Fundación Aladina

Fundación Aladina is a Spanish nonprofit organization focused on improving the lives of children receiving cancer treatment and supporting the families who accompany them. Its work began with the personal volunteer experience of Paco Arango, the creator and producer of the television series ¡Ala... Dina!. In 2001, Arango started spending time in the oncology department of Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús in Madrid. What began as a weekly activity gradually became a daily commitment involving games, companionship, and relationships with children and families facing long hospital stays. The experience led him to establish Fundación Aladina at the hospital in 2005. The foundation’s model combines three forms of support: emotional assistance, practical or material help, and psychological support. Rather than limiting its role to fundraising, Aladina works around the wider experience of pediatric cancer treatment. Its activities have included volunteer programs, improvements to hospital environments, support for families, and the creation or renovation of specialist facilities. The organization’s stated purpose is to help children undergoing cancer treatment maintain hope and quality of life, while making difficult periods in hospital more bearable for both patients and relatives. One of its most important institutional projects was the Maktub Center at Hospital Niño Jesús. Opened in February 2013, the center was designed to provide a more suitable and welcoming environment for children undergoing bone marrow transplantation. The project represented a major expansion of the foundation’s hospital role and became associated with the development of a leading pediatric bone marrow transplant facility in Spain. During its first year, the center recorded 63 transplants. Its construction cost more than 500,000 euros, with funding substantially connected to proceeds from Maktub, a film directed and produced by Arango, alongside support from other organizations and individual donors. Aladina has also supported the development of volunteer and assistance programs in other hospitals in Madrid and elsewhere in Spain. The foundation’s work has been described as reaching more than 1,200 patients annually through different hospital programs, although the exact period associated with that figure is not specified in the available reference material. Its projects have extended beyond oncology facilities. In 2007, it helped reform the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre in Madrid. The facility was described as the first regional breast-milk bank of its kind on the Iberian Peninsula and was expanded from a capacity associated with approximately 600 liters per year to a regional service capable of distributing up to 2,000 liters to families in the Community of Madrid. Another major initiative was the renovation of the intensive care unit at Hospital Niño Jesús. The fundraising effort, launched in February 2016 under the name “Achuchón,” sought 1.3 million euros. The planned renovation included 14 beds equipped with robotic arms, six private units, and improved control of natural and artificial lighting, together with energy-efficiency measures. The campaign’s name used the Spanish word achuchón, which can convey both an affectionate hug and a push or encouragement, linking the emotional mission of the foundation with the practical objective of advancing the hospital project. Fundación Aladina therefore operates as a charitable healthcare-support organization rather than a commercial consumer brand. Its identity is closely associated with pediatric cancer care, family support, volunteer engagement, donor-funded hospital infrastructure, and the public profile of its founder. The available material records recognition and awards for its work, but does not provide a complete list of awards, current leadership, annual financial information, or a detailed account of its present-day facilities. Its website remains the principal reference for current programs and activities.

Fundación Aladina grew out of Paco Arango’s volunteer work at Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús in Madrid. In 2001, Arango began visiting the oncology department, initially spending time with children through games and companionship. His involvement expanded as he developed relationships with patients, teenagers, and their families, eventually becoming a daily activity. The experience exposed practical and emotional needs that were not fully addressed by medical treatment alone and led to the creation of the foundation in 2005. From its beginning at Niño Jesús, Aladina developed a broad support model based on emotional, material, and psychological assistance. The foundation’s activities have included hospital volunteering, help for families during prolonged admissions, and improvements to facilities used by children receiving intensive or highly specialized treatment. Its approach treats the hospital environment and the family experience as important parts of pediatric cancer care. A major turning point came with the development of the Maktub Center, inaugurated at Hospital Niño Jesús in February 2013. The center was created for children undergoing bone marrow transplantation and was designed to make extended treatment and recovery more comfortable. The project cost more than 500,000 euros and was supported by proceeds from the film Maktub, directed and produced by Arango, as well as contributions from other organizations and private individuals. In its first twelve months, the center recorded 63 transplants. Following the establishment of the Maktub Center, the foundation expanded its hospital presence through volunteer initiatives and assistance programs in other hospitals in Madrid and elsewhere in Spain. Reference material attributes more than 1,200 annual beneficiaries to these programs, although it does not identify the year or methodology behind that figure. Aladina also worked on projects outside the oncology department, including the renovation of the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre. The bank had operated since 2007 and was described as the first regional facility of its type on the Iberian Peninsula. The renovation increased its described distribution capacity from about 600 liters of milk per year to as much as 2,000 liters for families across the Community of Madrid. In February 2016, Aladina launched the “Achuchón” campaign to raise 1.3 million euros for the renovation of the intensive care unit at Hospital Niño Jesús. The proposed works included 14 beds with robotic arms, six private units, improved management of natural and artificial light, and energy-efficiency improvements. The campaign’s name was intended to express both affection and encouragement: a hug for children and families, and a push toward better hospital care. The foundation has received acknowledgements and prizes for its work, but the supplied references do not provide a full chronology of those recognitions. They also do not establish a complete current leadership roster, detailed financial statements, or a definitive list of all hospitals currently served. Fundación Aladina’s documented history is consequently best understood as the development of a Madrid-based pediatric-cancer support organization into a broader Spanish network of charitable care, family assistance, volunteer services, and hospital-improvement projects.

• 2016

  Achuchón ICU renovation campaign launches

  [1]Fundación Aladinaen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation launched a campaign to raise funds for a major renovation of the intensive care unit at Hospital Niño Jesús.

• 2013

  Maktub Center opens

  [1]Fundación Aladinaen.wikipedia.org

  Aladina inaugurated the Maktub Center at Hospital Niño Jesús for children undergoing bone marrow transplantation.

• 2007

  Mothers’ Milk Bank support becomes operational

  [1]Fundación Aladinaen.wikipedia.org

  The renovated Mothers’ Milk Bank at Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre was described as fully operational, serving families in the Community of Madrid.

• 2005

  Fundación Aladina is established

  [1]Fundación Aladinaen.wikipedia.org

  Arango founded Fundación Aladina at Hospital Niño Jesús to support children with cancer and their families.

• 2001

  Paco Arango begins oncology volunteering

  [1]Fundación Aladinaen.wikipedia.org

  Paco Arango began volunteering in the oncology department of Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús, the experience that later led to the foundation’s creation.

A Spanish pediatric-cancer charity combining emotional, psychological, material, volunteer, and hospital-infrastructure support for children and families.

• Bone marrow transplant support facility · 2013

  Maktub Center

  The Maktub Center is a facility at Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús created to improve the environment and support available to children undergoing bone marrow transplantation. It was inaugurated in February 2013 and was designed around the long and demanding recovery periods associated with transplant treatment. The project was financed through proceeds from the film Maktub together with support from organizations and individual donors. It recorded 63 transplants during its first twelve months.

• Charitable healthcare support · 2005

  Hospital oncology and family-support programs

  Aladina’s hospital programs provide emotional, psychological, material, and volunteer support for children receiving cancer treatment and for their families. The programs began at Hospital Niño Jesús and were later extended through activities in other hospitals in Madrid and elsewhere in Spain. They address the practical and emotional effects of lengthy admissions and are described in the reference material as reaching more than 1,200 patients each year, although the relevant year is not specified.

• Hospital infrastructure support · 2007

  Mothers’ Milk Bank renovation support

  Fundación Aladina supported renovation of the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre in Madrid. The resulting regional facility was described as the first of its type on the Iberian Peninsula and as capable of distributing breast milk to infants who could not be breastfed by their mothers. The reference material reports an increase from approximately 600 liters of annual capacity to as much as 2,000 liters for the Community of Madrid.

• 2016Achuchón

  Spain · Community of Madrid

  A fundraising campaign supporting the renovation of the intensive care unit at Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús. The campaign used the Spanish word achuchón to connect the idea of giving children a hug with giving the hospital project a push forward. Donors could contribute through a text-message mechanism.

  Outcome. The reference material describes the planned renovation but does not confirm the final amount raised or completion date.

  Source
• 2013Maktub film-linked fundraising

  Spain

  Proceeds from Maktub, a film directed and produced by Paco Arango, helped finance the Maktub Center for pediatric bone marrow transplant patients at Hospital Niño Jesús.

  Outcome. The funds contributed to the opening of the Maktub Center in February 2013.

  Source

• 2016

  Prioritize intensive-care-unit renovationStrategy

  Background

  After developing patient-support and transplant facilities, Aladina identified the intensive care unit at Hospital Niño Jesús as a major area requiring environmental and functional improvement.

  Action taken

  The foundation launched the Achuchón campaign to seek donations for a comprehensive ICU renovation.

  Aftermath

  The planned design called for 14 beds with robotic arms, six private units, improved lighting control, and energy-efficiency measures. The supplied references do not confirm the final project outcome.

  Fundraising target. €1,300,000 target (Campaign launched February 2016)

  Source

• 2013

  Expand from direct support into specialist hospital infrastructureStrategy

  Background

  The foundation identified the need for a more suitable setting for children undergoing bone marrow transplantation and pursued a dedicated center at Hospital Niño Jesús.

  Action taken

  Aladina created and inaugurated the Maktub Center, using film proceeds and external donations to fund the project.

  Aftermath

  The center became a principal Aladina project and recorded 63 transplants during its first year.

  Construction and development cost. more than €500,000 (Project completed by February 2013)

  Source

1. 1Fundación Aladinaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Fundación Aladina official websitealadina.org