The family holiday weeks in Davos offer relief for families with children and young people with a life-limiting illness and their healthy siblings. The offer is aimed at families who are resident in Switzerland or Liechtenstein. On various dates throughout the year, usually during the summer and autumn holidays, afflicted families can enjoy a week’s “holiday in the mountains”.
During the holiday weeks, sick children are cared for by qualified nurses if necessary. A team of local volunteers supports the children’s hospice foundation so that the whole family can benefit from this holiday week to the fullest.
Here you can find the latest feedback of participationg families from 2024.
From pilot project to a complete programme!
Since it was founded in 2014, the Davos Family holiday weeks have been a great success. What was launched as a pilot project has quickly established itself as a permanent programme offered by the foundation. Affected families are cordially invited to take part in the family holiday weeks and submit an expression of interest, which we can use to start the assessment process. We are delighted with every family that can be considered.
Note: The summer vacation weeks were held successfully. No more expressions of interest will be accepted for fall 2025.
We need some information to be able to process your enquiry:
holistic | relieving | unique
The Flamingo children’s hospice planned in Fällanden, Zurich, will be open to children and young people up to the age of 18 with life-limiting illnesses as well as their parents and siblings. The holistic care and support combined with the appropriate infrastructure should enable those affected to take a recurring break from their exhausting everyday lives.
The realisation of the Flamingo Children’s Hospice is made possible by the Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation. Construction of the new children’s hospice in Fällanden, Zurich, has already begun.
The latest information on the construction project will be published regularly on the “Project status” page. To keep up to date with the progress of the Flamingo Children’s Hospice, it is worth subscribing to our free newsletter.
Thanks to the legacy of a generous bequeather, we were able to set up a support fund in spring 2024 to help families in need with one or more children with life-limiting illnesses with care costs.
According to the fund regulations, applications can be submitted for the assumption of care costs that are not covered by the cost bearers.
What is the support fund and what benefits does it cover?
How did the earmarked fund for the care costs of the children in need of the Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation come into realization?
In her will, a single, wealthy testator from the city of Bern named the Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation as her sole heir, with the condition that her estate assets be used to set up a fund for a specific purpose. The Board of Trustees has laid the necessary foundations for this and is delighted to be able to implement the wishes of the testator in a targeted manner.
For what purpose can support contributions be requested?
The fund assets may be used in accordance with the provisions of the testator’s will as set out in the fund regulations, i.e. to cover the care costs of needy children who are not covered by health insurance and to cover the care costs of needy families.
What kind of support do you expect to receive from affected families?
We will assess applications from families with one or more children with life-limiting illnesses. We can imagine that these will include, for example, support contributions to recommended therapies for the affected child, contributions to the costs of relieving the family through third parties or enabling services for healthy siblings, who often live in the shadow of the affected child.
Nicola Presti, Communications Officer of the Foundation, in conversation with the Vice President of the Foundation Board and Head of the Awards Committee, Prof Urs B. Schaad.
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Imbach Family Award for Pediatric Palliative Care
The Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation is launching an award for outstanding achievements in pediatric palliative care (PPC). The “Imbach Family Prize for Pediatric Palliative Care” will be awarded for the first time in 2026.
Prize money
The prize money for the year 2026 is CHF 10,000.
Prize winner: inside
The prize is awarded to individuals or teams who make or have made an outstanding contribution to PPC thanks to their work and/or commitment.
Particular consideration will be given to scientific work on PPC in the fields of medicine, nursing or psychosocial care. The achievement should not date back more than three years.
Alternatively, the prize can be awarded to support the promotion of young talent in the form of scholarships for further or advanced training in the field of PPC.
Application
The application deadline for the 2026 prize is December 15, 2025.
Please send your application using the following form.
To the application form
Award committee
The prize committee consists of up to five members who either have specialist qualifications in the field of PPC and/or belong to the Imbach family. It is responsible for evaluating and nominating the award winners and for presenting the award.
Members of the award committee may nominate candidates provided there is no professional, institutional or personal relationship. The justification must be limited to a general motivation. Proposing members withdraw from the evaluation and decision-making process for this application.
Evaluation
The evaluation is based on the following criteria:
- Research work: relevance, originality, methodology, ethics, practical relevance, presentation, discussion, interpretation, implication, sustainability.
- Scholarship: professional requirements (training), previous achievements, motivation, type and quality of further training, personal characteristics, financial criteria.
Award ceremony
The prize is usually awarded every two years, for the first time in 2026. The award ceremony will take place during a conference on pediatrics or pediatric palliative care. The award venue for 2026 will be communicated at a later date.
Background on the award sponsor
The prize money is financed by the Imbach family’s dividend income and the prize is awarded by the Swiss Children’s Hospice Foundation. The foundation has set up a dedicated fund for this purpose, the development of which is reported in the foundation’s annual report.