Susie

Ten years ago Spread a Smile was founded by our very special Co-Founders, Josephine Segal and Vanessa Crocker. Their inspiration for starting the charity came from Aaron, Josephine’s nephew who at the time was in hospital at Great Ormond Street Hospital receiving treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Aaron with Spread a Smile Chief Executive Lucy Jackson, Vanessa Crocker and Josephine Segal

In April 2023 Spread a Smile held a Gala Dinner to welcome supporters, friends and colleagues for a celebration of the last ten years. We were delighted to welcome Aaron who took to the stage to share his journey and how, through her devotion to her nephew, Josephine joined forces with Vanessa to found Spread a Smile.

Below is Aaron’s speech from the night, sharing his journey and how it became the inspiration for everything Spread a Smile stands for today.

“Hello everyone and good evening. My name is Aaron and I’d like to tell you a little bit about my story. For context, I am Josephine’s nephew, and to me she is my Aunty Jojo, although I’ve been given strict instructions to not call her that because apparently, it’s ‘unprofessional’. But to me, anything else other than Aunty Jojo just doesn’t sound right. Now that we’ve got that out the way, I’ve only been given three minutes so I’ll get right to it.

“Ten and half years ago, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and spent half a year in Lion Ward at Great Ormond Street Hospital. For 6 days a week, my parents, Caroline and Simon, stayed overnight to look after me. They selflessly rose to the challenge of caring and supporting me when I needed it the most, while maintaining a sense of normality at home. My brothers, Joshua and Oliver would frequently visit me frequently after school, vicariously enduring my experiences alongside me, and going through their own hardships from seeing their brother suffer. But my family made sure I never felt alone and for that I’m eternally grateful. To give my family a break for one night a week, every Monday, my Aunty Jojo would stay overnight in my hospital room.

“Around 2 months into my treatment, during a particularly aggressive round of chemotherapy, the side effects of the drugs I was administered started to take their toll on my body. My strength was deteriorating to the point that I could hardly get out of bed, my appetite diminished so I had barely any energy. As a result, the few sources of entertainment I had available to me in my hospital room weren’t enough to provide a distraction from my illness. The strings of my guitar, which was my last line of defence, providing a release in the form of creative expression, became too tough to pluck, and I was at my wits end. One Monday night, the weight of it all became too much for my frail body and jaded spirit to handle. At the time, I thought that the cause of the breakdown that ensued was that I so desperately wanted to be anywhere else in the world other than that hospital room. But retrospectively, that moment represented a fundamental change in how I viewed myself: I wasn’t a child anymore, being a patient was at the forefront of my identity.

“Each day spent bedbound became a reminder of everything I couldn’t do that a healthy child does. Playing football, going to school and socialising all seemed unreachable to me. Being immunocompromised for extended periods during my treatment limited visitation to only close family members. My friends who eventually were able to visit, who I am incredibly grateful for, unfortunately served as reminders of the life I was missing out on when they left to go home, and I remained where I was.

“Until my Aunty Jojo brought in a magician and provided the escapism I so desperately needed. The bewildered amazement I felt as the coin he had placed on the back of my hand had somehow appeared underneath my palm, as if it had fallen straight through my hand, was a sensation I remember so vividly. And in that brief moment, I had forgotten I was a patient. I had asked if the magician was able to visit the girl in the room adjacent to mine, but unfortunately hospital regulations wouldn’t allow it. It was at that moment that my aunt saw an opportunity to help make the time children spend in hospital wards more tolerable, and as they say, the rest is history.

“Providing that transforming experience is really the essence of Spread a Smile: even if only for a fleeting minute, lifting the weight of being a patient with a life-threatening illness off the child’s shoulders, and allowing them to experience childhood again. During my time volunteering at Spread a Smile I saw first-hand the impact that their amazing work has not only on the patients, but their siblings and
parents too.

“It is with great pleasure that I would like to introduce to you Eleanor Tyrell, who was the head nurse and ward sister of Lion Ward during my stay at Great Ormond Street. 10 years on and I realised I never properly thanked you for putting up with my antics when I was a patient, for that I can only apologise. And with that said, thank you very much for listening everyone and I hope you enjoy your evening.”

Thank you so much to Aaron for sharing his journey with us. To find out more about the work of Spread a Smile and how you can get involved, please click here.

Spread a Smile is delighted to announce that its two Co-Founders, Josephine Segal and Vanessa Crocker, have both been awarded an MBE in The King’s 2024 New Year Honours for services to seriously and terminally ill children and their families. 

Aaron with Spread a Smile Chief Executive Lucy Jackson, Vanessa Crocker and Josephine Segal

Josephine and Vanessa started the charity in 2013 after seeing the hugely positive impact a magician’s visit had on Josephine’s then 9 year old nephew, Aaron, during intensive cancer treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital. They met in 2005, volunteering at another charity, granting wishes for terminally ill children. 

They started Spread a Smile around their kitchen tables, with a small but dedicated group of volunteers, making just two visits a month to Great Ormond Street Hospital with a team of four entertainers. Having seen first-hand the impact a cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment had on Aaron and his family, they knew only too well how to provide entertainment and support which would have the biggest possible impact on seriously ill children and their families. 

In the last 10 years, the charity has grown significantly and is now the country’s leading provider of hospital entertainment for children and teenagers with 34 NHS hospital and hospice partners, making over 1,000 hospital bedside visits every month.

In spite of our growth, Spread a Smile has retained the values of kindness and compassion instilled by the Co-Founders from the early days, which is what makes Spread a Smile so unique and special and why so many donors and partners continue to support the charity year after year. Providing an incredibly personal service for all and building relationships with families has always been paramount for Josephine and Vanessa who know that one size never fits all. Parents often comment on how Josephine and Vanessa are always available to listen and give emotional support, offering a sense of comfort and community during an incredibly challenging time.

Both Josephine and Vanessa, who have been Trustees since the organisation started, along with their husbands, Richard Segal and Paul Crocker, remain actively involved in the day to day running of the charity. As part of their role, they make regular visits to children in hospital with Spread a Smile entertainers and Josephine’s therapy dog, Buddy, offering a listening ear, comforting advice, support for families and a warm hug. 

Read on to find out more about Spread a Smile, how we are making a difference to the families we support and how you can get involved.

Christmas is the busiest time of year for Spread a Smile as we go the extra mile to bring some of the excitement and joy of the festive season to as many of the families we support as possible.

This year has been no exception with Spread a Smile reaching even more families than ever before through our festive initiatives. 

Smile Hampers
Between 1 November – 11 December 2023, an incredible 540 volunteers joined us at Spread a Smile HQ in London to pack 1,450 Smile Hampers to be delivered to seriously ill children and teenagers at home and in hospital and to their siblings too. 

“Completely overwhelmed today with the gift Elijah got from Spread a Smile. I have one very happy, grateful boy this evening.” Parent

Over 10,000 gifts went into the Smile Hampers, every one handpicked with each child in mind and packed with love. Take a look at the film below to watch the magic of the process!

Hospital and hospice partner support
During December, and including Christmas day, we will have carried out 58 in-person visits to our NHS hospital and hospice partners, helping to spread some festive cheer. Plus we’ve supported many of their Christmas parties.

We’ve also sent out over 3,000 gifts, generously sponsored by Spring Finance, to all of our hospital and hospice partners to be distributed to seriously ill children and young people.

In total, DPD generously collected over 1000 boxes full of hampers and gifts (7 full van loads), delivering them around the country in time for Christmas. 

Christmas Grotto
We once again returned to the North Pole with our Christmas Grotto, giving the children we support the chance to meet Santa online. Accompanied by the Spread a Smile team of talented elves and entertainers, we welcomed over 320 children and their siblings to the grotto, spreading smiles and festive cheer far and wide. The grotto is such an important and special initiative as it gives children who can’t get out to see Santa the chance to meet him from home or in hospital.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us this Christmas, helping us to achieve all of the above, including;

• Everyone who donated in support of our Christmas Smile Hamper Appeal or sponsored a Smile Hamper;
• All those who bought a gift from our Christmas Gift List to go into our hampers or be sent out to our hospital and hospice partners;
• The incredible companies and organisations who donated larger quantities of gifts or helped fund our Christmas initiatives (Spring Finance, Hasbro, Spin Master, The Fence Club, Rainbow Designs, Melissa & Doug, OTL Technologies, Cheatwell Games, Aurora World, Plus-Plus, Crayola, Playmobil, Barry M, Derwent Art, Swizzles-Matlow, McVities, Lottie London, Hunter Price, Skinny Dip);
• Our amazing volunteers for giving up their time to help us pick and pack;
• Our friends at Uncommon for providing us with additional space to curate and store our deliveries;
• DPD for collecting and delivering all of our gifts for free!

We’d love to hear from you if you or your company would like to support us in 2024. Please email us at fundraising@spreadasmile.org to get involved. Thank you.

Last week, Spread a Smile was delighted to attend the annual PMA Christmas Lunch at the Andaz Hotel in London as PMA’s chosen charity for the coming year.

The PMA is a voluntary organisation representing retailers in the property world and guests at the lunch included the UK’s largest retailers. Spread a Smile co-founder, Josephine Segal was delighted to attend the lunch on behalf of the charity, sharing a little bit from the stage about our work and the difference we make to seriously ill children and their families, thanks to the generous support of organisations such as PMA.

“I would like to thank The PMA for their invaluable support. By giving us the opportunity to share our work more widely within the retail sector, we’ll be raising much needed awareness about our invaluable work. It’s been a pleasure to join The PMA for their Christmas Lunch and to meet so many respected people. We’re very much looking forward to working with The PMA to raise vital funds and help spread even more smiles and happiness when they are needed most.” Josephine Segal, Spread a Smile Co-Founder and Trustee

“The PMA are proud to support Spread A Smile as this years chosen charity. Having personally seen the magic they bring to families experiencing some of their toughest times we are committed over these coming months to help raise funds and awareness through the work we undertake in retail.” Kerry Northfold, President of The PMA 

A huge thank you to everyone at The PMA for their support.

Please do get in touch with us if you or your company are interested in supporting our work.