Who we are

Who we are?

A smile belongs to everyone…

Klub Detskej Nádeje (Children’s Hope Club), abbreviated as KDN, is a civil association uniting those who wish to contribute to enhancing, facilitating and brightening the lives of long-term hospitalized or disabled children.

KDN members are individuals who cherish spending time with children. Our primary activity is regularly visiting children in hospital departments. In the evenings, after visiting hours, we offer them companionship, an equal peer during playtime or conversations. We reintroduce them to the outside world they have temporarily been excluded from.

Throughout the year, we hold regular meetings to assess, plan our activities, divide tasks and share our experiences. We focus on promotion, obtaining new funds and planning new KDN projects. Moreover, we provide material for recreational activities within the departments and we collaborate with organizations of similar interest.

Our members

Michal Kmeť

Coordinator of Children’s Hope Club

In addition to supervising the functioning of the association, I regularly visit the children’s oncology department and I also participate in toy giveaways, weekenders, and summer camps.

Klára Maržič

Volunteer coordinator for Trnava

I began attending oncology camps in 2018. After turning 18, I returned to the camps as a leader rather than a child participant. I am motivated to give back what I once received. I aim to help children in hospitals, specifically in Trnava, to momentarily forget the hardships they are enduring.

Martina Gajdošíková

Deputy Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator for Považská Bystrica

My name is Maťa and I am the Deputy Coordinator of KDN and Volunteer Coordinator for Považská Bystrica. I started at KDN in the Neurology department, later I became the Head of volunteers for the Children’s Oncology department for older children and in 2018 I extended KDN’s presence to Považská Bystrica.

Zuzana Kmeťová

Deputy Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator for Bratislava

At KDN, I am the Deputy Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator in Bratislava. Furthermore, I am the Head of the Department of Child Neurology. The smiles from the children in the Children’s Oncology department are a constant reminder that my work serves a meaningful purpose.

Magdaléna Hrivniaková

Volunteer Coordinator for Prešov

I have been a volunteer for over 15 years, but I have been active in KDN since 2015. I am currently the Volunteer Coordinator in Prešov. I am mainly involved in workshops, Bible stories, board games, and contests. By volunteering, I receive more than I give. My motto is: “Who has the opportunity to help – has the duty to do so.”

Mária Gajdošová

Head of the Department 1st Children’s Clinic

I started volunteering during my university studies and I joined KDN in 2019 to volunteer in the Child Neurology department. I think of the time spent with children as a form of relaxation. They reward me with a smile and joy in their bright eyes. What I really appreciate about them is their honesty, spontaneity and intriguing questions that arise from their curious minds.

Tereza Škrípová

Head of the Department Children’s Orthopaedic Clinic

I have been a member of KDN since 2019. I started in the Children’s Orthopaedics department and later became Head of that department. I like to participate in toy giveaways and St. Nicholas Day events. Children are always fun to be with and their joy can make even the busiest days more enjoyable. I began volunteering in high school and I have been enjoying it ever since!

Boris Frankovič

Head of the Department Clinic of Paediatric Surgery – Boys section

I have been volunteering at KDN since 2018. During that time I visited both departments of surgery. Visiting the children in the department is a mutual symbiosis of carefree joy.

Michaela Bernátová

Head of the Department 2nd Children’s Clinic

I first got into volunteering at the age of 13 through a civic association where I assisted at events for children. In 2022 I joined KDN as a volunteer in the children’s department in Považská Bystrica and in the Orthopaedics department in Bratislava, where you can find me to this day.

I really like the idea of making children’s hospital stays more pleasant – not only is it fun for them, but also for us, and sometimes it is very educational as well because we often lack that childlike perspective of the world.

Veronika Matuščinová

Head of the Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (younger) children

I am the Head of volunteers at Oncology – Younger children. I have been in KDN since 2014. I started as a volunteer in Oncology – Younger children, where I remain to this day. Department visits have become an integral part of my life and I cannot imagine spending my Tuesdays any other way.

Jozef Gontkovič

Head of the Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (older) children

I have been volunteering at KDN since 2016. I am the Head of the Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology – Older children. Furthermore, I am also the head of the summer camp and regularly participate in toy giveaway events at the hospital.

Eva Gažová

Deputy Coordinator and Head of Onco-camps

I first encountered KDN back in 2005 when I started attending summer camps as a recovering cancer patient. As soon as I turned 18, I became a volunteer and started attending the children’s department in Trnava. Currently, I am the Deputy Coordinator, I visit the Oncology department in Bratislava and I organize children’s summer camps and combined cardio-oncology events.

I follow the concept that I want to pass on what KDN once gave to me.😊

Denisa Okrutská

Head of the Department of Child Neurology

I discovered the Children’s Hope Club through Facebook while working on my diploma thesis. Despite physical limitations, I decided to give it a try and became a volunteer in March 2023. It was the best decision I could have made. Each week, I enter the children’s world and feel that I am in a place where my presence is truly needed.

Jana Lužáková

Head of the Department of Child Neurology

I’ve been visiting children in the pediatric neurology ward since 2023. Alongside Denisa, I manage volunteers in this department. I know it’s not just about play – it’s about helping children forget painful procedures and experience something uplifting, even if only for a moment. The greatest reward is when they ask, “Will you come back tomorrow?”

Zuzana Spišiaková

Head of the Department of Bone Marrow Transplant Unit

I joined the Children’s Hope Club in 2022. I started as a volunteer in the pediatric orthopedics department, where I spent a year. Working with children is deeply fulfilling and has become a part of who I am.