The Village, a unique space to be together
The village, an area of 8,850 m2, has six 135 m2 homes, a play area, a football pitch and gardens surrounding the entire area, as well as a restaurant that offers meals to the families staying there and a multipurpose room where volunteers from the PortAventura Foundation will organise a calendar of activities and workshops for all families.
The village, which was launched with the arrival of the first families on October 22, plans to welcome around 200 families from all over Spain who will be able to enjoy the programme annually, a number that will increase over time.
A benchmark social project in Europe
The project focuses on children between 4 and 17 years old who suffer (or have suffered) serious illnesses, included in the list prepared by the Ministry of Health. The families are chosen by a committee made up of doctors, social workers and other health experts.
Families will enjoy a six-day stay completely free of charge. The package, in addition to accommodation in the villas, includes access to the three PortAventura World parks, the exclusive activities within the village.
A network of top-level allies
To develop this initiative, Fundació PortAventura relies on a network of collaborators: private companies, other foundations and, mainly, hospitals. Reference maternity and child hospitals in Spain such as the Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús de Madrid, el Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Hospital Vall d’Hebron, together with the Red Cross, they are part of the project.
“We are delighted to be able to collaborate with the project. The PortAventura Dreams initiative is key because it allows us to integrate recreational activities as part of the treatment process, helping to increase the motivation of the children in the final part of the treatment. In addition, the intention is that this week together will contribute to reuniting the family unit, which has been somewhat unstructured as a result of a long stay in hospital,” he said. César Gómez, Manager of the Hospital Niño Jesús de Madrid.
The project also has founding donors whose contribution is making the materialization of PortAventura Dreams possible: El Corte Inglés, Fundación Barça, Fundación Cruyff, Fundación ”la Caixa”, Fundación LaLiga; Fundación Probitas, LG, Mango y Mediapro. The goal is to expand the network of collaborators in the future.
Fundación LaLiga The PortAventura Foundation is also participating in the project through a collaboration agreement to develop different initiatives that will bring sport and leisure to vulnerable young people in the Village facilities. “We are very excited about this wonderful project that we have started with the PortAventura Foundation in which we are joining forces and synergies for social inclusion” said Olga De la Fuente, Director of the Fundación Laliga.
The value of leisure in recovery therapy
The project, conceived as a recreational and interactive space, aims to generate a positive effect on recovery from a psychological point of view, while also allowing for new moments of family unity.
For this reason, and with the aim of scientifically confirming the health benefits of leisure, Vall d’Hebron Hospital will carry out a pioneering psychological study that will attempt to measure the impact of a therapeutic-playful experience, outside the hospital environment, on the emotional well-being of sick children at the end of their treatment and that of their families. The study begins with the arrival of the first families to the village.
“There is little research on the impact of brief interventions that combine playful and therapeutic aspects on the well-being of children with serious illnesses and their families. This pilot study will allow us to measure these aspects, expand scientific knowledge and define new action strategies aimed at improving the quality of life of patients with chronic illnesses and their families,” explained Dr. Josep Antoni Ramos Quiroga, Head of the Psychiatry Service at the Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron.
DREAMS COLLABORATORS
The collaboration of friends, foundations, companies and entities, as well as yours, help us develop the Dreams Village project to continue receiving more families.
