News

Help spread smiles this Christmas

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It’s that time of year when Spread a Smile kicks off its preparation for the festive season and this year we are aiming to do more than ever before to spread smiles in the lead up to Christmas. And to do that we really need your help! 

We’re aiming to send out a record number of 1,750 personalised Festive Smile Hampers to seriously ill children, young people and their siblings, spreading joy when it is needed most. 

Our Smile Hampers are packed full of gifts, hand-picked with each child in mind, and are delivered directly to their home or to hospital. We’ll also be delivering thousands of gifts to our NHS hospital and hospice partners to be shared with children and young people on the wards, helping to bring smiles, distraction and normality during the festive period. 

Please buy a gift to support a seriously ill child this Christmas. 

Our Amazon wish list has lots of lovely gifts to buy for children and young people of all ages. All gifts purchased will be sent straight to us so we can add them to our Smile Hampers and have them delivered in time for Christmas. 

If your company can help by supplying larger quantities of gifts, we’d love to hear from you.  

Please email the team at fundraising@spreadasmile.org to get the ball rolling. We are looking for all sorts of small and medium sized brand new items for children of all ages. Ideas include jewellery, water bottles, stationery, fluffy socks, beanie hats, toiletries, lip balms, art sets, portable speakers, phone accessories, gaming stuff, headphones, books, rattles, teethers, soft and sensory toys. 

For the seriously ill children and young people we support, Christmas can be a difficult time, spent in hospital away from the comforts of home. Each year Spread a Smile helps to bring back the magic of Christmas. 

A huge thank you to the individuals and companies who have donated gifts so far and please get in touch if you can help in some way. Thank you. 

Buy your Christmas gifts here.

Restaurant partners making the difference

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Just like many charities across the UK, Spread a Smile is fortunate to receive support from some wonderful restaurant and hospitality partners through events and fundraising – both of which go a long way helping us achieve our aims of being there for families with seriously ill children when they need us most.

We have been working in partnership with the Riding House Café group since January 2022, with their three restaurants generously hosting numerous events and tea parties for children and families supported by Spread a Smile. These events provide wonderful opportunities for families with seriously ill children to do something fun together and have a huge impact on wellbeing and positivity for the whole family.

Mildreds restaurants also host a monthly afternoon tea, providing a chance for our families to relax and enjoy themselves, with Spread a Smile’s entertainers on hand to join in the fun with music, magic, arts & crafts and face painting.

These events enable us to support families in a very important way, providing enjoyable days out during a very difficult time and we are so grateful to our brilliant friends at the Riding House Café group and Mildreds Restaurants for giving up their venues, time and resources to give something back.

And the support doesn’t end there. Many restaurants across the UK are also helping to raise significant amounts for different charities simply by adding a small discretionary donation to a menu item or the total bill. It is a hugely effective fundraising mechanism, providing an easy way for diners to give to charity.

Since 2022, the Riding House Group, has raised an incredible £55,223 for Spread a Smile by adding 25p to customers’ final dining bills (customers can opt out).  This is a huge amount which has helped Spread a Smile support over 1,830 seriously ill children and their families, through entertainment in hospital and virtually.

Similarly, both Mildreds restaurants and Brigit’s Bakery have supported Spread a Smile for World Smile Day, with Mildreds adding £1 to customer bills and raising around £8k in 2023 and Brigit’s Bakery regularly donating a % of all sales from bookings.

Spread a Smile has also been an incredibly grateful recipient of donations from the Flat Iron Fund. Guests at Flat Iron restaurants are invited to make an optional donation of 10 pence to the Flat Iron Fund, for every meal that they enjoy. The donation is matched by Flat Iron and 100% of the proceeds are then distributed to charities. In 2018, after raising £1m for Macmillan Cancer Support, the Flat Iron Fund was set up as an independent registered charity. Since then, the Fund has extended its support to many more charities, including Spread a Smile.

While there isn’t a single figure representing the total amount raised by all UK restaurants annually, this example shows how the approach can effectively generate substantial funds for charitable causes. Plus, the method aligns the restaurant’s financial success with charitable giving, creating a win-win scenario for both the business and the charity.

Lucy Jackson, Chief Executive of Spread a Smile on the impact of this fundraising tactic for the charity, said; “This simple act creates significant impact, allowing us to raise crucial funds that directly contribute to the important work that we undertake. What’s particularly powerful about this initiative is how seamlessly it can complement other corporate social responsibility efforts undertaken by restaurants, creating a meaningful partnership that not only supports a worthy cause but also deepens community engagement, increases awareness of our work and enhances customer goodwill.”

Jane Moore from Riding House Café said: “We are proud to partner with Spread a Smile.  As well as utilising our space to host events, we are fully committed to continue to raising funds and our fundraising efforts, whilst seemingly simple, are hugely impactful and go a long way to supporting the vital work they do.  

“We can help make a real difference in the lives of those in need while fostering a sense of community among our customers and staff. We believe it’s important for the wider restaurant industry to embrace similar practices. Collectively, we have the power to create substantial and lasting change across the charity sector in the UK, demonstrating that small actions can lead to big impact.”

Our aim is to be there for every child and young person that needs us, bringing joy and laughter during one of the darkest times of their lives.  So we welcome any restaurants or hospitality venues that would like to find out more about joining the Spread a Smile family and supporting our work. Please do reach out to our Partnerships Manager Lucy Keith by email at lucykeith@spreadasmile.org or on 020 7482 5191.

Goodbye Chocco, Hello Cobi

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After five brilliant years as a Spread a Smile therapy dog, Chocco, the standard poodle is retiring.

Chocco began his role with the charity back in 2019, taking over from his owner Howard’s first therapy dog, Chilli. During this time, Chocco has been a superstar member of the Spread a Smile team, visiting young patients in hospital, meeting and greeting everyone and bringing some much-needed relief and respite from the typical “hospital day”.

Owner Howard said: “Chocco is the perfect therapy dog – chilled out and stoic – standing or sitting calmly whilst people stroke and cuddle him. His amazing hair is always a huge draw for patients, parents and hospital staff alike and he always receives lots of compliments about his flowing locks.

“Chocco loves any attention he receives and loves playing with balls. On some of our visits into hospital he would spend hours in one of the playrooms playing fetch with the children on the ward, not wanting to leave.”

“The most amazing thing about taking Chocco into hospital is the impact he has on those who see him. He is so striking, and his very presence would bring happiness and smiles to everyone he encountered.”

Now that Chocco has retired, his legacy will be carried on by Howard’s third therapy dog, Cobi – also a standard poodle.

“Cobi is three years old, has bright white eyes and black velvety hair, sporting a really cool rockstar hairstyle. Cobi loves walks, eating anything and play fighting with Chocco. He is also a ‘ball thief’ and will steal any ball he can lay his paws on.

“Cobi has recently passed his Pets as Therapy assessment and his assessment with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and recently completed his first GOSH visit. Whilst Cobi is usually full of energy and excitement in every day life, when he is in the hospital, he becomes extremely calm and very relaxed. He sits down and lets everybody stroke him and say hello and is happy to perform his special trick of shaking hands with anyone who asks. Cobi is a big dog with a big personality but most importantly he already seems to be an expert in Spreading Smiles.”

Thank you, Howard, and Chocco for all you have done to help spread smiles and a big welcome to Cobi as he joins the Spread a Smile family.

Smile with us for World Smile Day 2024

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For us, every day is a Smile Day with our entertainers doing all they can to spread smiles and laughter to seriously ill children and young people in hospital.

This year, World Smile Day takes place on Friday 4 October and we’d love it if you will join us to help spread even more smiles far and wide.

By donating just £30, you’ll help fund a bedside visit by one of our amazing entertainers to a seriously ill child in hospital.

Or why not be inspired by one of our other support ideas below…

  • Buy a Christmas gift from our Amazon wish lists – Help us send out over 12,000 Christmas gifts through our hospital deliveries and festive Smile Hampers for unwell children and their siblings. Buy your gift from our Amazon Wish lists for babies and toddlers, sensory items, and teenagers.
  • Smile and fundraise with friends – get together with friends for coffee or lunch, share some smiles and collect a few ££ from everyone to support our work. Find motivation by watching our new ‘About us’ film here.
  • Get your company smiling – by donating as a company, offering gifts in kind for our Christmas Smile Hampers, or bringing colleagues together for your own fundraising ‘Smile Day’ on a day that suits you. Whatever you do will make a huge difference to the families we support.
  • Be social and share your smile – We love seeing pictures of you and your little ones doing something that makes you smile. Share yours on your social media and tag us to make us smile! Find us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn and X.

We hope you’ll join us for World Smile Day to celebrate Spread a Smile and everything that we stand for.

Please do reach out to the team for any support or help with your ideas – we’d love to hear from you.

Annual Golf Days a huge success

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Last week Spread a Smile was delighted to host our 4th annual Golf Days, sponsored by LMAC Group and held at the stunning Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire,

Credit Suzan Angela Moore

The events were a huge success with 44 teams joining us making them our biggest Golf Days to date!

Guests made the most of the beautiful weather around the stunning 18-hole Palmerston course, with Spread a Smile magicians on hand to spread a little bit of magic, and our musicians Collette and Andy singing and playing personalised dedications to cheer everyone on. As one player said, “Collette made even the grumpiest golfer smile”.

Once the scores were in, guests returned to the club house to enjoy a delicious three course meal, followed by prize giving, a raffle and our first ever auction conducted by our brilliant auctioneer Collette (adding another string to her bow!)

Spread a Smile Chief Executive, Lucy Jackson, also shared more about the work of Spread a Smile entertaining children and young people in hospital and how our golfers are helping to make a huge difference to the families we support.

A huge shout out to Wednesday and Thursday winners Executive Change and CMCEE Ltd, plus to Canary Wharf Contractors and Reel Estates for taking second place.

Also thanks to our headline event sponsor, LMAC Group, all of our tee sponsors and Newmark for sponsoring the golf balls.

An incredible £70,000 was raised across both days which will go a long way to helping Spread a Smile spread joy and laughter to even more children, young people and their families.

Take a look at photos from the days here and please do email Alicia to find out about joining us next year.

Also sign up to our e-newsletter to stay up to date with our brilliant fundraising events across the year.

A day at the races with Clarksons

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Spread a Smile was delighted to be invited by Clarksons and the Clarksons Foundation as a beneficiary charity for annual Charity Giving Day, which this year raised a whopping £250,000.

The day kicked off with ‘A Day at the Races’ where 260 participants from 10 of Clarksons’ global offices joined forces in a spirited cycling competition. The Spread a Smile team were there to cheer them on, and it was great to see so much energy and enthusiasm from the teams who all came together, pushing themselves to the limits to make a difference for the recipient charities. Congratulations go to the Dry Cargo team in London who were crowned Champions.

The day was capped off by a wonderful gala dinner and auction, with Spread a Smile’s co-founder Josephine Segal there to support this brilliant initiative and share the different they are helping to make to the families we support.

Spread a Smile is proud of our long standing relationship with the Clarkson Foundation, and it was a privilege to be able to share this special day with the Foundation, Clarksons and their wider team.

Imogen Slazenger, Spread a Smile’s Head of Fundraising said, “Thank you so much to Clarksons, the Clarksons Foundation and everyone involved for their ongoing support and inviting us to join in all the fun of Charity Giving Day. It’s because of days like this that we are able to continue our work spreading smiles to seriously ill children in hospital.”

Please do get in touch with Imogen if you’d like to find out more about working with and supporting Spread a Smile.

Team Smile take on the Vitality 10k

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Yesterday saw the brilliant Vitality 10,000 return to the streets of London, with 12 brilliant fundraisers joining Team Smile to take on the challenge.

With cloud and rain as the backdrop, our runners followed the 10k course past some of London’s most famous landmarks, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Big Ben.

Community Fundraising Manager, Tasha was there to cheer everyone on saying, “Despite the bad weather, Team Smile did us proud. We are so grateful to Adam, Abbey, Charlie, Elena, Emma, Jac, James, Jospeh, Lea, Leanne, Nick and Tom for all their efforts and commitment to supporting our work and helping to spread smiles to seriously ill children and their families. Hopefully everyone is enjoying a well-earned rest today!”

The celebratory Vitality London 10,000 is an event for all to enjoy and if you would like to join us in 2025, then please email Rimi at rimi@spreadasmile.org

Thank you to all of Team Smile for their support.

Annual Golf Day for Louie

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Spread a Smile was proud to be invited by the Hibberd family to once again join their annual Golf Day in memory of their son Louie, who sadly lost his life to a brain tumour four years ago.

Now in its fifth year, this very special event stands as a lasting tribute to Louie, bringing together 100 friends and golfers to remember Louie and help raise much needed funds for our work spreading smiles to seriously ill children and their families.

Stuart Hibberd, Louie’s Dad said, “Spread a Smile supported Louie and the family after his diagnosis and whilst he was receiving treatment. Although as a family it’s totally devastating to have lost our loving, kind beautiful little boy, we can at least take some solace in the fact that the funds raised will go a long way to help other families that have gone through or are about to go through what we have.”

It was a privilege to be part of this beautiful day which saw tears and laughter shared and over £16,000 raised for charity, including Spread a Smile.

As always, a huge thank you to Stuart Hibberd, his family and everyone involved for choosing to do so much to help spread smiles to other families during the most difficult time of their lives.

Please do get in touch with the team at fundraising@spreadasmile.org if you are interested in supporting our work. Thank you.

BGC Charity Day – Out of this world

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Spread a Smile was delighted to be invited to join the 20th anniversary BGC Charity Day last week.

This very special day marks the anniversary of 9/11, paying tribute to those who tragically lost their lives in the World Trade Centre. To date, over £210 million has been raised for charities around the world, and each year, the team at BGC London organise a party for the families connected to the recipient charities joining in the fun on the day.

Spread a Smile’s entertainers were on hand to spread smiles and fun at the space themed party, offering face-painting, balloon modelling, fairy magic, singing, glitter tattoos and so much more. The atmosphere was incredible and it was wonderful to share in this brilliant day which does so much for so many good causes around the world.

A huge thank you to everyone involved and please do get in touch with Team Smile if you’d like to know more about how Spread a Smile can support your company with your CSR goals.

New partner – Oxford Children’s Hospital

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Spread a Smile is delighted to announce its latest hospital partner, the Oxford Children’s Hospital, located on the John Radcliffe Hospital site in Oxford and part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH). The hospital cares for people across the surrounding area and children and young people receiving treatment, 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. OUH joins 33 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 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 in-person visits. Patients and their families will also be able to access weekly virtual group activity sessions, including art clubs, magic, storytelling and more, enabling the charity to see and support as many people as possible. All with the aim of spreading hundreds of smiles and a lot of happiness to children undergoing treatment for serious illnesses and their families.

Young patients at the Children’s Hospital will also be able to join special themed virtual activity days celebrating seasonal occasions during school holidays, benefit from regular treat drops and enjoy entertainer visits scheduled throughout the year.

Joanne Pinney, Health Play Specialist Team Manager at OUH, said: “The team at Oxford are very excited for the new partnership with Spread a Smile. It has taken a long time for us to be able to have visitors to the ward areas following the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, we are able to witness the sounds of children singing along with a fairy or the laughter and delight as magic tricks are performed. Thank you so much to Spread a Smile for bringing so much fun to us. We look forward to many more exciting visits from the charity.”

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive added, “Spread a Smile’s partnership with OUH means we will be able to reach and support even more seriously ill children, young people and their families across the country. It is a pleasure to work closely with their brilliant teams to help spread smiles and bring joy and laughter to young people under the hospital’s care.”

To find out more about Spread a Smile’s work across the country with our different hospital and hospice partners, please click here.