Spread a Smile has launched a new Intensive Care Library Project which will see the charity set up 20 libraries in 13 NHS hospitals for families with children on intensive care and high dependency units to use.
When a child is diagnosed with a serious illness, life can become very unsettled, scary and unfamiliar, controlled by schedules, treatment plans and prolonged hospital stays away from family and friends. Through our libraries, Spread a Smile will provide a way for children and their families to find comfort and calm through the familiar activity of reading together.
The majority of books have been generously donated by the charity Emmie’s Books which was set up by Lindsay and Andy McPartland, whose daughter Emmie was diagnosed with cancer when she was 14 weeks old.
Lindsay and Andy said, “Spread a Smile is a charity dear to our hearts and as soon as we heard about their Intensive Care Library Project, we knew we wanted to support it. Our daughter, Emmie, was diagnosed with a Malignant Rhabdoid Tumour in September 2019 when she was just 14 weeks old. During that first week in Great Ormond Street Hospital, when the world was collapsing around us and all we could see was darkness, we had a knock on the door and a Spread a Smile fairy came in and asked if she could sing for us. It was just the most magical, wonderful moment that we will always remember.
“Since then, Spread a Smile has supported us as a family in so many ways – on our first Christmas Day in hospital and through countless visits and family events since then. We have built so many happy memories together as a family thanks to Spread a Smile and one of the highlights of our year will always be their Summer Party. We got to meet so many other families, to celebrate and have fun together.
“Spread a Smile has been there for all of us through our darkest days, constantly making us smile. We are so happy to be able to give something back through Emmie’s Books, the charity we set up in 2021 in Emmie’s name to provide children’s books for little warriors in hospital and their families.
“Emmie underwent 8 rounds of chemotherapy, a radical nephrectomy, stem cell harvest and aspiration, high dose chemotherapy, 8 days on a ventilator in PICU and a further 12 months of maintenance chemotherapy. We spent a lot of time in hospital during that time, or at home recovering and as teachers, we know the importance of escapism through books, as well as the importance of keeping our minds busy as oncology parents.
“It’s our aim to give the gift or reading to as many children in hospital as possible and we’re delighted to be supporting Spread a Smile’s Intensive Care Library Project, donating hundreds of books for their libraries in 13 NHS hospitals.”
Emmie and her family visited Spread a Smile’s offices in person to delivery the books, helping to stack the first library to go into one of our hospital partners. The libraries are being delivered to hospitals across the UK including GOSH, The Evelina Children’s Hospital, Southampton Children’s Hospital and Nottingham Children’s Hospital. We are also grateful to three publishers – Penguin, Macmillan and Scholastic – who have all donated books.
Thank you so much to the McPartland family for their brilliant support and making such a generous donation and you can read more about the Intensive Care Library Project here.
Emmie is now in remission and Spread a Smile continues to support Emmie and her family through our family events.