Under normal circumstances, Spread a Smile would be delivering 35 monthly visits to 8 London hospitals, bringing fairies, magicians, face-painters, therapy dogs, singers and lots more to bring smiles to and enhance the wellbeing of seriously and terminally ill children and teenagers. As a result of COVID-19 we have had to suspend all visits and face-to-face contact with patients.
But we know that those smiles are now more important than ever. Young patients in hospital have become more isolated than ever before. This is why we need your help. Because with your help, suspending our hospital visits does not have to mean suspending smiles.
In response to the outbreak, we have created Smile TV – providing children and teenagers access to special video content made exclusively for them, via our website. We can make them smile at any time of the day. Whilst they are able to, our hospital entertainment team are together recording videos: magic, singing, face-painting and lots more. And once they can no longer film together, our plan is that they will keep recording new content from their homes and keep uploading it to Smile TV. But we can only continue to do this with your help.
We have also started sending art and boredom-busting packs and special treats to our hospital partners to distribute to young patients to keep them busy. But, again, we can only keep sending these packs in with your help.
As well as our hospital visits, COVID-19 has also affected our practical ability to fundraise. Like many others, we have had to cancel all of the events that we had planned for the coming months where we would have raised vital funds to support our work.
Below is a list detailing how your donation will make such a profound difference to our work:
- £5 would help us buy art and crafts materials for art packs
- £25 would enable us to provide a child with a complete art pack
- £50 would help us create a personalised message from an entertainer to a child in particular need of a smile
- £100 would help us organise a treat drop to one of our hospital partners
- £250 would help us create a unique video from an entertainer on Smile TV
- £1000 would help us future-proof the running costs of Smile TV
So how can you help?
- Please DONATE HERE to help us meet these new and unexpected needs at this unprecedented time
- Please share this page with anybody who you think might also be able to help us
As we all know, the situation is changing by the day. We will therefore keep this page updated as our response continues to evolve to meet the evolving needs.
On behalf of all of the children, teenagers, families and hospital staff that we work with – and from all of us at Spread a Smile – thank you so much for your generous support at this uncertain and unsettling time. We are all so grateful for every single smile that you can help us to spread.
To donate to the COVID-19 Appeal, please click here.
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