News

Family and friends of Ben Jarvis, who we entertained recently when he was undergoing treatment for a very rare cancer, took part in the New Forest Rattler. Events included a 5km run, a half marathon and a 130km bike ride.

The family has raised close to £60,000 which will be split between three charities including Spread a Smile. They chose to support Spread a Smile because “Mr Magic would make Ben howl with laughter during his darkest chemo days. Really belly-deep laughs that are pure joy to hear and lift your heart. They even put on a Santa’s Grotto for him before his last radiotherapy treatment on Christmas Eve. No child should have to go through the sort of treatment plans that cancers like Ben’s require. But, if they do, it should be with the support of people like the Spread a Smile team – because it’s the smiles and laughter that get them through it.”

Huge thanks to Hannah and Tom Jarvis for this fantastic fundraising feat.

During the month of May, Marina, one of our incredibly talented artists, created stunning murals in the paediatric anaesthetic and recovery rooms at St Mary’s Hospital.

Marina has already decorated lots of the other areas in St Mary’s paediatric department, including the bloods room and the waiting area.

Painting hospital wards and rooms enhances the hospital environment, making the experience feel less clinical and can distract children from their treatment by having so much to look at and engage with.

Binita, mum to Luca, said, “Over the last year and a half we have become regulars in PHDU (Paediatric High Dependency Unit) at St Mary’s. Going into hospital with a four year old can be extremely difficult and challenging at times but all the staff there are phenomenal. The Play Specialists always go over and beyond to ensure the children have a fun time in some tough situations. Since visiting we have had the pleasure of seeing the walls of the rooms and waiting area be covered in the most beautiful art work. We have loved seeing them develop over time and Luca and I are always keeping a look out for all the new developments. These paintings mean so much as they give a bright and beautiful thing for the children to look at while they have their treatment. Thank you for all the time and hard work you have put in to making our hospital visits feel less clinical.”

Anaesthetic Room:

Recovery Room:

On Monday 7 June we spread extra special smiles with our first face to face visit in 15 months!

Sar and her guitar entertained children on the paediatric ward at Whittington Hospital in Highgate, North London.

Florence Prince, Play Specialist, said, “The singing session today was just fantastic! To be able to sing and have Sar playing the guitar and singing was magical. It really gave the children and their families a sense of some normality in a hospital environment. Children participated by clapping their hands, singing and lots of smiles on Ifor Ward. We as a team are so honoured to work with Spread a Smile.”

We can’t wait to return to face to face visits at our other NHS hospital partners over the coming months. These visits will take place alongside our virtual visits, spreading smiles and joy to seriously ill and hospitalised children and teenagers.

It’s been a half term of smiles and laughter for the children and young people we support. We ran sessions to suit all ages and were delighted to see the fabulous smiles spread.

On Tuesday 1 June, we offered a Festival Make-Up session, led by talented MUA Abi Anahory. Thanks to Go Get Glitter and My Lottie London for the fabulous make up and glitter.

The wonderful Birmingham Stage Company ran a virtual workshop of their Terrible Tudors performance (part of Horrible Histories).

On Thursday 3 June we were thrilled to offer virtual character visits with Skye from PAW Patrol and with Paddington. Thank you to Rainbow Mascots for spreading so much joy.

We’ve welcomed Southampton Children’s Hospital to our growing list of partner hospitals.

For a couple of years, Southampton patients have been receiving their radiotherapy treatment at UCLH, meaning we started entertaining patients from Southampton whilst they were in London for treatment. We wanted to extend our services to support all the families receiving oncology treatment in Southampton and are now spreading much needed smiles to children and young people on Piam Brown ward.

We hope to extend our services to other paediatric wards within Southampton Children’s Hospital soon.

Patients currently enjoy Spread a Smile virtual visits with our entertainers and joined our Santa’s Grotto over Christmas as well as our Jellly Challenge at the beginning of May. We’re looking forward to adding more services in the future.

Claire Pickett, Play Specialist on Piam Brown ward, said, “Spread a Smile has been a really positive addition to the Piam Brown ward. The children look forward to their sesions and even after they’ve ended the enjoyment continues, as they can’t wait to tell us all what they’ve been up to.

“As well as the individual sessions, the group sessions have been fantastic for the interaction between the children and it’s been lovely to see. They really do Spread a Smile and we feel incredibly lucky to have them at Southampton Children’s Hospital.”

Luxury fashion brand Wyse London has teamed with Spread a Smile to launch the sale of their new vibrant Wyse x Spread a Smile t-shirt.

As we approach the end of the Lockdown restrictions and the uncertainty of the last year with the global Pandemic, the significance of supporting others has become clearer than ever. The Wyse x Spread a Smile t-shirt features an eye-catching ‘love’ emblem that symbolises hope, connection and the importance of giving back. It’s a truly fantastic purchase for anyone who would like to support an incredible charity and help to spread a smile on the faces of seriously ill children.

Going on sale on the 28th May, all profits made from the brand’s second collaboration t-shirt sales will go directly to Spread a Smile.

Wyse London offers a wide range of stylish pieces for every occasion. After bursting onto the fashion scene in 2014, the brand has developed a large customer base, an impressive social media following and is the must have label worn by many celebrities. The recent Wyse collaboration with Spread a Smile aims to increase awareness and help raise extra funds for this incredible charity.  Marielle Wyse founder of the fashion brand comments:

“Spread a Smile is such an important cause, because it brings positivity to seriously ill children and their families. I wanted to design a spirit-lifting t-shirt so I used our signature Wyse sparkle and colour to make it as joyful as possible. I hope it puts a smile on the face of whoever wears it.”

Lucy Jackson, CEO of Spread a Smile, added:

“We’re so grateful to Marielle and the whole Wyse team for this second collaboration with Spread a Smile. The ‘love’ from this beautiful tee will help us to spread even more smiles to seriously ill children and teenagers.”

The Wyse x Spread a Smile t-shirt is £70 and available to purchase at: https://www.wyselondon.co.uk/collections/homepage-favourites/products/lily-love-glitter-tee-grey

The luxury jewellery brand, Rosie Fortescue Jewellery, has collaborated with Spread a Smile to launch a beautiful rainbow bracelet.

The delicate bracelet, embellished in rainbow cubic zirconia, retails for £50 and can be purchased directly from the Rosie Fortescue Jewellery website. 100% of profits from the sale of the bracelet will be donated to Spread a Smile.

Rosie Fortescue Jewellery, created by Rosie Fortescue, is a luxury jewellery brand that is accessible to all. Rosie designs collections that are fun and playful, putting the perfect finishing touch to an outfit.

Spread a Smile brings joy and laughter to seriously ill children and teenagers during long hospital. Their entertainers, including fairies, musicians, magicians, artists and more visit children at their bedsides, distracting them from pain and treatment, breaking the monotony of the hospital environment and creating positive memories for them, their parents and siblings.

Rosie said, “I wanted to create a piece of jewellery that would support Spread a Smile and help bring some happiness and joy to the wearer as well as to help bring joy to seriously ill children and teenagers. The bright colours used in the bracelet reflect the happiness and positivity of a smile.”

Lucy Jackson, Chief Executive of Spread a Smile, said, “We’re delighted to be collaborating with Rosie Fortescue Jewellery on this gorgeous rainbow bracelet, proceeds from which will help us to spread more smiles to seriously ill and hospitalised children and teenagers. We’re incredibly grateful to Rosie and her team for their wonderful support.”

We’re now spreading smiles to young patients at Whittington Hospital in Highgate, North London.  The Whittington has recently expanded its paediatric oncology and haematology services and increased the number of inpatient beds and we’re delighted to help extend our support to all the children and young people in their care.

Sonal Patel, clinical nurse specialist for haematology and oncology said, “Thank you to Spread a Smile for all the joy they have brought to our children on the ward and in our oncology clinics. The recent delivery of strawberry balloons went down a treat.  The children passed through the corridors and tears naturally turned into smiles. It is so lovely to have such an amazing charity by our side, working with us to support our patients and their families.” 

We recently announced our ambition to become a national charity and a leading voice in hospital entertainment by 2024.  Investing in our team plays a critical part in achieving our goals and, this month we are delighted to welcome three new team members.  Jasmin Minjoot (pictured) has been appointed Operations Manager heading up the services team as we begin to expand our networks outside of London and Ellie Walker and Laura Messin join as Visit Managers, responsible for family liaison, managing the increasing demand for our virtual bedside visits, and once we are back in hospitals, our scheduled entertainer visits.   All three have extensive knowledge of the charity and experience of working with families as, for the past few years, all three have been valuable members of our entertainment team and otherwise known as Fairy Jasmin, Fairy Ellie and Fairy Laura.   As such, when required, they will also continue to entertain seriously ill and hospitalised children and teenagers.

We asked Jasmin about her new role…

What are you excited about in your new role?

“I’m super excited to be more involved with the ‘behind the scenes’, I have so many ideas that I just can’t wait to get out! Being part of the Spread a Smile team is such a dream. As an entertainer I’ve seen first hand the reactions and impact of what we do and now, in this new role, it enables me to help keep us moving towards new and exciting goals.”

What do you love about Spread a Smile?

“The smiles! Honestly, the amount of smiles that we create is just incredible! I think everyone knows that warm, fuzzy feeling of true happiness and to be able to create that feeling through our entertainers and events is truly special. Who doesn’t love to smile?!”

Are you still Fairy Jasmin?

“Well, a fairy can be in disguise as Operations Manager, but there’s no way anyone could take away my wings! I have always loved performing, from when I went to my very first dance class as a tiny tot. I remember watching a show when I was younger and how happy it made me, and ever since then that’s what I wanted to do, to make people feel that happiness. When I sing, I love to get into character and sometimes that means being very silly and I just love the giggles and smiles that come from it. It’s amazing that I can still be on hand for entertaining within this new role.”