Healthy Humor Celebrates 10 Years of Transforming Pediatric Care Through Joy at “A Decade of Delight” Gala
New York, NY, July 07, 2026 --(PR.com)-- Healthy Humor (HH), a national nonprofit advancing emotional support, trauma-informed care in children's hospitals through the art of therapeutic clowning, will hold its 10th Anniversary Gala, A Decade of Delight, on Monday, October 19, 2026, at City Winery, NYC.
The milestone evening will bring together leaders from healthcare, philanthropy, the arts, and business for a landmark celebration of a decade of impact inside pediatric hospitals across the United States and will help launch Healthy Humor’s next chapter of national growth.
The gala will feature live performances, storytelling, recognition of leaders in the field of arts and health — and HH’s signature whimsy. Honorees include: M&T Bank, Corporate Partner of the Year; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Hospital Partner of the Year; Christopher Bailey, Co-Founding Director, Jameel Arts and Health Lab and Founder Emeritus, Arts and Health Program, World Health Organization (WHO), and Deborah Kaufmann, Co-Founder and Director of Training and Education Emerita at Healthy Humor, for their pioneering contributions to the global movement integrating arts into healthcare.
“At its core, this work is about blunting the force of trauma and transforming fear and distress into connection and healing,” said Dina Paul-Parks, Co-Founder and CEO of Healthy Humor. “We’ve spent the last decade proving that joy is not a luxury in healthcare — it is essential. Joy is medicine.”
Over the past 10 years, Healthy Humor’s professional performers — known as Red Nose Docs — have brought laughter, connection, and emotional relief to more than 5,000,000 children and families at 12 partner hospitals across the country, including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital-Stanford. Through these partnerships, we serve more than 500,000 children and families annually — transforming IV poles into dance partners, waiting rooms into stages, and moments of fear into moments of laughter and connection.
What happens in these hospital rooms is both joyful and clinically impactful. Healthy Humor’s work is grounded in healthcare clowning — an evidence-based, non-pharmacological intervention that reduces anxiety, improves patient compliance and outcomes, and helps children, their parents, and their caregivers navigate the stress of hospitalization through connection, play, and humor.
As Healthy Humor enters its second decade, the organization is expanding its national footprint and deepening its partnerships with children's hospitals to further integrate emotional well-being into patient care. The gala marks not only a celebration of Healthy Humor’s first decade, but also a broader commitment to advancing “Joy is Medicine” as a scalable model for care in pediatric healthcare systems nationwide.
About Healthy Humor
Healthy Humor (HH) is a national nonprofit arts organization whose professional performers create moments of joy, wonder, laughter, and comfort for hospitalized children and all others who are most in need. HH’s Red Nose Docs serve more than 500,000 kids and families at 12 partner hospitals across the country, including Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital-Stanford. Our current cities include Baltimore, Cincinnati, Loma Linda, New Haven, NYC, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. We are committed to compassionate care, children’s mental health, and the belief that every child deserves joy, dignity, and human connection, even — and perhaps especially — in the hospital, when they are at their most vulnerable.
The milestone evening will bring together leaders from healthcare, philanthropy, the arts, and business for a landmark celebration of a decade of impact inside pediatric hospitals across the United States and will help launch Healthy Humor’s next chapter of national growth.
The gala will feature live performances, storytelling, recognition of leaders in the field of arts and health — and HH’s signature whimsy. Honorees include: M&T Bank, Corporate Partner of the Year; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Hospital Partner of the Year; Christopher Bailey, Co-Founding Director, Jameel Arts and Health Lab and Founder Emeritus, Arts and Health Program, World Health Organization (WHO), and Deborah Kaufmann, Co-Founder and Director of Training and Education Emerita at Healthy Humor, for their pioneering contributions to the global movement integrating arts into healthcare.
“At its core, this work is about blunting the force of trauma and transforming fear and distress into connection and healing,” said Dina Paul-Parks, Co-Founder and CEO of Healthy Humor. “We’ve spent the last decade proving that joy is not a luxury in healthcare — it is essential. Joy is medicine.”
Over the past 10 years, Healthy Humor’s professional performers — known as Red Nose Docs — have brought laughter, connection, and emotional relief to more than 5,000,000 children and families at 12 partner hospitals across the country, including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital-Stanford. Through these partnerships, we serve more than 500,000 children and families annually — transforming IV poles into dance partners, waiting rooms into stages, and moments of fear into moments of laughter and connection.
What happens in these hospital rooms is both joyful and clinically impactful. Healthy Humor’s work is grounded in healthcare clowning — an evidence-based, non-pharmacological intervention that reduces anxiety, improves patient compliance and outcomes, and helps children, their parents, and their caregivers navigate the stress of hospitalization through connection, play, and humor.
As Healthy Humor enters its second decade, the organization is expanding its national footprint and deepening its partnerships with children's hospitals to further integrate emotional well-being into patient care. The gala marks not only a celebration of Healthy Humor’s first decade, but also a broader commitment to advancing “Joy is Medicine” as a scalable model for care in pediatric healthcare systems nationwide.
About Healthy Humor
Healthy Humor (HH) is a national nonprofit arts organization whose professional performers create moments of joy, wonder, laughter, and comfort for hospitalized children and all others who are most in need. HH’s Red Nose Docs serve more than 500,000 kids and families at 12 partner hospitals across the country, including Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital-Stanford. Our current cities include Baltimore, Cincinnati, Loma Linda, New Haven, NYC, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. We are committed to compassionate care, children’s mental health, and the belief that every child deserves joy, dignity, and human connection, even — and perhaps especially — in the hospital, when they are at their most vulnerable.
Contact
Healthy Humor, Inc.
Dina Paul-Parks
212-739-0494
www.healthyhumorinc.org
Dina Paul-Parks
212-739-0494
www.healthyhumorinc.org
Contact
Categories