Telethon on two wheels: Motorcycles bring joy to the children's hospital!

The gymnasium of the children's and youth clinic at Erlangen University Hospital was a place full of joy and magic on October 28, 2025. The Schwabach marionette stage offered an enchanting performance of Peter Pan, aimed at young patients and their families. Under the direction of Gaby Bauer and Armin Vogel, the marionettes came to life, while the background music created a special atmosphere.

Marion Müller, the head educator at the children's clinic, was pleased with the successful event, which was prepared with a lot of loving commitment. Setting up the stage and the string system took up to two hours, but the smiling faces of the little spectators more than made up for the effort. The event was organizationally supported by the “Toy Run – Dreams for Sick Children Erlangen” association, which not only contributed to the financing but also to the establishment of this beautiful tradition.

A festive supporting program

The Toy Run, which took place for the 30th time in May 2024, is an eventful parallel event. Back then, over 600 motorcycles rolled from Dechsendorf to the children's and youth clinic. This traditionally wonderful event was intended to bring joy to the little patients and was rounded off with a celebration for everyone involved. The band “Hank Davison & Friends” provided musical accompaniment to the program. In addition, a games course was set up for the children and several magic shows ensured great enthusiasm.

This event wasn't just a highlight for the little ones; also personalities like Dr. Albrecht Bender, the commercial director of the university hospital, Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger, President of FAU, and Dr. Florian Janik, Mayor of Erlangen, took the floor and showed their support. Christian Zens, Chancellor of FAU, also supported the charity campaign.

A look back at a moving story

The idea of ​​the Toy Run comes from the USA and was launched in 1995 by Jay Glasgow. The first Toy Run in Erlangen, in which 50 Americans took part, brought in donations to support the children's clinic. In 2001, the association “Toy Run – Dreams for Sick Children Erlangen e. V.” was founded, which has since then made an impressive contribution to equipping the clinic. Since its founding, the association has collected over 1,000,000 euros for the young patients and their families.

This tradition impressively shows how much joy and support can come from the community. The cooperation between the medical facility and the volunteers makes it clear that we can all have a good hand in making the lives of little patients a little brighter and giving them special moments.