Canadian Media Coverage (English)

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2023

• After 19 years spreading joy amongst the halls of the Alberta Children’s Hospital, Sparkle the Therapeutic Clown is hanging up her vest.

• Big shoes to fill:Clown at Alberta Children's Hospital retiring after 19 years (CBC)

• Zedd and CHEO have some very cool visitors!

• At 33:31: Zedd, CHEO's new clown, and Alex Munter, the CEO of CHEO talk about the importance of clown therapy (Sam Laprade Podcast - Hour 3 near bottom of page).

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• Meet Zedd! CHEO's new therapeutic clown

• Welcoming Zedd and the return of therapeutic clowning to CHEO

• Therapy clowns providing smiles to patients at Holland Bloorview

2022​

• Dr Clown celebrating twenty-year anniversary (page can be translated to English).

• From Douglas farm to bringing smiles at CHEO, the story of Mollypenny

• 21 Years of Clowning Around: Mollypenny Retires (CTV)

• Dr. Clown Running Event

• 'It means the world, the galaxy, to me' — Mollypenny, CHEO's beloved therapeutic clown since 2001, is retiring

• Mollypenny the hospital clown is retiring, leaving some big shoes to fill

• Can clowns help in health-care? Circus fest brings therapeutic clowning to St. John's

• Helen Donnelly, one of Canada’s top clown artists and a driving force in country’s therapeutic clown movement, dies at 53

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2021

• Social Scene | Community Builders: Molly Penny

• Molly Penny the clown marks 20 years of lifting spirits at CHEO

• Therapeutic clowns are back to spread joy in Montreal's hospitals and care home

• How therapeutic clowning injects humour for a different kind of healing.  Helen Donnelly shares her journey from niche professional to writing the book on therapeutic clowning

• Therapeutic clowns Nurse Flutter and Nurse Polo bring joy to kids when they need it most

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​2020

• Murdoch Spreading Joy as Therapeutic Clown

• Laughter is the best medicine for IWK's newest therapeutic clown

• Read the stories of this week's CBC Toronto 'Front-line Heroes'

• Healthy Debate: Kristie - Therapeutic Clown

• Therapeutic Clowning Course Trains the Next Generation of Healthcare Clowns

• No small feat : Nana Margie takes over as IWK's new therapeutic clown

• A hospital clown is still making kids laugh, even from behind a protective mask

• Send in the clowns: Performing for kids during a pandemic offers unexpected joys

• What it’s like to be a professional clown for 20 years

• The Clown: A Figure of Resilience and Community

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2019

• Send in the Clown Therapy!

• VIDEO: Clown therapy: Hospital team helps patients, parents 'through the hard times'

• Dr. Clown Foundation expands to support children with mental illness

• IWK set to hold ‘surprise send-off’ for long-serving therapeutic clown

• VIDEO: CHEO celebrates 45th with first employees — including clown Mollypenny

• VIDEO: Therapy clowns spread 'joie de vivre' to young patients at Montreal Children's Hospital

• Buddington the Clown leaves big shoes to fill at IWK

• Winnipeg Children’s hospital clown says goodbye for good

• Therapeutic clown had 'the best job in the world'

• His last laugh - Winnipeg Free Press

• VIDEO: How therapeutic clowns are making a difference for Canadian veterans

• VIDEO: Doc Willikers

 

2018

• How clowning around at CHEO is teaching new doctors empathy

• AUDIO: Dr. Clown: bringing comfort and joy to children

• These children can neither move nor speak. Clowns and engineers are trying to listen to their inner worlds

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2017

• VIDEO: How Sparkle the clown lights up Alberta Children's Hospital in difficult times

• Montreal's Jovia Foundation clowns: Comfort for sick kids and seniors

• A good clown is a mask that reveals

• CHEO patient, diagnosed with leukemia, has several tricks up his sleeve

• Catherine Clark – #150GreatPeople - Mollypenny

• Humans of Ottawa

 

2016

• AUDIO: Jamie Sneddon spends his days clowning around the hospital, trying to turn those frowns upside down

• VIDEO: Laughter is the best medicine: Elder clowns being used to treat dementia

• Therapeutic clowning pioneer: Paul Hooson now advises med school students on bed-side manner

• Therapeutic Clowning goes mainstream

 

2014

• Clowning around at Children's Hospital attracts international attention

• Children's Hospital is one of the few pediatric hospitals in Canada with an in-house therapeutic clown program

• Imagine if the whole world played

• VIDEO: BT's Ashley Wiebe introduces us to Hubert the Clown

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2013

• I Want Your Job: Teegan Mannion, Therapeutic Clown at Sick Kids Hospital

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2011

• Hospital clown brings joy to sick kids

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2010 and earlier

• Therapeutic clowns reach unresponsive kids: study

• Hospital clowns conference examines how humour heals

• VIDEO: Canadian Study: measuring the effect of Therapeutic Clowns

• BLOOM: Therapeutic clowns stir unresponsive children

• Clowns show laughter can be best medicine

• SickKids National Post

• Emperor lifts Sick Kids spirits

• Clowning Around Sets Patients at Ease (CMAJ August 2008)

• Clowning Around (Toronto Star 2008)

• VIDEO: Winnipeg Therapeutic Clown Program Manitoba Moments CTV (2005)

• VIDEO: Winnipeg Clown Program (excerpts from I Clown For You hoo!) (2005)

• VIDEO: Doc Willikers, Therapeutic Clown Doctor, B.C. Children's Hospital

• Smiles at Sick Kids (Toronto Sun 2004)

• Dr. L'air de Rien (2004)

• Annual CHEO telethon raises $3.7 Million, sets new record (Ottawa 2003)

• Therapeutic Clowning: Healing Connections Through Play (2002)

• Sick Children Offered Gift of Laughter (Ottawa 2002)

• Clown-doctors funny-bone specialists (2002)

• Comic Relief​ (2002)

• Therapy just clowning around (Toronto Sun 2001)

• Celebrate the life that's there (2001)

• Just Kidding for the Health of It (Winnipeg 1995)

• Robo the hospital clown shows laughter can be best medicine (1987)