Radio Lollipop – whose Playmakers use Play & Radio to help sick children cope with being in hospital \u2013has clocked 28,273 virtual miles (45,000+ km) linking all 29 Radio Lollipop hospitals around the world. The Miles for Smiles project which also celebrated Radio Lollipop\u2019s 35 years has seen Playmakers trekking with gorilla\u2019s in Rwanda, walking the Inca Trail in Peru and abseiling down the Avon Gorge near Bristol, UK.\u00a0 Doctors, nurses, child patients and their families have been involved – walking, running, riding, swimming etc. for a year-long global promotion and fundraiser.<\/p>\n
In fact the miles have been achieved in just ten months, with over half contributed by Radio Lollipop in Edinburgh \u2013 where the original concept was developed around the 2014 Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n
Starting in Dundee, Scotland the virtual journey has travelled to each of the ten UK Radio Lollipop Stations before setting off by sea from Southampton, via Cape Town to Western Australia.\u00a0 The miles quickly mounted up and after each Australian Radio Lollipop had been visited, hopped across to New Zealand and again visited all stations. After passing Christchurch the epic virtual travel across the ocean began, passing Cape Horn and up the South American coast past Argentina.<\/p>\n
Our virtual character then arrived in Miami, Florida – the home of the first USA Radio Lollipop, then travelled on to our second in Houston, Texas – where the virtual journey back to Dundee began.\u00a0 Thanks to Radio Lollipop Edinburgh there was a fantastic 6,500 mile leap back virtually to Dundee.\u00a0 Radio Lollipop in London, at both Great Ormond Street Children\u2019s Hospital and Evelina London Children\u2019s Hospital then completed the few hundred miles to achieve the total trip.<\/p>\n
Each Radio Lollipop along the route used this epic journey to raise much needed support and funds to continue their highly valued charity work.<\/p>\n
In the past 35 years Radio Lollipop has trained over 10,000 volunteer Playmakers who have directly helped more than 5 million sick children \u2013 one child at a time. Other notable achievements include: donating over 32 million hours of play support; playing over 8 million music tracks, songs and stories and creating over 4 million craft and play activities.
\nStudies show that Radio Lollipop delivers three major benefits: Emotional \u2013 the children feel better; Clinical \u2013 patients request less pain relief and can get better faster; Financial \u2013 less pain medication usage provides real savings for stretched hospital budgets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe achievement of 35 years coupled with the efforts to achieve our global circumnavigation is a major milestone for the all-volunteer charity in supporting the children and we feel privileged to be a part of the healing process.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
Bruce Uhlhorn, Chairman, Radio Lollipop International<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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