BESTSELLER FOUNDATION has committed DKK 1.5 million to the establishment of SMILET Aarhus – a creative studio for children – at Aarhus University Hospital. The ambition with SMILET (‘The Smile’ in Danish) is to provide children undergoing treatment and their families with a space that can inspire joy and energy through art and other creative activities. SMILET is an initiative of SMILfonden – a charity organisation that supports children with serious and chronic illnesses.
BESTSELLER FOUNDATION’s contribution will go directly to creating the physical studio. SMILfonden has accumulated additional funding from other foundations and organisations to cover operating costs over the next three years.
“We are proud to contribute to SMILET and the smiles it will put on children’s faces in a difficult time in their young lives,” says Jannek Hagen, Managing Director, BESTSELLER FOUNDATION.
“BESTSELLER has a strong connection to Aarhus where many of our colleagues work and live, so it is only natural that we support this city – and the people in it – by helping to establish SMILET.”
With over 1,000 people having visited the first SMILET at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen since its launch in October 2020, SMILfonden expects SMILET Aarhus to welcome around 2,000 children per year. “In SMILfonden, we are so grateful for the donation and support from BESTSELLER FOUNDATION. Now we can realise a big dream in Aarhus by building the creative space SMILET. It’s going to make a big difference for sick kids, their siblings and parents in the future,” says SMILfonden’s CEO Sisse Fisker. SMILET Aarhus is expected to open in the lobby of Aarhus University Hospital – part of Skejby Hospital – at the start of 2022.
