Wensambulance Limburg

What Wensambulance Limburg does

Stichting Wensambulance Limburg is a Dutch nonprofit foundation (stichting) headquartered in Venlo that operates specialized ambulance transport to fulfill the final wishes of terminally ill, bedridden, or end-of-life patients in the Limburg province who cannot use regular transport. Founded in 2013 under the name 'Wens in Beweging' and rebranded to its current name in 2017, the foundation runs three specially equipped ambulances (including a children's ambulance branded 'Wensje') supplemented by an electric beach stretcher and electric beach wheelchair for accessible seaside wishes. Service delivery is direct: patients and families are referred through hospitals, nursing homes, and word-of-mouth, with requests submitted via the organization's website and Microsoft Forms.

The operational model is entirely volunteer-driven, with more than 100 volunteers drawn from healthcare professions (police, ambulance, fire department, hospitals) as well as administrative and communications backgrounds, providing professional medical escort and accompaniment during wish trips. A board chaired by Huub Gubbels and including an ER physician/medical manager, a home-care education lead, and a care manager with grief-therapy training supervises the foundation. High-profile ambassadors — violinist André Rieu, baritone Sef Thissen, and Toverland mascot Toos Toverhoed — support awareness and fundraising.

Wensambulance Limburg does not charge wish recipients; all operating costs are covered through donations and sponsoring from private individuals and local companies, with the foundation holding ANBI (Dutch public-benefit organization) status. Marketing and demand generation are community-led, relying on the website, social media wish stories, healthcare fairs, school presentations, community events, and earned media coverage. Over 12.5 years, the foundation has fulfilled more than 2,000 wish rides and reports active ongoing operations into 2025/2026.

Name

Wensambulance Limburg

Legal name

Stichting Wensambulance Limburg

Website

https://wensambulancelimburg.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Stichting Wensambulance Limburg is a Dutch nonprofit foundation that uses three specialized ambulances and over 100 volunteer healthcare escorts to fulfill final wishes of terminally ill and bedridden patients across the Limburg province, funded entirely by donations and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-emergency medical transport

NAICS

Ambulance Services (62191), Special Needs Transportation (485991)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Ambulatory Medical Escort / Door-Through-Door Assistance Services (TLAFAKAD)

Keywords

• Non-emergency medical transport
• Wish fulfillment transport
• Palliative patient transport
• Volunteer ambulance services
• Charitable transport services

Headquarters

HQ city

Venlo

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsoring: The foundation is entirely dependent on donations and sponsoring from private individuals and companies who support this initiative. No revenue is generated from the wish recipients themselves.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Wensambulance Limburg provides free, specialized non-emergency ambulance transport for seriously ill, bedridden, or terminal patients in the Limburg region of the Netherlands to fulfill their final wishes. Each wish trip is accompanied by qualified healthcare volunteers and includes space for family members, with transports provided door-to-door from hospital or nursing home to the wish destination and back. The service is funded entirely by donations and sponsorships and operates with three ambulances (including a children's ambulance called Wensje) and accessibility equipment such as an electric beach stretcher and beach wheelchair.

Product overview

Stichting Wensambulance Limburg operates as a single-service charity organization offering specialized ambulance transport for fulfilling the final wishes of seriously ill, bedridden, or terminal patients. The core offering is the Wensambulance Service, which provides transport with trained medical escorts and space for family members. The organization has expanded its capabilities with specialized equipment including an electric beach stretcher and electric beach wheelchair to enable beach-related wishes. The service operates with three ambulances and over 100 volunteers, focusing exclusively on wish fulfillment transport rather than medical care or emergency services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wensje: The mascot/kinderambulance (children's ambulance) associated with the organization. Toos Toverhoed, the mascot of Toverland, serves as the official ambassadress of Wensje.

Products and services

• Wensambulance Wish Transport Service Specialized non-emergency ambulance transport service that takes terminally ill, bedridden, or end-of-life patients in the Limburg region of the Netherlands from hospital or nursing home to a wish destination and back, with qualified healthcare escorts and space for family members along the journey.
• Wensje Children's Ambulance Pediatric wish transport service using a specially equipped children's ambulance branded Wensje, tailored to fulfill wishes for seriously ill children.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 2,000 wishes fulfilled over 12.5 years

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Dreams4YoumajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Collaboration with Dreams4You for wishes that require more organization beyond transport and care. Wensambulance Limburg focuses on organizing transport and care, while Dreams4You helps with additional wish organization.
• Make-A-Wish Foundation NetherlandsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Collaboration with Make-A-Wish Foundation for wishes requiring additional organization. The organizations work together to fulfill wishes that neither could complete alone.
• Ambulancezorg Limburg-NoordcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013André Lemmen from Ambulancezorg Limburg-Noord supported the initiative in its early phase. The organization was able to start thanks to a financially written-off ambulance made available by this partner.
• VDL Bus CoachminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display.
• ArtOnminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display.
• Botex TextielshopminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display.
• Carwash BeekminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display. Also a carwash sponsor for the ambulances.
• GGD Limburg-NoordminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display.
• Petra LenssenminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display.
• Van Halst WasserijminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display.
• VLP NotarissenminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display.
• Visser LeeuwardenminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display.
• ZeroplexminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display.
• Wassalon HolidayminorOthersSponsor partner visible on the website with logo display.
• André RieucoreOthersWorld-famous violinist and ambassador who proudly supports Wensambulance Limburg with heart and soul. Immediately said yes when asked to become ambassador.
• Sef ThissencoreOthersBaritone and ambassador who finds it special to be ambassador. Uses his background in emotion through music to support the foundation.
• Toos ToverhoedcoreOthersOfficial ambassador of Wensje, the children's ambulance. Mascot from Toverland theme park.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Make-A-Wish International: Global wish-granting umbrella organization. Comparable mission around fulfilling wishes for critically ill children and adults, with substantially greater scale and resources than the subject company.
• CliniClowns: Larger, better-funded Dutch nonprofit bringing joy experiences to sick and disabled children, including those with terminal conditions. Operates in the broader end-of-life/serious-illness wish and joy space and competes for donor mindshare.
• Ambulancezorg Limburg-Noord: Regional professional ambulance service that provided Wensambulance Limburg's founding ambulance and whose leadership supported the initiative. Operates a much broader emergency and patient-transport portfolio of which wish fulfillment is a tiny specialty niche.

Direct peers

• Make-A-Wish Netherlands: National wish-fulfillment foundation that collaborates with Wensambulance Limburg as a core strategic partner. Operates in the same end-of-life and serious-illness wish space and refers transport-heavy wishes to the ambulance service.
• Wensambulance Oost: Sibling Dutch wish ambulance foundation covering the eastern Netherlands. Operates the same model (specialized ambulances, volunteer medical escorts, donations-funded) in an adjacent geographic territory.
• Stichting Ambulance Wens: Dutch nonprofit offering ambulance-based wish transport for terminally ill patients — a near-identical service model operating in other Dutch regions. Most directly comparable organization to Wensambulance Limburg.
• Dreams4You: Dutch wish-fulfillment foundation that partners with Wensambulance Limburg for transport-dependent wishes. Addresses overlapping patient populations and shares referral flow with the subject company.

Emerging players

• Stichting Het Palet: Smaller Dutch charity supporting wishes and quality-of-life experiences for seriously ill individuals. Comparable end-of-life patient focus but with a different funding and delivery model (not ambulance-based).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wensambulancelimburg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wensambulance-limburg

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wensambulance Limburg