This October, Mildreds Managing Director, Sam Anstey, along with fellow team members, family and friends are kindly taking on the Royal Parks Half Marathon for Spread a Smile in memory of Sam’s daughter, Ari.
So far, the team has raised an incredible £12,000 and counting with Sam saying,
“Spread a Smile was incredibly special to Ari and to our whole family. During some of the hardest times of her illness, they brought moments of happiness, laughter and normality when we needed them most. I am running the Royal Parks Half Marathon with close friends and some of the Mildreds team in memory of our special Ari and to raise money so Spread a Smile can continue doing the same for other children and families. Ari was our light, and it means so much to us to be doing this in her memory.”
Plant based restaurant group Mildreds has partnered with Spread a Smile since 2022, hosting regular tea parties for seriously ill children and their families supported by the charity. These events provide valuable opportunities for our families to experience enjoyable days out together, making memories, having fun and meeting others going through similar experiences.
Taking their training for the half marathon seriously, the Mildreds team organised ‘Fuelled By Mildreds: The Spread a Smile Run Club’, a series of 5km runs in partnership with social media influencers Issy and Calum Sedgwick-Goddard from Stay In It.
Fundraising Executive, Rimi Char said, “We are so grateful to the Mildreds team – Sam, Shaun, Michelle, Mandy, Danny, Talia and Michael – for all their support, training and fundraising efforts. The Spread a Smile Run Club is such a great way of motivating runners, helping them with their running aims and generally enjoying the training experience together. The team’s efforts serve as a wonderful tribute to beautiful Ari.
“This year, we will welcome our largest team of runners for the Royal Parks Half Marathon with over 70 taking on the challenge to help raise as much as possible to support our work spreading smiles to seriously ill children and young people. Thank you to team Mildreds and every single one of our runners for going the extra mile for Spread a Smile.”
Find out more about joining Team Smile for one of our upcoming challenges:
- London Landmarks Half Marathon: Sunday 4 April 2027
- Hackney Moves Half Marathon: Sunday 16 May 2027
- Saucony LDN 10k: Sunday 11 July 2027
