Portal el Llano and Costanera Center initiative helps transform the Christmas experience for children with kidney disease

This Christmas took on meaning and lots of love thanks to Mall Portal's tremendous initiative. #PortalElLlano and Costanera Center, in which people visiting the mall could leave some gifts for children related to our Corporation. Part of these gifts were taken to the Dr. Exequiel González Cortés Hospital and were delivered to the little ones who were hospitalized, while another part was delivered to children in our Shelter, Health Center, camps and some schools.

The joyful faces of these boys and girls will be unforgettable. As a team it was a tremendous experience, which started with days and many hours of organization, which involved going to look for the gifts, opening them, selecting them by age, by sex. The most beautiful part was to deliver the gifts to the children, besides having the opportunity to join representatives of the Neighborhood Council No. 26 of San Miguel and the Rotary Club of the commune. All together we carried a message of hope and love, going through the different floors and wards of the hospital to personally deliver the gifts.

Participating in this initiative was very significant because it helps us to transform from the community the meaning of what this date is really about: helping people who need support the most. This initiative allows us to give a solidary twist to the view in shopping malls.

Dr. José Manuel Escala is the founder and president of Corporación Mater. As the organization marks its 30th anniversary, we sat down with him to discuss its origins, its major achievements, and the need to carry this work forward—a conversation in which he also acknowledges and thanks those who have played a vital role along the way.

For the past four years, Constanza Olivares has been the coordinator of highly complex surgical operations carried out by the MATER Corporation throughout Chile. A nurse and midwife by profession, she speaks of her work with conviction and gratitude: "The Corporation has allowed me to develop not only professionally, but also to provide more care to patients. And that, for me, is tremendously satisfying."

Anesthesiologist Virginia Montecinos has just completed ten operations as a volunteer at Corporación Mater. This number speaks to her perseverance, but above all, her conviction. We spoke with her to find out what motivated her to join, what she has learned along the way, and why, in her opinion, volunteering not only transforms the lives of children and their families, but also those who participate in it.

The catalog, designed by artist Angelito Peñaranda, invites companies to give meaningful gifts that support the health of children awaiting medical care in Chile.

We worked hard throughout 2025 to reduce waiting times for children throughout Chile, providing them with adequate, high-quality healthcare.

The work of volunteer doctors is at the heart of Corporación MATER, because it allows us to fulfill our purpose of providing timely, quality healthcare, shortening the wait times for hundreds of children throughout Chile, as well as demonstrating the impact that collaboration can achieve.

Portal el Llano and Costanera Center initiative helps transform the Christmas experience for children with kidney disease

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