A Lotta Laffs Care Clown Unit

The A Lotta Laffs Care Clown Unit has been actively involved at Brantford General Hospital since October of 2001. Our founder Joan “Willie” MacNames worked tirelessly for two years planning, organizing, and educating before the care clowns were finally given the go ahead by the Board of Directors at the hospital. Unfortunately, Joan passed away in February of 2002. We lost an amazing woman, but at the very least, see saw her dream come to fruition.

Currently, there are 9 care clowns on the A Lotta Laffs roster. All are members of Brant Clown Alley and work under the direction of Carol “Lucy Goosey” Royle. Our goal is to have a team of clowns in for a visit once a week. Our clowns hand out small canisters with a “thought for the day” in them, and our stickers are a big hit, too. Our clowns have been very well received by everyone at the hospital. We offer a bit of stress release and a reason to smile to staff and visitors, as well as patients.

We have held a training program for new care clowns at the hospital, and our group had the honour of being Volunteer Group of the Month once in 2006.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of the A Lotta Laffs Unit should contact:

Debbie Kew
Volunteer Coordinator for the Hospital
Phone - 519-752-7871
E-Mail - dkew@bchsys.org .