Spread a Smile brings joy and laughter to seriously ill children in NHS hospitals and hospices across the country.

Through in-person and virtual visits and events, our entertainers – from magicians to musicians, artists,  fairies and therapy dogs – enhance wellbeing and help young patients cope with the pain and anxiety of serious illness and hospitalisation.

Alongside our visit programme, our resident artists help to make the hospital environment more child-friendly and we also deliver a programme of family-focused events, enabling families to spend precious time together outside of hospital.

Since our founding in 2013, we have built a reputation for developing bespoke relationships with each family and each health setting, so that we can offer the most meaningful, impactful support.

In 2026-27, we will deliver over 16,000 in-person hospital visits and over 2,000 virtual visits, in partnership with 39 NHS hospitals and six hospice partners.

Our core services include:

Entertainer visits – scheduled face-to-face and virtual hospital visits to children under the care of our hospital partners from our team of professional entertainers including play specialists, artists, magicians, musicians, poets and therapy dogs.

Outings and Events – an extended programme of family-focused theatre trips and physical and virtual family, sibling and teenage events plus regular treat drops across our hospital partners.

Art Initiatives – Enriching Spaces creates colourful murals on hospital wards and windows to make the hospital environment a more welcoming place for young patients and their families. Our hand-painted, bespoke masks and moulds support young patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment.

Find out how you can support our work bringing joy and laughter to seriously ill children here.

Our Story

Spread a Smile was founded in 2013 by Josephine Segal MBE and Vanessa Crocker MBE after seeing the positive impact a magician’s visit had on Josephine’s nephew, Aaron, during his treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

During his treatment Aaron had become increasingly withdrawn, so Josephine arranged for a magician to visit which had the most remarkable effect. Aaron’s spirits were lifted and his treatment became more bearable and as a result, Aaron asked if magicians could also visit friends that he’d met on the ward but hospital regulations made this impossible. Undeterred, Josephine promised Aaron she would find a way to make it happen and she teamed up with friend and former colleague Vanessa Crocker. Working closely with GOSH, they founded Spread a Smile.

Word spread and demand grew and now Spread a Smile works with 39 NHS partner hospitals and six hospices, providing in-person and virtual entertainer visits, family events and art initiatives.

In December 2016 Josephine and Vanessa’s achievements were acknowledged by Prime Minister Theresa May with a Points of Light award which recognises outstanding volunteers who make a change in their community and inspire others. In 2017, Spread a Smile was awarded Best Charity at The Sun’s inaugural Who Cares Wins Health Awards.

Josephine and Vanessa were awarded MBEs in The King’s 2024 New Year Honours for services to seriously & terminally ill children and their families.

NHS London

• Barnet Hospital
• Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
• Croydon University Hospital
• Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)
• Epsom Hospital
• Evelina London Children’s Hospital
• King’s College Hospital
• Kingston Hospital
• The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN)
• Newham Hospital
• North Middlesex University Hospital
• Northwick Park Hospital
• Princess Alexandra Hospital
• Queen’s Hospital, Romford
• Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich
• Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children
• The Royal Brompton Hospital
• The Royal London Hospital
• The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital
• St George’s Hospital
• St Mary’s Hospital
• The Royal Marsden Hospital
• University College Hospital (UCLH)
• Watford General Hospital
• West Middlesex University Hospital
• Whipps Cross Hospital
• The Whittington Hospital

NHS South East

• East Surrey Hospital, Redhill
• Oxford Children’s Hospital (John Radcliffe Hospital site)
• St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey
• Southampton Children’s Hospital
• William Harvey Hospital, Ashford

NHS Midlands

• Leicester Children’s Hospital
• Nottingham Children’s Hospital

NHS South West

• Bristol Royal Hospital for Children

NHS East of England

• Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge

NHS North West

• Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool
• The Christie, Manchester

NHS Wales

• Wrexham Maelor Hospital

Hospices

• Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice, Maidenhead
• Demelza Hospice Care for Children, Sittingbourne, Kent
• Forever Colours, Buckinghamshire
• Helen & Douglas House, Oxford
• Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, London
• The Pepper Foundation, Tring