Dear Reader,
The fiscal year from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, was a year of new beginnings for the Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation. After years of intensive planning, fundraising, and construction, the Flamingo Children’s Hospice in Fällanden was completed in October 2025. In early 2026, “the Flamingo was ready for its first flight.” With the start of operations, a vision became a vibrant place—a place where children with life-limiting illnesses and their families find support, a sense of security, and professional care.
Through the Flamingo Children’s Hospice, we are not only breaking new ground but are also committed to the future of children’s hospice care in Switzerland. We are helping to ensure that care for children with life-limiting illnesses and support for their families are firmly established within the healthcare system in the long term and are sustainably funded. Our commitment thus benefits not only the Flamingo Children’s Hospice but also extends to affected families beyond Fällanden and the canton of Zurich.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all families, staff members, volunteers, professional partners, government agencies, foundations, companies, donors, and supporters. They have helped turn a bold idea into a concrete program for affected families and ensured that existing programs, such as the Davos Family Vacation Weeks, can continue. Together, we are committed to ensuring that families facing challenging life situations are not left to fend for themselves.
Juerg Herren
President of the Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation, October 2026
Family Vacation Weeks in Davos
During the summer and fall breaks, 14 families with seriously ill children and teenagers, along with 16 siblings, enjoyed precious days of respite, togetherness, and relaxation in the mountains.
Flamingo Commissioning
In October 2025, the new building at Sunnetalstrasse 6 in Fällanden, Zurich, was completed and put into operation. In December, the foundation will relocate its headquarters to Fällanden.
Donation Matching
As part of the “walking for short lives” initiative led by our ambassador Rainer Züst, people walked and raised funds for Flamingo from September 1 through December 1, 2025. Every individual donation of up to 3,000 Swiss francs was matched by the German Bethe Foundation. In total, this generated donations amounting to approximately CHF 225,000.
The Imbach Family Award for Pediatric Palliative Care
The “Imbach Family Prize for Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC)” will be awarded for the first time in the fall of 2025. As part of the opening ceremony, Dr. Kathrin Hauri of the University Children’s Hospital of Both Basel (UKBB) was honored for her extraordinary dedication to the field of PPC.
Flamingo Begins Operations
On January 6, 2026, the Flamingo opened its doors and welcomed its first three families.
Expansion of pediatric hospice care / partnerships
Further development of collaboration with referring physicians, specialized institutions, payers, and government agencies.
Flamingo Festival Weekend
On May 29 and 30, 2026, the Flamingo opened its doors and celebrated its grand opening with a “Festival of Encounters.” The attendance of over 2,500 guests underscored just how many people support this labor of love.
Raising Awareness
Through media relations, our website, newsletters, social media, and personal contacts, we continuously raised awareness of the benefits and impact of children’s hospice care in Switzerland.
Fundraising
Continuation of fundraising activities to ensure the long-term operation of the Flamingo, the Davos Family Vacation Weeks, and the foundation’s pediatric hospice work.
Support Fund
During the fiscal year, applications totaling approximately CHF 20,000 were approved.
Pediatric hospice care is designed for the entire family. Stays at the Flamingo are intended to provide tangible relief, allow for valuable time together, and enhance quality of life. The support provided is tailored to each family’s specific circumstances and is coordinated with the families and the relevant specialized agencies.
In addition to care and support, play, education, music, creative activities, quiet time, and social interaction are all part of a daily routine that is designed to be as normal as possible. Siblings are recognized for their own needs and are given space for interaction and shared experiences.
Pediatric hospice care can only succeed through a network. That is why we are continually strengthening our collaboration with specialized pediatric services, pediatric home care organizations, children’s hospitals, private practitioners, schools, psychosocial services, pastoral care providers, communities, and other partners. Dialogue with government agencies and funding organizations has also continued and been further developed.
On May 29 and 30, 2026, everyone came together to celebrate the opening of the Flamingo Children’s Hospice. The celebration provided an opportunity for people to meet, get a glimpse inside the facility, and engage in personal conversations. Supporters, professionals, partner organizations, neighbors, and interested members of the public were able to see how years of dedication had resulted in a tangible place for the families affected. The response to the opening weekend—which drew more than 2,500 participants—demonstrated the broad support the project enjoys.
With “Lass’ öis flüüge,” the Flamingo’s message found a musical voice. With music and lyrics by Carmen Lopes Sway and Marc Sway, a touching song was created about life, its ups and downs, and about bringing more life to each day. The song symbolizes lightness, closeness, and precious moments shared together. It helps raise awareness of children’s hospice care and conveys the Flamingo’s mission in an emotionally resonant way.
The Family Vacation Weeks in Davos continued successfully during the 2025/2026 fiscal year. They offer families with children who have life-limiting illnesses a much-needed break from their challenging daily lives. The focus is on shared experiences, family time, and respite.
As the facility transitioned to full operation, communication strategies also evolved. In addition to updates on construction and project progress, the focus shifted to insights into the first few weeks, support for families, partnerships, and the people behind the Flamingo. Newsletters, the website, media relations, and social media kept the public informed of these developments on an ongoing basis.
Media coverage of the launch and the opening celebration helped raise awareness of the program. At the same time, careful consideration of the families’ privacy remained a top priority. Personal stories are published only with explicit consent and in close consultation with the families.
Link to the press review.
Ensuring the continuity of pediatric hospice care and funding the day-to-day operations of the Flamingo Children’s Hospice remained a key priority. Contributions from private individuals, foundations, companies, church congregations, and public partners make it possible to provide services and support that are not fully covered by standard funding sources.
During the fiscal year, we strengthened our engagement with existing supporters and continued our efforts to recruit new partners. Transparent communication and a reliable dialogue form the foundation for long-term relationships.
The annual financial statements of the Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation are prepared in accordance with Swiss GAAP FER 21, the accounting standards for nonprofit organizations.
↦ Financial Report of the Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation 2025/2026
The Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation carries out its charitable work through a volunteer, interdisciplinary board of trustees.
The foundation is part of a growing network in pediatric palliative care. Collaboration with professional organizations, service providers, educational institutions, volunteer organizations, government agencies, and funding partners enhances the quality and reach of its services.
Federal Association of Children’s Hospices, Germany Swiss Hospice Federation (DVHS), Lucerne German Children’s Hospice Association, Olpe, Germany Children’s Hospice Network Switzerland Pro Fonds, Basel Palliative ch, Bern Paediatric Palliative Care Network CH (PPCN CH) Mehr Leben Foundation, Basel University Children’s Hospital Zurich allani Children’s Hospice Foundation, Bern Theodora Foundation Raum für Geschwister Switzerland Association and many more.
Flamingo Children’s Hospice AG (100%)Sunnetalstrasse 6, 8117 Fällanden
Kinderhospiz Flamingo AG was founded in December 2022 by the Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation. The public limited company is wholly owned by the foundation.
BDO AGEntfelderstrasse 1, 5001 Aarau
Federal Foundation Supervisory Authority (ESA) Monbijoustrasse 51A, 3003 Bern
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the children, teens, and families who place their trust in us. We would also like to thank all our staff and volunteers who support Flamingo with their expertise, compassion, and great dedication.
We would like to thank the authorities, municipalities, specialized institutions, partner organizations, foundations, companies, church congregations, and all donors and supporters. Your support makes it possible to ease the burden on families during challenging times and to provide a place of safety and quality of life.
Bethe Foundation Cammac Foundation Casal Bernard Foundation Evangelical Parish of Davos Davos Junior Chamber of Commerce Joreva Foundation Canton of Zurich, Department of Finance Catholic Parish of Davos Petersburg Foundation Denk an mich Foundation Cerebral Foundation Verena Boller Foundation Wilhelm Dörenkamp Foundation And many more
Many thanks to all donors and patrons!
The transition to regular operations brings new challenges for the foundation’s work as well. Learning from experience, designing reliable processes, attracting and retaining experts, securing funding, and at the same time allowing sufficient room for individualized support: These tasks will shape our future development and motivate us to remain committed to our work.
Further development of residential services to meet needs.
Analysis of usage, quality, and funding data for the Flamingo Children’s Hospice.
Strengthening collaboration with referring physicians, payers, government agencies, and professional partners.
Continuation of the Family Vacation Weeks in Davos
Re-announcing the Imbach Family Award for PPC
Securing long-term, sustainable funding through public grants and donations.
Further raising awareness: children’s hospice care and specialized pediatric palliative care.
You can view our last annual report here.
