News

New partnership with Bain Capital spreads smiles

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Spread a Smile is delighted to announce a new partnership with Bain Capital which will see the private investment firm support the charity through a range of exciting initiatives.

To kick off the partnership, Bain Capital staff joined the Spread a Smile team to help pack 1,874 Smile Hampers being sent to seriously ill children and their siblings in time for Christmas. The willing volunteers hand-picked gifts with each recipient in mind. It was a brilliant opportunity to introduce the Spread a Smile’s work in more depth, with the Bain Capital team taking an active role supporting our families during one of the most difficult times of their year.

Alongside engaging in various volunteering opportunities, Bain Capital will fund 44 in-person hospital visits by Spread a Smile’s talented entertainers, enabling us to carry out bedside visits to 660 seriously ill children at St Mary’s Hospital, London. These visits will make a huge difference to the children and young people we support, providing moments of distraction and laughter in amongst the pain and worry of illness and treatment plans.

Spread a Smile Chief Executive, Lucy Jackson said, “We’re delighted and grateful to be working with Bain Capital to bring joy and happiness to seriously ill children in hospital. Everyone at Spread a Smile is looking forward to getting to know the team and spreading even more smiles together.”

A huge thank you to everyone at Bain Capital for joining the Spread a Smile family.

The Wandering Barber’s rickshaw challenge

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At the end of November, David Jamali aka ‘The Wandering Barber’ took on an incredible fundraising challenge for Spread a Smile and HoH Charitable Trust (Hand on Heart), travelling 3000km across India in a rickshaw.

David raised over £4,000 in the process saying, “This journey is not just about the adventure; it’s about making a difference. I am raising funds for two remarkable charities which are close to my heart, and I have had the privilege of supporting them through my work as a barber.

“Spread a Smile do incredible work bringing joy and laughter to seriously ill children and their families during some of their darkest times. They organise visits from entertainers, therapy dogs, and even magicians to hospitals and hospices, creating precious moments of happiness. I have had the honour of cutting hair for terminally ill children, witnessing firsthand the positive impact of Spread a Smile’s efforts.”

As a charity that relies on the generosity of individuals and organisations to carry out its work spreading smiles to seriously ill children and young people, everyone at Spread a Smile is extremely grateful to David for his efforts and support.

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile’s Chief Executive said, “David really has gone that extra mile through his fundraising efforts, taking on a brilliant and inspiring challenge. We can’t thank him enough for his support.”

If you would like to find out more about taking on a fundraising challenge for Spread a Smile, please email the team at fundraising@spreadasmile.org or visit our fundraising pages here.

Welcome to Kuljeet de Souza

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We are delighted to welcome Kuljeet de Souza, the newest member of the Spread a Smile family.

Kuljeet joins us from Grief Encounter as our Trusts and Foundations Manager, helping to drive and nurture support in this important area of fundraising.

Kuljeet said, “I have worked in the charity sector for 20 years in a variety of organisations and roles including YouthNet, The Children’s Society and most recently, as Trusts and Grants Manager for Grief Encounter.

“I have always been passionate about working for charities that support children and young people, so I was delighted when the role of Trusts and Foundations Manager came up at Spread a Smile. I’m looking forward to developing new and existing relationships and helping to raise much needed funds to ensure the charity can continue to deliver our vital services to those most in need.

“I’m excited to join an organisation that makes such a big difference to the lives of children and families. The team has been so welcoming and is 100% committed to the work they do, and that’s reflected in the wonderful impact the charity has.”

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive said, “Support from Trusts and Foundations is key to Spread a Smile as we develop and grow to meet our long-term strategic aims and objectives. We’re delighted to welcome Kuljeet to the team. I’m very much looking forward to working with her to continue building a meaningful and impactful fundraising programme in Trusts and Foundations.”

Festive art at GOSH

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In the lead up to Christmas, Spread a Smile’s Head of Art, Marina, is invited into Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) to help brighten up the wards by painting festive murals on the ward windows and corridors.

Christmas can be an extremely difficult time of year for young patients receiving treatment in hospital, meaning time spent away from family and friends, not able to do the festive things that other children do at this time of year.

Marina works closely with the hospital and play teams to bring a little bit of Christmas cheer to the clinical setting, hand painting characters and messages to help bring the spirit of Christmas onto the wards.

Marina spent three days painting across wards in GOSH saying, “Going into GOSH in the lead up to Christmas is always one of my favourite things to do. It’s lovely to see the children’s faces as they see the artworks coming together. Often, they tell me what they would like to see or want to chat about what I’m doing. It is a great distraction, and it bring out so many smiles – from the children and also parents and staff too. It’s nice to know we’re helping to spread so many smiles in the hospital environment.”

Spread a Smile’s Director of Services, Laura Walter added, “We are so proud to support our NHS hospital partners in this way. Christmas should be full of wonder and beauty for every child and at Spread a Smile we want to do everything we can to help bring some of that to children and families who will be in hospital and away from home during the festive period.”

Alongside our art initiatives, Spread a Smile is also spreading joy through our Smile Hampers initiative. In 2024, we’re sending out 1,750 of our amazing gift boxes to seriously ill children and their siblings in time for Christmas. Each Smile Hamper is packed full of gifts, hand-picked with each child in mind, bringing so much happiness to everyone who receives them.

“Thank you so much for these amazing hampers! We got home today from GOSH after a surgery, so to come home to this when she wasn’t feeling brilliant, has made her day. She is over the moon and to include her sister is just so lovely” Parent

Please donate to support our Christmas activities and help spread a little Spread a Smile love. Thank you.

Ari and George’s films win prestigious award

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We’re winners! Last night Spread a Smile and film maker Jules’ Creative Content won the award ‘Film: Best Use of a Smaller Budget category’ at the 2024 EVCOM London Film Awards.

The prestigious annual awards are run by EVCOM (Event and Visual Communication Association) and recognise excellence in both craft and communications, celebrating the best creative work in film.

Spread a Smile’s win is for two incredible films – George’s Story and Ari’s Story – created for us by Jules Sander. They follow the stories of George and his family and Ari and her family, from diagnosis through to treatment and meeting Spread a Smile.

Spread a Smile’s Co-Founders Josephine Segal and Vanessa Crocker, along with Chief Executive, Lucy Jackson attended the awards at a glittering ceremony at Plaisterers’ Hall, London on Thursday 28 November with Lucy saying, “Being able to share, via film, the difference our work makes to the children and families we support means a huge amount to us, and we can’t thank the Anstey and Radcliffe families enough for allowing us to tell their stories. A huge thank you to Jules (Jules’ Creative Content) for bringing such creativity, understanding and passion to the table when producing the films. Thank you to EVCOM for shortlisting us and thereby helping to raise awareness about Spread a Smile and our work bringing a little bit of joy and happiness when it’s most needed. It really is an honour to see our wonderful films recognised in this way and we are proud to be the recipient of this prestigious award.”

Please take a moment to watch George’s Story (below) and Ari’s Story on our YouTube channel. Please share far and wide and if you are able to make a donation to help ensure we can continue to be there for families like these during the darkest of days, we would be extremely grateful, thank you.

New hospital partner – St Peter’s Hospital

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Spread a Smile announces its latest hospital partner, St Peter’s Hospital, a district general hospital in Chertsey, Surrey and part of Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (ASPH). Originally built to serve casualties of the Second World War, today the hospital cares for people across the surrounding area including Woking, Weybridge, Chertsey, Staines and Walton on Thames. Spread a Smile will be supporting children and young people receiving treatment at the hospital and they, along with their families, are invited to join the Spread a Smile family and benefit from its services.

Spread a Smile’s mission is to bring joy and laughter to as many seriously ill children as possible in NHS hospitals, clinical settings, hospices and homes across the UK. St Peter’s Hospital joins 34 other major and speciality NHS hospitals, and six hospice partners already supported by Spread a Smile, taking the charity one step closer to its aim of spreading smiles to every seriously ill child and young person across the country.

The Spread a Smile team of talented entertainers, including musicians, artists, magicians and therapy dogs, will spend quality time with patients in hospital through regular in-person visits to the hospital. Every month the team will visit children across paediatric inpatient wards including the Children’s Paediatric Oncology Shared Care Units (POSCUs), sharing their talents and bringing moments of fun and distractions when they are needed most.

In addition, patients and their families will be able to access weekly virtual group activity sessions, including art clubs, magic, storytelling. Plus, they will be able to join in with special seasonally themed virtual activity days during school holidays and benefit from regular treat drops to the hospital. All of which supports Spread a Smile’s aim of reaching and supporting as many young people as possible, spreading smiles and a lot of happiness to children undergoing treatment for serious illnesses and their families.

Izabela Wakula, Play Specialist at St Peter’s Hospital, said: “So far, we have had two visits from Spread a Smile, and what visits they have been! Fairy Betty makes sure there is something exciting for every patient – maybe their favourite songs to sing and join in with, some tricks and tasks or mesmerising bubbles. Then there’s the magician who makes us all go ‘Wow!’ with his tricks. Musician Rosie can play any song suggested, from nursery rhymes the latest radio hits. Some of our patients could not wait for their turn and were calling out from afar that they wanted to be seen next. 

“There have been lots of giggles, smiles, laughter and singing. Grown-ups have joined in too, with parents singing and staff humming. But most of all, children of all ages have had time and space to have fun and be children again, even though they might have been poorly and in hospital that day. Thank you, Spread a Smile team for bringing a little magic to our hospital.” 

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive added, “Spread a Smile is proud to be working in partnership with ASPH to support the brilliant team at St Peter’s Hospital. Together we’ll be spreading smiles to seriously ill children and young people receiving treatment at the hospital, providing distraction and much needed moments of engagement and fun. We are looking forward to our visits and what lies ahead.”

Help spread joy and love this festive season

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This festive season we want to spread even more smiles than ever before through our festive Smile Hampers and to do that we need your help.

We’ve set ourselves the huge task of sending out 1,750 Smile Hampers, packed full of gifts, hand-picked with each child in mind, and to be delivered to seriously ill children and their siblings in time for Christmas.

Just £38 will help fund two Smile Hampers, bringing so much joy during what can be an extremely difficult time for the families we support

“Christmas wouldn’t happen without you guys. Thank you so much for everything you do for us.”
Parent

When a child is seriously ill, day-to-day life is often taken over by sickness, treatment plans and hospital stays, spending time away from family and friends. The magic and wonder of the festive season can easily be lost.

Please give what you can to help fund our Smile Hampers so we can spread as much joy and happiness to the families we support during the most difficult time of their lives.

Thank you so much for your support.

Kisharon Langdon support for Mitzvah Day

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Mitzvah Day is a day of faith-based social action in November, when communities and individuals undertake a range of volunteering projects to help others.

This year, Kisharon Langdon, a charity which supports people within the Jewish learning disability and autism community, came together to help Spread a Smile bring a little joy and happiness to seriously ill children and young people.

On 24 November, their youth group which supports young people with learning disabilities, met with adults also supported by the charity at their centre in Edgware, to wrap and pack donated gifts to be included in our Smile Hampers.

The group learnt about the importance of inclusion and reaching out to others and met Spread a Smile Chief Executive, Lucy Jackson and Co-Founder, Josephine Segal who spoke about the work we do and the difference the group are helping to make to the families we support.

Lucy said, “Mitzvah Day is a very special day in the Jewish calendar and one which sees people spending time together to do something good for others. We were delighted to receive support from Kisharon Langdon and so grateful for all their efforts to help us spread smiles to children spending time in hospital, managing treatment plans and illness. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

To find out more about supporting Spread a Smile, please email fundraising@spreadasmile.org

 

2nd Padel Tournament for Spread a Smile

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On Thursday 21 November, we were joined by 12 brilliant teams for our 2nd Padel Tournament of 2024, generously sponsored by our friends at Engage FS. And what an amazing day it was!

It was brilliant to be back at Stratford Padel Club and once again competition levels were high, with teams from Sidekick Management taking first and second place and HCFX coming in third.

Take a look at our photo gallery from the day.

Padel is a mix between tennis and squash and usually played in doubles on an enclosed court one third the size of a tennis court. The sport is known for combining action with fun and social interaction, it’s easy to pick up and suitable for players of all ages and skills to join in together.

We are so grateful to all of our teams (with a special shout out to BC Partners), for joining us and helping to raise vital funds to support seriously ill children, young people and their families. Also, to Stratford Padel Club, for making us so welcome and helping to ensure the day run smoothly.

Please get in touch to find out about joining us for next year’s event, or why not check out some of our other events here.

Parent Pamper Days in hospital

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Having a seriously ill child in hospital is extremely stressful for any parent or carer. Lives are turned upside down, family members may be separated for long periods, and there is often no time for self-care and well-being.

Spread a Smile supports the whole family, organising special Parent Pamper Days in hospitals to give parents and carers a chance to indulge in moments of calm and personal care.

Our team provides hairdressing, massage, nail care and aromatherapy, enabling rare moments for respite and self-care. Precious one of our volunteer hairdressers told us, “I’ve been a hairdresser for 30 years and it seemed like such an amazing but obvious thing for me to volunteer to support Spread a Smile. Everyone was so welcoming and really made me feel comfortable and at ease. I felt honoured to meet every parent and to be able to help make them smile and feel a little bit of normality.”

The Pamper Days provide a chance for parents and carers to spend a little bit of time relaxing, away from the hospital bed. As one parent said, “In amongst everything we have to do in hospital, it’s so lovely to just sit, relax, close my eyes and let everything wash over me.”

Priya is another member of our team who regularly goes into the hospitals we support. In her role as a volunteer complementary therapist UCLH between 2018 – 2020, Priya created bespoke aromatherapy inhalers for patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment. She now works with Spread a Smile, providing complimentary therapy sessions for parents and carers of seriously ill children in hospital. These were initially delivered online during the highly stressful Covid period and now include in-person support through aromatherapy and massage for patients, alongside our regular Pamper Days for parents and carers.

Thanks to a collaboration with our friends at AromaStick, Priya has developed a new way of incorporating aromatherapy natural inhalers into her bespoke wellbeing sessions – something that was helped greatly thanks to a generous donation by AromaSticks of 200 sticks.

As Laura Walter, Spread a Smile Director of Services said: “When caring for a sick child, parents rarely get any time out for themselves. We’re proud to support our families whilst they are caring for their children in hospital, helping to relieve a little bit of the stress around the day-to-day, even if it’s just for a short time.”

Thank you to all of our team for making the Parent Pamper days possible and giving parents to seriously ill children the chance to take a moment of respite.