Based on play and fun, Radio Lollipop is a charity run by trained volunteers, especially for young people in hospitals.

The station, easily run from
a small room within the hospital.

It's self-funding and self sufficient, and each hospital has its own in-house programme.
Radio Lollipop is successfully working in hospitals in UK, Australia, North America and New Zealand.

Around the wards or in the play areas
Fun and games with the children is the core of Radio Lollipop.
The games include anything from: blowing bubbles, creating a collage, puppets, singing on air, building a robot out of boxes, stick games, poi, to reading a story.

And visiting local celebrities, local sports heroes, music stars and performers sometimes come along to join in!

A radio station at Auckland Starship Children's Hospital the biggest toy in the toy box
A Radio Lollipop radio station enhances the contact between the volunteers and children on the wards. As thrilling as the station is for the kids, it does not substitute for the fun in the ward.

The station is broadcast exclusively in the children's wards each evening - with requests, games, talkback, jokes, education, competitions, Lollipop jingles, nursery rhymes and 'with-it' music.

Children can be taken to the radio studio, and for the bedridden, there are neat Alf or Mickey Mouse telephones to plug in beside their bed so the child can go directly 'on air'.

The young people in Auckland Starship Children's Hospital, where Radio Lollipop is already successfully up and running, say Radio Lollipop is 'neat', 'cool', 'fun', 'groovy'.

At the super Clinic at Manukau City and the new 'Kidz' First emergency unit Radio Lollipop have dedicated play areas where volunteers interact with children.

It helps lessen tensions for Speedy Recovery
Both health experts and Radio Lollipop believe that a happy, stimulated and positive child has a greater likelihood of recovering from illness faster.
So Radio Lollipop play not only makes the kids laugh, it helps them feel better quicker!

It helps provide relief from routine or isolation.
The diverse activities complement the hospitals play programmes and provide variety for all, including long and frequent-stay patients.

It keeps minds stimulated.
Play is essential for healthy childhood - for intellectual, social and emotional development. And entertainment is something which children in hospital can be deprived of. By encouraging children to initiate and participate in "games", Radio Lollipop helps children feel positive and involved.