News

Underground Cookery School

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

We recently treated a group of 13 young people we support to a very special day out at the Underground Cookery School, giving them the chance to step away from clinical settings, spend time together and learn new skills in a supportive environment.

The session was designed to be hands-on, relaxed and fun. With guidance from expert chefs, the young people learned how to make authentic bolognese and fresh pasta from scratch, as well as chocolate soufflés. Not only was the experience enjoyable, but everyone picked up practical cooking skills they can use at home, and all the guests did an amazing job.

While waiting for their delicious pasta to cook, the group enjoyed a food-themed quiz, before finally sitting down together to tuck into the meal they had made.

For teenagers living with serious illness, extended hospital stays and ongoing treatment can often mean missing out on social time, shared experiences and opportunities to build independence. Many services are designed with much younger children or adults in mind, which can leave teenagers and young people with fewer chances to connect with others their age in a comfortable, informal setting. Experiences like this cookery day play an important role in creating space for teenagers living with or recovering from serious illness to relax, build friendships and enjoy time together away from medical environments.

One parent shared:

“I just wanted to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you for organising such a fantastic event for the children. It was clear how much thought, effort, and care went into every detail, and it truly made for a memorable experience.

Both Nally and Zara had an amazing time. From the activities to the atmosphere, everything was so well put together, and it was wonderful to see the children so engaged and happy.

We really appreciate all the hard work that went on behind the scenes to make it happen. Events like this make such a positive difference, and we’re very grateful.

Thank you once again, and we look forward to future events!”

At Spread a Smile, we pride ourselves on offering bespoke, engaging and inclusive events for children and young people living with serious illness. By creating these shared experiences, we help provide moments of normality, connection and joy for young people and their families, when they need it most.

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Happy 13th Birthday Spread a Smile

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

On 11 April 2026, Spread a Smile celebrates 13 years since the charity was founded, bringing joy, comfort and distraction to seriously ill children and their families across the UK.

As we celebrate this milestone, a donation of £13 can help us continue delivering these moments of support to children and families when they need them most.

Spread a Smile began when Co‑Founder Josephine Segal saw the difference an entertainer made to her nephew, Aaron, while he was receiving treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). After a magician’s visit lifted Aaron’s spirits, he asked if other children on the ward could have the same experience. That moment inspired Josephine and her friend Vanessa Crocker to found the charity, working closely with GOSH.

Thirteen years on, Spread a Smile now works with 39 NHS hospitals across the country. We deliver regular in person entertainer visits to hospital wards, alongside virtual sessions and treat drops, including 2,000 bespoke festive Smile Hampers sent to seriously ill children and their siblings at Christmas. Alongside this, we run a wide range of family events, from Summer and Winter parties to theatre trips and shared experiences outside of the hospital environment, all designed to support children and families living with serious illness.

We marked our birthday with special visits to Great Ormond Street Hospital, King’s College Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital and The Royal London Hospital. Young patients and healthcare professionals enjoyed entertainment, delicious treats from Lola’s Cupcakes and gifts for children on the wards.

We are incredibly proud of the impact Spread a Smile has had over the past 13 years and deeply grateful to our supporters, whose generosity makes every visit, smile and shared moment possible. Thank you to our supporters, corporate partners, volunteers, hospitals we work with

Donate £13 today to help us continue supporting seriously ill children and their families.

Here’s to 13 years of spreading smiles where they’re needed most.

Noah’s story

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Today, for National Siblings Day, we are sharing the special story of Noah and his twin sister Naima. Noah was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in May 2022. At the time, he was only two years old.

Read Noah’s story

During long periods of intense treatment, everyday moments of togetherness became vital for both Noah and Naima. Serious illness impacts the whole family, especially siblings who often face time apart. Spread a Smile began visiting Noah at his bedside at Great Ormond Street Hospital in July 2022. Our entertainers sang his favourite songs to bring a sense of normality back to their lives.

Noah and Naima’s mum, Dilly, shared what these visits meant for their family:

“Spread a Smile give Noah and Naima time to laugh, have fun and enjoy themselves together. When I see that, I am also able to laugh and relax. I can just enjoy being with them in that moment.”

We are proud to partner with Children with Cancer UK to bring joy to seriously ill children and their siblings across the country. Together, we bring joy through in-person and virtual entertainer visits across NHS hospitals. Our partnership also provides wonderful family events, including our magical Summer and Winter parties.

Be the first to hear about Spread a Smile’s latest news – sign up to our monthly e-newsletter.

Celebrating our partnership with SCOR

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

We are incredibly proud to share that Spread a Smile has been chosen once again as SCOR’s charity partner, with the partnership renewed for a further two years.

Over the past two years, SCOR’s support has made a truly meaningful difference to the children and families we work with. Thanks to the dedication, generosity and enthusiasm of SCOR colleagues, we have been able to visit the hospital bedsides of thousands of seriously ill children, bringing moments of joy, distraction and relief at some of the most difficult times in their lives.

SCOR’s support has gone far beyond fundraising. Colleagues have generously volunteered their time and talents, from helping in our office and packing hundreds of personalised Christmas Smile Hampers, to supporting family events and using their creativity to brighten hospital wards. At Christmas, their hands-on help played a vital role in ensuring children in hospital and their siblings received a Smile Hamper, helping to make an especially tough time of year feel a little lighter.

Together, our partnership has enabled our team of entertainers to reach children at their bedsides, restoring moments of childhood through laughter, creativity and human connection when it is needed most.

Reflecting on the renewed partnership, Lucy Jackson, CEO of Spread a Smile, said:

“We are so grateful and honoured to have been chosen again as SCOR’s charity partner. Over the last two years, their support has enabled us to reach the hospital bedsides of thousands of seriously ill children, creating moments of joy when they are needed most. It is always sad when a corporate partnership comes to an end, but to be able to continue working together for another two years is incredible. It means we can hit the ground running, build on everything we’ve already achieved, and have an even greater impact for the children and families we support.”

Looking ahead, we are excited about what the next two years will bring. With SCOR’s continued commitment, we will be able to reach more children, create more joyful moments and ensure families feel supported and less alone during some of their darkest days.

Thank you, SCOR, we are so proud to continue this partnership and can’t wait for what’s ahead.

Sign up to our monthly e-newsletter to stay up to date with our work.

Easter Tea Party at Corinthia London

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

We were delighted to welcome 80 guests to the beautiful Corinthia London for a special family celebration, filled with creativity, laughter and unforgettable moments together.

The afternoon began with welcome drinks, before families were invited into the gorgeous Ballroom to enjoy a delicious afternoon tea. Tables were filled with an array of treats, creating the perfect setting for families to relax and spend quality time together in a luxurious and welcoming space.

Throughout the event, our brilliant entertainers brought lots of smiles and laughter. Singers Collette and Rosie filled the Ballroom with wonderful singing, while Mr Magic and Sacha amazed children and grown-ups alike with their performances. We also had Fairy Francesca entertaining our young guests, as well as face and arm painting, with children choosing whichever designs they wanted.

There was no shortage of hands-on activities for our guests to enjoy. From an Easter Egg Hunt to creative craft stations, children decorated Easter bonnet hats, treasure boxes, tote bags and biscuits, taking home their creations as keepsakes from the day. It was great to witness such beautiful creations and creativity from our guests.

Events like this provide young patients, their parents, carers and siblings with precious time away from the pressures of hospital life, offering moments of joy, connection and respite when they are needed most.

We are incredibly grateful to the team at Corinthia London for hosting us so generously and for helping to create such a memorable experience for the families we support.

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Our March e-newsletter is here!

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Our March e-newsletter is here!

It’s been a busy month of spreading smiles – from hospital visits to special family moments and brilliant supporter events.

Read our monthly e-newsletter now to catch up on the impact we’ve made, including Bay’s story for World Kidney Day, our wonderful World Book Day visit with Hannah Gold, a VIP family event to see Hercules, our insurance and real estate dinners, and a celebration of our Supporter of the Month, Expect Amazing.

We’ve also included a quick chance to share your thoughts on our e-newsletter – it only takes two minutes and we’d really love to hear your feedback.

Click here to subscribe to receive our monthly updates, straight to your inbox.

leanne

Entertainer Spotlight

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

We are pleased that Spread a Smile has been featured in Chat magazine recently, highlighting the work of Mel and Leanne, two of our dedicated entertainers. The article follows their journey from professional tribute performers to their roles at Spread a Smile, where they now bring joy and connection through their visits to young patients and families across our 39 NHS partner hospitals across the country.

As Leanne shared in the piece, “Every child I visit is special. A piece of them stays in my heart forever.” This personal connection is at the core of what our team does every day. We focus on improving the hospital experience for children by providing high-quality distraction and relief during what can be a very difficult time for the whole family.

We are proud to share that our team has grown to over 100 professional entertainers nationwide. This group includes singers, magicians, poets, artists, and therapy dogs, who are all specifically trained to work within the complexities of a hospital ward. Their expertise allows them to adapt every interaction to the individual needs of each child, ensuring that every visit is both safe and impactful.

Whether through a song at a bedside or a virtual visit, our entertainers are committed to delivering high-quality support to those who need it most. By providing these vital services, we help children and their families navigate some of their most challenging days.

Spread a Smile receives no government funding and we rely solely on the generosity of our supporters to keep our team on the wards. We can only provide these essential visits through your donations. Please donate today to help us continue our work.

 

supporter of the month expect amazing

Supporter of the Month: Expect Amazing

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

We are delighted to recognise Expect Amazing as our Supporter of the Month for March, celebrating their incredible ongoing commitment to Spread a Smile and their generous support of our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) library project spanning 20 libraries across 15 NHS hospitals.

Expect Amazing is an online bookshop based in Richmond that began supporting Spread a Smile in July 2025. Since then, their generous donations of books – and the hands-on help they’ve given with packing and stickering – have played a meaningful role in helping us spread smiles to seriously ill children across the country. More recently, they donated a selection of Easter-themed games and books for the children we support to enjoy over the Easter holidays.

Expect Amazing’s founder, Avni, and her two children, Vidhi and Viraj, are familiar faces at the Spread a Smile offices, often visiting our HQ to help pack and sticker books for deliveries to update our PICU libraries.

In 2025, Vidhi achieved something truly remarkable in support of Spread a Smile for her ninth birthday, raising an incredible £6,000, providing vital funds to support our PICU library project and our festive Smile Hampers. You can read more about Vidhi’s fundraising achievement here. In late March 2026, she was recognised for her hard work and dedication, winning the Young Person Achievement Award at the Richmond Community Heroes Awards. Congratulations, Vidhi!

Reflecting on the partnership, Avni shared:

“This partnership is deeply personal to me. My own newborn spent their first few days in a PICU and I know first-hand just how much a book, a story or a shared moment can mean when a family is going through something frightening. Working with Spread a Smile to stock 20 PICU libraries felt like everything Expect Amazing stands for – bringing the comfort and joy of reading to children who need it most. We’re proud to play even a small part in the incredible work Spread a Smile does every day.”

We are so grateful to Avni and the entire Expect Amazing community for everything they do. Their continued support shows the extraordinary difference a business partnership can make, helping us reach more seriously ill children and their families with meaningful moments of joy when they are needed most. Thank you, Expect Amazing.

Our vital work bringing joy and laughter to seriously ill children is only possible thanks to the generosity of our community. Find out how you or your business can get involved, please reach out to Lucy Chesney at lucychesney@spreadasmile.org.

 

Get Inspired: Jen’s Reason for Running

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Looking for inspiration to get fit and take on a challenge to help spread smiles to seriously ill children? Meet Jennifer, Mum to 9 year old Bay, and find out why she is taking on the Royal Parks Half Marathon for Spread a Smile on Sunday 11 October 2026.

Join Jennifer and sign up for your place today.

“Spread a Smile has supported my daughter, Bay since she was two years old – during her end stage renal failure, kidney transplant and afterwards following her treatment for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD).

“Bay is now 9 and Spread a Smile has been a constant for us the whole time – there for Bay but also me and our wider family. The last 7 years have been really challenging, but when I think back, I can think of Spread a Smile in amongst it all and it’s nothing short of wonderful. You forget you’re in hospital when Spread a Smile are around and I can have five minutes to breath as I trust them and know she is safe and entertained with them.

“When Bay is happy, Mummy is happy. Whether it’s through the hospital visits, family events or virtual sessions, they bring familiarity, friendship, love and the sense of normality from just being able to watch your child play and enjoy themselves.

“I’ve been so inspired by what they do for Bay and so many seriously ill children, that I really wanted to give something back and help other families like mine if I can. Spread a Smile are a familiar, warm wonderful and I don’t know what we’d do without them.”

Join Jennifer and register today for your Royal Parks Half Marathon place.

Real Estate Dinner – Building for the future

 780 400 Susie
By:

We were delighted to host our eighth Real Estate Dinner on 19 March at Uncommon Holborn, bringing together leaders from across the property sector for an evening of connection, conversation and shared purpose.

The event provided a valuable opportunity to showcase the work of Spread a Smile, our ambitions for growth, and how we build meaningful, mutually beneficial partnerships that enable us to continue supporting seriously ill children and their families across the UK.

Chief Executive, Lucy Jackson, said: “As we celebrate our seventh Real Estate Dinner, we are incredibly proud of the support from our Real Estate Committee and grateful to everyone who joined us to learn more about our work.”

Chaired by Shaun Simons (Founder, Compton), our Real Estate Committee plays a vital role in helping us develop impactful relationships and grow our network of supporters. We extend our sincere thanks to Shaun and fellow committee members – Chris Davies (Uncommon), James Lass (Swiss Life Asset Managers UK), Michael Mirelman (GRE Finance), Nicky Barker (KKR), Paul Nearchou (DFI), Lee Jackson (Eversheds Sutherland) and Ekaterina Avdonina (Mirastar) – for their ongoing dedication.

If you’re interested in attending future industry events or exploring partnership opportunities with Spread a Smile, we would love to hear from you. Please sign up to our monthly e-news or contact our Head of Partnerships, Lucy Chesney, at LucyChesney@spreadasmile.org.