SumUp Charity Partnership: Supporting Healing through Ceramic Therapy with the Lene Thun Foundation

When illness takes your child to the hospital, the journey to recovery requires more than medical treatment. Your child will need care and attention to recover fully. That’s where the Lene Thun Foundation Onlus comes in, offering ceramic therapy workshops to young patients across Italy. SumUp supports this initiative with innovative payment solutions to ensure charity donations flow seamlessly and keep the life-changing workshops alive.

What is ceramic therapy?

"Ceramic therapy is a creative therapy that complements the medical ones the hospital offers, allowing children to relax and benefit more from their treatments. In particular, it helps children deal with trauma through the creative process," explains Manuela Metra, volunteer and art therapist with the Foundation.

Essentially, ceramic therapy allows children to express themselves through hands-on art activities. The process of moulding and shaping clay with hands is therapeutic and fosters relaxation and emotional resilience throughout the challenging treatments. Ceramic therapy is crucial for children navigating stress, pain and trauma by giving them a creative outlet.

The role of the Lene Thun Foundation Onlus

The Lene Thun Foundation is an Italian non-profit organisation that creates permanent 'recreational therapy' services through ceramic modelling. The Foundation has helped 9,000 children to date and runs permanent workshops in 30 Italian paediatric hospitals staffed by 600 volunteers throughout the country.

Each workshop costs about €35,000 annually to run and is offered free of charge to patients, either in person or digitally. The Lene Thun Foundation Onlus raises money for ceramic workshops through micro-donations collected through THUN’s retail stores and events. With every euro raised, they ensure children in hospitals continue to smile, heal and create despite their illness.

SumUp charity partnership with the Lene Thun Foundation

When the Foundation sought to improve its donation collection process, it turned to SumUp for a solution. Lene Thun was looking for a simple, efficient and donor-friendly solution, and the SumUp charity partnership has paid off.

Thanks to the partnership, donors can easily donate with the SumUp tap-to-donate option and other cashless payment methods.

Anyone looking to donate can go to one of the 225 branches of THUN, a handmade ceramics brand active for over 70 years throughout Italy. It is possible to donate via credit card, debit card or contactless payment using SumUp card readers. These cashless donations are completely transparent and traceable. When you donate, you get a receipt and can see the progress of every laboratory’s fundraising efforts on the Lene Thun Foundation Onlus website.

"Our Foundation has always been based on the concept of micro-donations, which lets us competently run our projects, year after year. Every penny counts, so we’re always trying to make collecting these payments simpler, faster and more cost-effective," explains Paola Adamo, the Foundation’s Charity General Manager.

The SumUp Effect

The Lene Thun Foundation found a lasting solution with SumUp. Donating to the Foundation with SumUp card readers is more convenient for consumers and also for stores collecting donations.

In Italy, SumUp waived the fee that merchants normally pay when accepting payments with a card reader. This means all of your donations go straight to the laboratory.

The ease of payment SumUp provides has made it possible, as Manuela Metra says, "for the lab to keep running and for us to keep our promise to make children smile while they’re in the hospital."

By providing donors the option to donate to charity with SumUp payment solutions, the Lene Thun Foundation enjoys numerous benefits, including:

• Transparent transactions: Each donation is traceable to ensure accountability.

• Instant receipts: Donors receive immediate confirmation of their donations.

• Direct impact: The donations go directly to the Foundation’s ceramic therapy labs.

How SumUp supports charities like the Lene Thun Foundation

SumUp’s partnership with the Lene Thun Foundation is just one example of how it supports charitable causes. With cashless payment solutions like payment links and card readers, SumUp provides charitable organisations with innovative solutions to improve their fundraising efforts. Some contributions of SumUp to charity efforts include:

• Cost efficiency: SumUp charity rates are reduced or completely waived. That means charity organisations don't incur any fees when receiving donations.

• Accessibility: SumUp provides a range of contactless payment solutions for charity organisations of all sizes. When you open a SumUp charity account for your non-profit, you can easily monitor donations collected through various channels, like credit/debit cards or payment links.

• Scalability: As your charity organisation grows, you can scale the payment solutions to match your needs. From small local charities to international non-profits, SumUp adapts to diverse needs and grows with you.

SumUp also makes it easy for businesses to support charitable causes. Whether through online payment options or on-site card readers, businesses can facilitate fundraising with minimal effort.

SumUp and the volunteers: a hands-on experience

SumUppers Laura Caprino and Lia Tonut were so inspired by this partnership that they decided to travel to Milan and experience the therapy firsthand. After spending some time training with Manuela to learn about ceramic therapy, they headed to the ceramic lab at the National Cancer Institute of Milan. Laura and Lia worked alongside children and got to witness the therapy’s impact by spending half a day volunteering at the lab.

Streamline Your Donations with SumUp

The partnership between SumUp and the Lene Thun Foundation is a testament to the power of combining innovation with passion. By streamlining the donation process and waiving transaction fees, SumUp ensures that every cent goes towards charity projects. With SumUp card readers, supporting charities has never been easier.

FAQs about charity donations with SumUp

How does SumUp support charities?

SumUp provides contactless payment solutions, which makes it easy to donate money to charity organisations. Aside from simplifying donation collection, organisations can easily manage charities.

Is there a fee for donating to charity through SumUp?

No. In SumUp charity partnerships like the Lene Thun Foundation, SumUp waives transaction fees. This ensures the donations directly support the cause.

Can I donate to other charities with SumUp card readers?

Yes. Whether you are a business owner, volunteer or donor, you can be part of this journey by donating or facilitating donation efforts with SumUp card readers.