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Thomas the Therapy Dog

Meet Thomas the Therapy Dog

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Meet Thomas, one of our Therapy Dogs and his owner, Spread a Smile Visit Manager Olivia Leich.

Thomas is an 8-year-old miniature Australian Labradoodle – a breed known to be wonderfully calm companions. We spoke to Olivia about Thomas, how he became a Therapy Dog and the important role he plays during their hospital visits.

“Thomas is such a lovely dog – peaceful, calm and a real comfort. When a colleague suggested that Thomas might make a brilliant Therapy Dog for Spread a Smile, I thought it would be perfect for him.

Olivia and Thomas

He had an interview with a ‘Pets As Therapy’ Dog Assessor to check his suitability – things such as whether he jumped up at people, barked, was friendly and calm around children and how he reacted to sudden movements and loud noises. Needless to say he passed with flying colours and since February this year, he’s been joining me for three shifts a week visiting hospitals.

Thomas’ role is to bring happiness, spread smiles and distract away from the hardships of life in hospital. He is a natural, immediately putting people at ease. From the moment I clip on his Spread a Smile bandana, he is so excited to get going, waiting by the door for us to leave.

As soon as we enter the hospital Thomas takes his role very seriously and really enjoys visiting the children on the wards. Everyone has the opportunity to open his treat box and give him a treat, but first they have to ask him for a high five and a fist pump before he is rewarded. He never fails and always takes the treat as if it’s the first one he’s ever had!

Thomas is very caring and proud of what he does. He can sense if a child is really unwell and bed bound and needs him to be calm and still. He will let me gently place him on the bed close to them, where he will lie calmly so that the child can stroke him or brush his fur.

During a typical week, Thomas might meet between 10 – 30 patients across various paediatric wards ranging from intensive care to rehabilitation clinics, outpatients, A&E and long term stay wards.

Quite simply, Thomas is an integral part of the team, bringing another level of joy and this joy is felt not just by the patients but also by their families and staff on the wards. I couldn’t imagine doing my job without him. Seeing the happiness he brings to the wards is incredible. He brings a sense of calm, fun and love which is immeasurable.”

Play in Hospital Week - King's College Hospital

A record-breaking Play in Hospital Week

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Play in Hospital Week (PIHW) is a special week which aims to raise awareness of the benefits of play in the treatment of unwell children, this year with a theme of ‘Play for resilience and good mental health’.

Spread a Smile celebrated PIHW in style setting ourselves the target of doing more than ever before in one week. And what a record-breaking week it was!

  • We carried out a record number of visits – a whopping 17 in total to 14 hospitals;
  • We visited 3 new hospitals: Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Newham University Hospital and Princess Alexandra Hospital; and
  • We spread smiles to over 400 children and young people, helping to make their time in hospital a little bit easier.

Play is an essential part of childhood and is at the very heart of mental, social and emotional growth and well-being. It is important that play continues to be part of a child’s life, even when they are admitted to hospital – a time when they are at their most vulnerable.

Spread a Smile Entertainers and staff work closely with and support Play Specialists and Play Workers in 21 Hospitals and 2 Hospices across the UK, providing a wide variety of entertainment and play activities for seriously and terminally ill children and young people. Our aim is to help distract, relieve fear and stress and create a safe, welcoming environment during treatment.

Our work can make a huge difference: “You have helped our daughter on her hardest days not only with her medical issues but with her mental issues too. I feel as a family we can never repay you all enough for your kindness you show to her.”

We are so proud of our achievements for PIHW 2022 and would like to say a huge thank you to our Spread a Smile Entertainers, the hospital play teams and all of the companies that have helped make it so special.

Comedy Night with Suzi Ruffell

Comedy Night with Suzi Ruffell

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We are delighted to announce that on Monday 19th December, our Ambassador and Comedian Suzi Ruffell will be hosting a second annual Spread a Smile Comedy Night at The Comedy Store, London, sponsored by our friends at Canary Wharf Contractors.

Following on from the success of last year’s inaugural event, Suzi has curated another fantastic evening of stand up comedy, featuring a brilliant line up of famously funny faces, including Alan Carr, Ed Gamble, Rosie Jones, Jen Brister, Jenny Bede and Dinesh Nathan.

Suzi first discovered Spread a Smile when a friend’s child, Trixie, was in hospital and she was able to see first-hand what a difference our visits and entertainers made during Trixie’s stay. Since then, Suzi has supported the charity generously, donating her winnings from TV appearances on The Tipping Point and The Weakest Link, and organising and hosting the first comedy fundraiser in aid of Spread of Smile in December last year.

We are extremely grateful to our sponsors Canary Wharf Contractors for supporting the event:

“We’re so proud to come on board as a sponsor for Spread a Smile’s Comedy Night again this year. It’s set to be a great evening and we’re pleased to be able to support it and the brilliant work the charity does spreading smiles to seriously ill children.” Alec Vallentine, Managing Director – Construction at Canary Wharf Group.

Tickets are on sale now for £23 each, with all proceeds from the event supporting our work spreading laughter and smiles to seriously ill children in hospital wards across the UK.

Event details: Monday 19th December at The Comedy Store, 1a Oxendon Street, London, SW1Y 4EE

Bar and Diner open from 7pm, event starts at 8pm. Strictly over 18’s.

Thank you to Suzi and all of our fantastic comedians for generously giving up their time and sharing their talents with us. And to The Comedy Store for their ongoing support.