In the lead up to Christmas, Spread a Smile’s Head of Art, Marina, is invited into Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) to help brighten up the wards by painting festive murals on the ward windows and corridors.
Christmas can be an extremely difficult time of year for young patients receiving treatment in hospital, meaning time spent away from family and friends, not able to do the festive things that other children do at this time of year.
Marina works closely with the hospital and play teams to bring a little bit of Christmas cheer to the clinical setting, hand painting characters and messages to help bring the spirit of Christmas onto the wards.
Marina spent three days painting across wards in GOSH saying, “Going into GOSH in the lead up to Christmas is always one of my favourite things to do. It’s lovely to see the children’s faces as they see the artworks coming together. Often, they tell me what they would like to see or want to chat about what I’m doing. It is a great distraction, and it bring out so many smiles – from the children and also parents and staff too. It’s nice to know we’re helping to spread so many smiles in the hospital environment.”
Spread a Smile’s Director of Services, Laura Walter added, “We are so proud to support our NHS hospital partners in this way. Christmas should be full of wonder and beauty for every child and at Spread a Smile we want to do everything we can to help bring some of that to children and families who will be in hospital and away from home during the festive period.”
Alongside our art initiatives, Spread a Smile is also spreading joy through our Smile Hampers initiative. In 2024, we’re sending out 1,750 of our amazing gift boxes to seriously ill children and their siblings in time for Christmas. Each Smile Hamper is packed full of gifts, hand-picked with each child in mind, bringing so much happiness to everyone who receives them.
“Thank you so much for these amazing hampers! We got home today from GOSH after a surgery, so to come home to this when she wasn’t feeling brilliant, has made her day. She is over the moon and to include her sister is just so lovely” Parent
Please donate to support our Christmas activities and help spread a little Spread a Smile love. Thank you.
