Company Profile
Company Overview
Room Circus Medical Clowning is a Seattle-based 501(c)3 organization in the area of arts and health care. Our mission is to help alleviate the stress and isolation of hospitalized children and their families through the healing art of humor, and to promote laughter and play as vital components of health and well being. We employ professional physical comedians, skilled in improvisation, theatre clowning, circus and variety skills, who make rounds two days per week at Seattle Children's Hospital.
www.roomcircus.org
Company History
Room Circus Medical Clowning was founded in 2005 under a different name, with the primary programming of theatre clowning. In 2012, the founder left and the board made the decision to redirect the mission to clowning in health care settings. In 2013, the "clown doctors" began their rounds one day per week at Seattle Children's Hospital. Fundraising goals were met and a second day was added at the beginning of the second fiscal year. Annual budget was quadrupled, infrastructure built and the organization moved from a volunteer collective governance model to part time paid staff with separate governing board of directors. Room Circus is on track in its third fiscal year to decrease the workload of the co-founder and board president by hiring a professional in fund and board development. This will help increase our fundraising capacity in order to sustain and expand our programming, while further building and developing the board to support these functions.