RE/MAX & Friends Sponsorship for Rainbow Ward Children’s Play Area

The Rainbow Ward at the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre at Mater Dei Hospital has been supplemented with a state-of-the-art children’s’ play area courtesy of a sponsorship by The RE/MAX & Friends Foundation on behalf of Puttinu Cares. The project was inaugurated on Thursday, 18th May by Her Excellency, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta, in the presence of the Minister for Health Chris Fearne, board members of The RE/MAX & Friends Foundation, namely Albert Mamo, Joseph Buttigieg, Kevin Buttigieg, Jeffrey Buttigieg, Michael Bonello and Kevin Deguara.

The project, which included the furnishing, purchasing of playground equipment and decoration of the common internal area and external playground to the extent of €75,000, was solely funded by The RE/MAX & Friends Foundation in collaboration with the Alive Charity Foundation.

Whilst congratulating all those involved in making this project come true, Jeffrey Buttigieg said “The company felt that the time was opportune to share Re/Max Malta’s success with those that are less fortunate and the project at the Rainbow Ward project is a perfect way to contribute towards the well-being of both the families and children who are faced with difficult situations such as cancer.”

The RE/MAX & Friends Foundation is funded through the sales and rentals of RE/MAX agents. “Our agents and offices give a fixed fee or percentage of every property sale or rent that is completed, to the foundation. We are so proud of our agents and franchise owners, because if it wasn’t for their support, the foundation would not be able to back so many noble causes and this project would have never have materialised.”

In his address, the Minister for Health, Hon Chris Fearne welcomed the donation of Re/MAX & Friends Foundation and said that the NGO’s and the private sector have an important role to play to help patients in a holistic manner. “We are working hand in hand with NGO’s in the health sector to ensure that together we cater for all the needs of patients in our society. Sometimes we focus on medicine and medical treatment, but play has an important role in the wellbeing of children, especially in children that are receiving a medical treatment,” said Minister Fearne.

Addressing the guest, Angele Cuschieri, co-founder of Puttinu Cares, said that she was grateful for the generosity of The RE/MAX & Friends Foundation. He said “When Mr. Buttigieg came to see us with a proposal to take on the project, we were delighted with their hands-on approach and their willingness; not only to give money, but to be involved from the early stages up until the completion of the project”.

Given the limited amount of space, local interior designer Jean-Marc Bianchi volunteered to take on the job of designing the internal area into more than just a living room. Mr. Bianchi managed to create a design that combined a play area with a living room made up of a theatre in the form of a pirate ship which hosts a stage and a television with a Play Station 4. There is also a table soccer, a sofa area where parents can watch their children play, an arts and crafts table, a large dolls house and a computer area.

All the furniture was custom-made and offered at cost price by Joinwell Limited, whereas the computer was donated by Forestalls, the Play Station 4 with games by Exotique, six original stadium seats by Intersteel & Fence Ltd and the table soccer was donated by BMIT.

In her address, Her Excellency said that Puttinu Cares in an honourable cause and the Malta Community Chest Fund fully supports all its initiatives. She also congratulated and thanked RE/MAX, who created their own foundation to support the local community, especially children who are faced with difficult situations such as chronic illnesses.

The RE/MAX & Friends Foundation was founded in 2014 by Re/Max Malta after one of their agents, Karl Cutajar, fell ill and subsequently died of cancer. In his honour the directors and franchise owners of the company agreed to set up their own foundation that will support family members who are in need and children within the Maltese community that are suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer.