Clowning with Veterans & First Responders

This fundraiser is for the total amount needed for travel and lodgings for participants of our humanitarian clown trips to help heal wounded veterans. 100% of funds go toward project costs. Further fundraisers from the collective involved will also work towards this goal.

Welcome! I’m Sonia - a therapeutic clown with Patch Adams and Gesundheit! Institute. Clown by passion, and psychotherapist by day supporting families, and providing suicide intervention training.

***In 2 days, I will start an ultramarathon to raise funds towards our humanitarian clowning program for Veterans and First Responders (see below for more details). The multi stage ultra event covers 250km over 7 days, in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile! I’m in San Pedro de Atacama now preparing and acclimatizing after six months of hours of running, made possible with the support of family, friends, clowns, and one special dog! The ultramarathon brings together folks from 37 countries, ranging in age from 23yo to 69yo. A link for live tracking of the event will be provided.***

My hope for running across the desert is to (survive!) raise funds for a treatment program for Veterans, military members, and first responders. The treatment program harnesses the healing power of humanitarian clowning. It explores how connection through clown can serve as an adjunct healing modality for folks living with moral injury, post traumatic stress, and operational stress injuries. Our team believes that healing happens in relationship; through connection and play with one another. By creating their own clown persona, participants are invited to explore aspects of self often hidden away or covered up by the traumas of war. Together with trained therapeutic clowns and clinicians, in partnership with local hospital clown teams, we take clown Veterans on outreach visits to under-resourced hospitals, orphanages, and child protection facilities. In these visits, soothing and play happen for both clown and non-clowns as everyone clowns around in community!

We hope to expand the program to include first responders and their unique needs.

To see this international peace project in practice, check out our documentary film ClownVets here: https://youtu.be/Ko3BHAKjPGc?si=sHE7ptTlRGgb-E21

The 2019 film was granted Kaiser Permanente Thrive Award! We are grateful to our veteran participants, clinical and consulting team, photographers/videographers, and playful friends representing Guatemala, Chile, Canada, and the United States.

Check out the ClownVets docu film FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/clownvets

Please help us continue this work by donating to the project! Funds will go toward financing another treatment trip (2024). We need $40 000 to make the trip happen, and to provide funding for veteran participants, local clown teams, and the organizing group.

I serve as a co-organizer and clinical team member on the project alongside fellow clinicians, MDs, and artists. With this role and commitment to our work, we will make sure funds go directly to the outreach trip.

Help us bring more laughter, healing through community, and peace to the world - we aim to be suspiciously healthy. Let’s choose connection over war, and let’s do it together.

(The two clowns pictured are Veterans from the 2015 outreach trip in Guatemala - you can learn more about them in the docu film)