Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe

formerly known as Jeannie Lindheim’s Hospital Clown Troupe

As one doctor says, “Sometimes what it takes to make a child in a hospital feel better doesn’t come in a bottle … Sometimes healing comes straight from the soul… that is why we value The Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe. "*

This year, 30,000 children will wake up in a hospital bed in Greater Boston. Some will be there for life-saving treatment. Others will be dealing with chronic conditions. Many will be in pain. The majority will be lonely. All will be scared and eager to go home. The Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe will make bedside visits to thousands of these children this year. Our highly trained volunteers will bring their special brand of gentle, age-appropriate clowning to sick and disabled children who, along with their families, need to feel empowered in institutional settings. Thriving on one-on-one attention from their own "personal" clown, children become children once again -- discovering inner strength that

makes them more receptive to healing treatment and care.

"The Troupe is skilled at being sensitive to the special needs of each child. Whether it’s a magic trick, a silly story, a song, or the sound of a soothing voice, the clowns help ease the anxieties and fears of these children."
-Sarah Healy, Child Life Coordinator, Franciscan Hospital for Children, Boston, MA

Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe was founded in 1997 by Jeannie Lindheim as Jeannie Lindheim’s Hospital Clown Troupe. Our clowns are trained in one-child bedside clowning. We empower the child by offering choices, providing relief from the hospital environment which often removes all of the child's sense of personal empowerment and control. We display respect for the child by offering the choice of a clown visit, by listening, and by letting the child lead us in our play. We use improvisational clowning, a skill we have developed through our professional training and years of experience. The supportive response that we have received from the children, their families and the hospital staff is our reward, as our clowns are all volunteers. The Troupe is organized as a 501(c)3 charitable corporation, and all of our financial support goes to train and support the clowns.

In the ten years since the Troupe was founded, we have brought our unique style and methods of bedside clowning to thousands of hospitalized children in Boston hospitals, in addition to supporting bringing clowns to hospital parties and home visits to sick children.

In June 2006, we adopted a new name, Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe, to reflect the growth in our organization and in its charter. We now conduct clown training seminars to teach our bedside clowning techniques to hospital clowns outside Boston, in addition to continuing to serve hospitalized children here. Jeannie Lindheim continues to serve the Troupe as our Founder and as 'Bloopers', the clown.

The Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe is a 501(c) (3) non-profit tax-exempt corporation dedicated to bringing children happiness … one clown at a time.

*from the "Massachusetts 2003 Catalogue for Philanthropy charity"