€9,500 for PAPAGENO: PMU students’ charity ball supports mobile children’s hospice

Celebrating while supporting a good cause: The charity ball organised by the 2022 Human Medicine cohort at Paracelsus Medical University (PMU) raised a total of €9,500 for PAPAGENO, the mobile children’s hospice and palliative care team of Hospiz-Bewegung Salzburg. The donation has now officially been presented.

The annual charity ball has become a well-established tradition at PMU. Each year, it is organised by fourth-year students, who also decide which charitable cause will benefit from the proceeds. 

The 2022 cohort chose PAPAGENO. For the ball committee, however, it was about more than simply selecting a beneficiary. The students took the time to learn more about the team and its work and organised a dedicated club evening to introduce their fellow students to PAPAGENO and what it does. 

Ticket sales, raffle, sponsorship – and a work of art 

The donation was raised in several ways: through the generous financial support of sponsors, ticket sales and a raffle. A work of art created and donated by one of the students was also auctioned at the charity ball. 

In the end, €9,500 was raised for a team that supports children and young people with serious, life-limiting illnesses and their families. PAPAGENO provides care for families in Salzburg and the surrounding region, primarily in their own homes, offering medical, nursing and psychosocial support. 

For Theresa Felber, a member of the ball committee, organising the event alongside her studies was certainly a challenge – but one that was well worth taking on: “Being able to organise something this big as a team was incredibly motivating – not only because we had a great ball as a year group, but also because together we were able to provide financial support for such a worthwhile project.” 

Donation officially presented 

Members of the ball committee, representatives of PAPAGENO and Hospiz-Bewegung Salzburg, and PMU Rector Annemarie Weißenbacher came together for the official presentation of the donation. 

The Rector also expressed her appreciation for the initiative, emphasising how much she values and supports the students’ commitment and their efforts for a good cause. 

For Theresa Felber and her fellow committee members, what remains is more than the memory of a successful ball. Their efforts also enabled them to support a project they had consciously engaged with and to draw attention to an issue that often remains largely unseen in everyday life.