Ceramika Paradyż and Selena Group have joined forces to help young patients of Poland’s largest hospital for children. The companies have supported construction of the “Wind Zone” with a staircase for staff and patients going to the operating theater, and published a special book with fairy tales “Titans of the Modern Day and Other Colorful stories”.
Titans of Ceramics is a joint initiative of Selena Group and Ceramika Paradyż designed to provide contractors with innovative solutions available in the industry. Social responsibility is an essential part of operations for the two companies, therefore they are happy to undertake various initiatives in the area of CSR. This time, they became involved in a unique project for the Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw. Paradyż and Selena donated 8 tons of adhesive and 72 liters of primer, as well as 1,353 m² of stoneware tiles for the purpose of construction of a fairy-tale elevator shaft. The resulting structure is over 46 m high and consists of 13 floors, including 12 usable floors. This massive PLN 8.7 million worth of project was intended not only to improve movement within the building, but also to increase the comfort of patients, their parents and staff. Dedicated “Fairyland” graphics were created for the project to help children forget about the stress associated with going to the operating theater. Each floor is home to a different fairyland, including: Far East, Mexico, Jungle, Madagascar, Mars and Cat Town.
“The new ‘Wind Zone’ is a unique project whose marvellous spaces make our patients forget about the fear of upcoming surgery,” said Katarzyna Gardzińska, spokeswoman for the Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw. “We’d like to thank all the companies that made the project a reality,” she added.
The Titans of Ceramics decided to add another brick to the project. Based on the prepared graphics, they together orchestrated publication of fairy tales to be handed out to young patients after surgery. The fairy tales were written especially for this project by Ula Buyuly. Each of those stories relates to a different floor along the elevator shaft. The books were donated to the Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw on 14 June.
“When creating the “Titans of the Modern Day and Other Colorful Stories’, we wanted to give children tales that could at any time detach them from the difficult reality and take them on a journey through the unique fairyland,” said Ilona Gajewska, PR & Corporate Communication Executive Manager at Selena Group. “The joint social campaign led by Ceramika Paradyż is a fantastic initiative supporting the youngest children in need. We are stronger together.”
The Medical Design Studio team from Poznań was responsible for the idea, design and graphical layout of the elevator zone. The team also took care of typesetting, transferring the fairy tale graphics onto book pages at no charge. The role of the Titans is played by animals, the Omnipotent Robot or Little Alien. The heroes of the stories face all kinds of adventures and challenges. The main idea of the books was to put a smile on children’s faces.
“Involvement in local community-support and nationwide initiatives is part of our company’s DNA. We support NGOs, schools, social institutions and hospitals throughout Poland. Not so long ago, we donated our products to Tomaszów Health Center, and today we are once again engaged in helping the largest children’s hospital in Poland,” said Tomasz Popielawski, press spokesman of Ceramika Paradyż. “We find this project unique, as it is aimed at the youngest, brave heroes. By cooperating with Selena Group we carried out a sweeping charity campaign that helped children in their fight for life and health,” he added.
The whole project was possible thanks to the financial support from a private individual, who donated PLN 6.2 million to its implementation. Contributions were also made by: Towarzystwo Przyjaciół CZD [Association of Friends of the Children’s Memorial Health Institute], the K.I.D.S. Foundation, Klub Innowatorów Dziecięcych Szpitali [The Club of Children Hospital Innovators], Bryła. Artur Jagodziński and Rockfon. In addition to the Titans of Ceramics, involved in creating the book was a project team from the Medical Design Studio.