766686 / 2010
IBAN: CZ09 2010 0000 0026 0276 6686
If you would like to receive a donation receipt at the end of the year, please include your name and email address as part of the message to the recipient. Alternatively, get in touch at the end of the year and we will arrange everything.
Regular contribution
Regular donationsallow us to “fly” to families — at home, in hospitals, and in hospices. Since play-based support is not covered by health insurance in the Czech Republic, regular contributions make it possible for families to access our services free of charge. It also help us create new backpacks filled with therapeutic tools that our specialists bring to children.
Would you prefer to give a material gift instead of money? That’s absolutely possible.
Get in touch with us and we’ll make arrangements together. We have a wish list – items we need for our backpacks so that we can offer top-quality services to children. If you prefer giving a material gift rather than a financial one, we’ll be happy to discuss everything with you. We are grateful for every bubble blower, sensory aid, as well as a tablet to help distract children during painful procedures.
„Backpacks of child life specialists“
Both Vlaštovka child life specialists carries several backpacks and a large number of special play aids for the pediatric patients. Why does they need several backpacks? Because they see many children during the day and each one needs something completely different.
So it may be that they start with six-month-old Toník, for whom they play the wind chimes and sing to support him when he is separated from his parents, who cannot be with him in the hospital. Then they go to five-year-old Honzík, with whom they are "putting on the operation" that awaits him this afternoon, to understand why he will wake up in a different room after the operation and how he will feel about it. Then they carry on to see seven-year-old Háňa, who has a brother undergoing chemotherapy, so he plays with her in the sandbox and they build magic castles together. Before lunch, they stop at the home of twelve-year-old Oliver, who has autism spectrum disorder, with whom they read from a book and act out the story of the lost sheep with a hand puppet, accompanied by various sounds and smells. After lunch, the play specialist then goes to visit the parents of Klárka, who received a serious diagnosis a week ago, and talks to them about what Klárka likes and what they would like to experience with her in the near future. At the end of the day, they visit 16-year-old Adam, who is afraid of needles, and together they brainstorm how best to handle the upcoming blood draw. They then work together to solve a puzzle on a tablet during the procedure.
During the day, the child life specialist visits children with different needs, at different ages, with different interests. That's why they have several backpacks and each one is used for something entirely different. In one there are aids to provide distraction from an unpleasant procedure, in another musical instruments, in a third there is a doll and a medical bag with supplies for medical play, in a fourth art supplies to enhance the room space or to illustrate the joy of a successful surgery. One backpack simply wouldn't be enough.
