Spanish football magazine Panenka teamed up with creative agency We Are Xuxa on an admirable and inventive initiative to turn genuine football shirts into hospital gowns for children.
The idea behind the project was based on the principle that when you wear your favourite team’s jersey you become braver and stronger and that those were qualities and feelings that children in hospital need to battle against illness.
For many children, being in hospital can be frightening and upsetting: not only battling illness, but also dealing with upsetting and unusual environments, not to mention needles, tests and monitors.
So, to alleviate some of the fear and trauma, this project transforms football shirts into hospital gowns so children can wear their team’s shirt when they need it most.
The creative states: ‘Every day, in many hospitals, children face the hardest match. We want to help them beat a scary rival. Because something great happens when we wear our team shirt. Join us.’
The project was introduced by a hero film which was amplified across the usual social channels including YouTube,
and Twitter.
Cada día, en los hospitales, muchos niños y niñas juegan un partido muy difícil. Por eso hemos convertido camisetas de fútbol en batas de hospital, para que se sientan más fuertes.
Súmate a https://t.co/OEQD4b35hS #Lasbatasmásfuertes pic.twitter.com/jfcaXeqDNC— Panenka (@RevistaPanenka) May 14, 2019
The content aims to drive viewers online to contribute to the programme at lasbatasmasfuertes.com
The initiative kicked off in June with young patients at Madrid’s Hospital San Rafael were given custom gowns – created in a Madrid workshop – in support of their favourite Spanish football teams including Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid.
The project was developed by a We Are Xuxa team that included Irene Labat, Diego Lauton and Fede Botella with film production by Javier Hernandez.
“Hospitalised children play a very difficult game every day, but if they put on their team’s shirt instead of the boring green dressing gown, their mood can improve, making them feel stronger,” commented Panenka Magazine boss Alex Lopez Vendrell.
Comment:
Lopez Vendrell says that the response to the campaign has been “overwhelming” and that support for the project has come not just from right across Spain but also from around the world including Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Senegal.
The project is still in its early days, but the team has major plans.
This project started in May when it began donated genuine shirts to hospitals in the Madrid area and is expanding across Spain as the team expands its talks with football players, clubs and health centres interested in collaborating with the project.
An emotional powerful and genuinely useful initiative.
Bravo!
Links:
Panenka
https://www.facebook.com/revistapanenka
https://twitter.com/revistapanenka
https://www.instagram.com/revistapanenka/
https://www.youtube.com/c/PanenkaOrg
We Are Xuxa
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