We are delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with market leading toy, games and arts & crafts company, Vivid / Goliath. Starting later this month, Vivid / Goliath will be supporting Spread a Smile and our families through its Crayola brand, funding much needed in person art initiatives and donating Crayola art supplies for children in the NHS hospitals we support.
Jade Childs, Senior Brand Manager at Crayola shared more about the partnership, saying, “We know from the pandemic just how therapeutic art is and our passion at Crayola is to raise and inspire creatively alive kids. The partnership with Spread a Smile resonates so strongly with our values and we are delighted to be able to offer this incredible charity much needed funding and extensive product to support these wonderful art sessions to children at their bedsides. Crayola will be donating hundreds of Colour Pencils, SuperTips and Crayons over the next 10 months and looking forward to volunteering as a team later in the year to help the charity pack and distribute Christmas presents to patients.”
Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon, who has supported Spread a Smile for many years, recently visited children at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington with Crayola and the Spread a Smile team. “You could see once the children were 
immersed with the fairy and art activities, they were immediately relaxed and distracted from their pain and treatment.”
Alesha spent time with patients including Adam aged three, Aiyla aged four, Melinda aged 12 and Emily aged 16, chatting and testing out some of the Crayola products saying, “I was glad I could be there to spread some smiles and see the Spread a Smile team doing what they’re so good at”.
The partnership is a wonderful opportunity to spread smiles and bring moments of respite and relaxation to seriously ill children and young people in the hospitals we support.
Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive said “Art is important in every child’s development. It encourages children to express their creativity, develop motor skills and heightens their ability to communicate and problem solve. For children in hospital, art related projects and activities also provide a welcome distraction from 
treatment and the hospital environment. This is why we are so excited to be working in partnership with Crayola to deliver even more art initiatives to seriously ill children and their siblings across our hospital partners. Thank you to everyone at Crayola for their generosity, creativity and enthusiasm – we’re looking forward to working together and seeing imaginations engaged through art.
“We are so grateful to Alesha for making the time to visit St Mary’s with us and spreading lots of smiles across the wards.”
Thank you to Vivid/Goliath and Crayola for their support and to Alesha for helping us launch the partnership.