For the 7th year, the Lene Thun Foundation had the honour of collaborating in the decoration of the 18-metre high fir tree, the star of the City of Bolzano, festively decorated as per tradition.   
Shining on the majestic tree, in addition to the large luminous heart-shaped spike, symbol of the Foundation - which is meant to be a sincere wish for unity and sharing - will be the wishes of the children of the St. Maurice Hospital in Bolzano.

 
During the ceramics-therapy workshops, organised weekly by the Foundation at the hospital, the children have given free rein to their creativity by creating real works of art that this year have given life to an 'enchanted forest': a 'fantastic world' where they can keep their wishes, inhabited by 'good characters' from whom they can be 'magically helped' to overcome their fears and put the disease in the background.

"Clay is a natural material, poor and simple but which can turn into an important playmate, able to give, thanks to the art of modelling, a smile. A smile that children should never lack," emphasises Simon Thun, board member of the Lene Thun Foundation, which has been committed to bringing smiles to children in care for over nine years.
The reproductions of the works created by the children have 'magically' found a place next to the coloured spheres decorating the marvellous tree that dominates the Piazza, while the original decorated ceramic creations are kept at its foot. Thus was born the wonderful 'Enchanted Wish Forest' where everything is surprise, wonder and hope for the future.
 

"This special place reminds us that, even in the most difficult situations, there is extraordinary beauty made of solidarity, love and hope. It is a call to support the strength of the little fighters and to celebrate the joy of every small victory, an invitation to believe in the power of positivity and loving care" - says Paola Adamo, Director of the Lene Thun Foundation, who continues - "Through the metaphor of the 'Enchanted Forest' as a Foundation we wanted to be at the side of children and young people undergoing treatment as allies in the search for and construction of a magical place, where to guard their desires and where to take refuge in moments of suffering by shaping their dreams. A world that tells a story far removed from the illness, giving space only to joy and imagination".