Free holidays for sick children
Action zones
France
The project
HandicapYouth
To help sick children overcome their illness, regain their carefree spirit and have fun in complete safety, L'ENVOL offers recreational therapy stays dedicated to young people aged 6 to 25, suffering from various pathologies and at any stage of the illness.
650K
families affected by a child's illness or disability
30K
beneficiaries supported in 26 years
97 %
of children feel able to achieve things despite their illness following a stay with us
Solution
L'ENVOL welcomes seriously ill children, aged 6 to 17, suffering from various pathologies (cancers, rare diseases, chronic illnesses...) to its multipathology stays, free of charge, who enjoy a truce from illness and take part in adapted, varied and fun activities.Supervised by recruited and trained volunteers, including doctors and nurses, sick children become children again, gaining in autonomy and resilience, and their caregivers benefit from respite time. They learn about the stays via a network of 72 partner hospitals, which identify children in the weary phase of illness.
News
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The challenges of mental well-being for sick children and their caregivers
At L'ENVOL, our mission is to offer sick children the possibility to have fun like any other child and to offer families a place to exchange and recharge, by understanding the issues our beneficiaries face. To assess how our medicalized respite stays help them, we concretely measure their impact on their mental and psychosocial health through questionnaires sent to children at the end of the stay, and then to parents a few months later.
These data reveal the incredible transformative power our programs have on the lives of our beneficiaries. Thus, L'ENVOL addresses 3 main challenges to improve the mental and social well-being of sick children and their families:
These data reveal the incredible transformative power our programs have on the lives of our beneficiaries. Thus, L'ENVOL addresses 3 main challenges to improve the mental and social well-being of sick children and their families:
<> LEAVING THE SELF-IMPOSED BARRIERS
"At L'ENVOL, I learned to be more confident and courageous" Malak, age 9
Despite the challenges associated with their illness, 64% of children succeed in surpassing their limits during L'ENVOL stays. They discover an unsuspected strength that boosts their confidence in themselves and their bodies, through our adapted activities.
> RECOVER TO OTHERS
"At L'ENVOL, I learned benevolence and to have fun despite the worries outside", a 16-year-old teenager
At L'ENVOL, brothers and sisters of sick children benefit from a privileged space for exchange during the stay dedicated to them. 94% of siblings are happy to have met other children who share a similar situation following the stay. They feel free to share their feelings and concerns with young people who understand their daily family life.
> RECOVERING AN (ALMOST) NORMAL LIFE
"This stay really gave me a breather, without worry, and that's priceless", a mom
By creating positive memories with parents of sick children, the stays act as a source of inspiration and emotional support in the face of stressful situations, daily challenges and difficult times. 80% of parents say that recalling their weekend at L'ENVOL helps them to overcome difficulties with greater resilience and determination.
For sick children but also for their close caregivers, these stays represent a precious bubble of air and the chance to enjoy a rich experience. For this reason, L'ENVOL warmly thanks all its partners and Captains who support our programs!
"All in the same team! adapted sport honored by L'ENVOL
Since 2018, the activities offered by L'ENVOL have been punctuated by a theme: stars, animals, comics, travel.... On the occasion of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the theme of our programs over the years 2024-2026 is sport, but not just any sport! Adapted sport is in the spotlight, and our slogan for these next two years of seriousness and fun is: "All on the same team!"
This choice stems from an observation, that sport is less accessible for sick and disabled children than for able-bodied children. According to the Ministry of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, 70% of people with disabilities say they are interested in sport, but only 47% take part in regular sporting activity.
Or, sport is a lever for social inclusion. What's more, adapted physical activity is part of recreational therapy and enables patients to regain confidence in themselves and their bodies despite their illness, as paediatric rheumatologist Professor Alexandre Belot explains:"Illness is often experienced as an obstacle to engaging in physical activity. Our young patients also have "the right" to go to the gym, to play a team sport and to have a sports coach! It's a fantastic lever, especially for teenagers, to facilitate continuity of care. "
Sporting activities are therefore an integral part of L'ENVOL stays, as they help to improve physical and mental health: climbing sessions, sand yachting, hiking and group games are regularly organized on our stays and convey values such as mutual aid, cooperation and surpassing oneself. Following an adapted rock-climbing session, Clara, 13, for example, declares: "I've made some great discoveries such as rock-climbing. It feels good not to have to explain all the time why I'm restricted in my activities and to be understood."
According to the figures and testimonials from our 2023 impact questionnaires, 72% of children feel stronger at the end of a stay, 64% didn't think they'd be able to achieve all they did despite the illness, and this is partly thanks to the sports sessions offered by L'ENVOL.
According to the figures and testimonials from our 2023 impact questionnaires, 72% of children feel stronger at the end of a stay, 64% didn't think they'd be able to achieve all they did despite the illness, and this is partly thanks to the sports sessions offered by L'ENVOL.
These sports activities are tailored to each child, his or her abilities and the goals he or she sets, and supervised by our qualified teams and trained volunteers, to enable acare experience that's both safe and in good spirits!
The money will be used for
- Create a magical stay for sick children
- Enable high-level, caring medical supervision
- Adapt fun, cultural and sporting activities to help sick children regain confidence in themselves and their bodies
- Recruit and then train the volunteers who will take care of the children during the stay
- Adapt the meals to the needs of each child
- Welcome the children in premises adapted to their abilities
Each donation guarantees the free stays, unique in France for sick children and their families!
- Enable high-level, caring medical supervision
- Adapt fun, cultural and sporting activities to help sick children regain confidence in themselves and their bodies
- Recruit and then train the volunteers who will take care of the children during the stay
- Adapt the meals to the needs of each child
- Welcome the children in premises adapted to their abilities
Each donation guarantees the free stays, unique in France for sick children and their families!
10 € = 1 hour's respite
5
1
3
0
4161 difts
Action zones
France
Why we love it?
L'ENVOL is the only association to offer specially-designed holidays free of charge to sick and disabled children, enabling them and their parents to enjoy a vacation and a moment of respite and joy in what can be a complicated day-to-day life.
The activities offered by L'ENVOL reflect the values of recreational therapy: self-confidence, self-improvement and social bonding.
Bénédicte Jobert
Program Director
Captain Cause gem2024 promotion
L'ENVOL is a certified association meeting these six criteria:
Financial stability
Innovation
Ambition
Governance
Transparency
Systemic impact
Earned labels
Sustainable development goals
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