News

The final day of our half term activities was dedicated to our teenagers – many of whom helped to shape the day’s format which included pop art, baking, poetry, yoga, dance and songwriting plus a very special session – a make-up tutorial led by Make-Up by Abi and with the most generous support of our friends Welovesunkissed who sent every participant across all our hospital partners a super make-up set packed full of eyeshadows, blush and brushes so everyone could follow along, learn a few top tips and continue to practice what they’ve learnt in the months ahead.  To receive details of our May Half Term activities please CLICK HERE.

When it’s a cold and windy lockdown half term what better way to while away the hours than to join one of our virtual activity days? Over February half term we’ve been running virtual sessions packed with fun-filled activities for children aged 4-12 and included tutorials in magic, arts & crafts, Wild Science, dance and martial arts.  One mum said, ‘My daughter so loved seeing other the children, especially those she’s met in hospital. It’s lovely to see children who have to deal with so much having fun’. More madcap fun and smiles to enjoy tomorrow.”  To receive details of our May Half Term activities please CLICK HERE.

Last week we were delighted to host a Smile Party to celebrate Abigail’s eighth birthday. The virtual party, which was co-hosted by our wonderful supporter, Lola’s Cupcakes, included unicorn decorating with lots of icing and sprinkles, and allowed Abigail to celebrate with family and friends.

We’ve been entertaining Abigail and her family since July 2019 when Abigail was at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Abigail has regular appointments and stays at GOSH for her very rare condition, restrictive cardiomyopathy, and travels from her home in Yorkshire for her care. Abigail especially loves being entertained by our magicians and artists and our virtual visits have meant that her sister at home has been able to join in the entertainment.

Kathryn, Abigail’s mum, said, “THANK YOU so much.  Birthdays in lockdown are hard, especially when disrupted by hospitals.  You really made Abigail’s day with her cupcakes.  She enjoyed it so much.  It was lovely to see her smiling and happy.  She also LOVED seeing her school friends and her cousin.

“Thank you is such an inadequate word for what you do….. I cannot express just how much it means to me to have your support.  Hospital visits and bad news conversations meant I really hadn’t given any thought to Abigail’s birthday this year, and you just solved it for me.  So THANK YOU”

The marvellous Monty took on a huge challenge for Spread a Smile in January. He ran a full marathon over four days in memory of  his friend, Louie, who sadly passed away last July.

Louie had told Monty about Spread a Smile and the times the charity had entertained Louie and his family, creating some beautiful memories, and so Monty decided he wanted to help other families create positive memories together in the future.

When Monty was running, he imagined Louie spurring him on to keep going. Monty said that Louie was always a positive and encouraging friend, especially when they played football together, so this helped Monty during his marathon.

Congratulations Monty on such a wonderful achievement.

Friday 29 January was National Puzzle Day! To celebrate, we delivered packs of puzzles and games to children and teenagers in hospital, as well as providing them with links to download puzzles that they can solve on their tablets and phones.

Companies including Readly, Cheatwell Games and Usborne Books generously donated puzzles, games and digital subscriptions to entertain children and teenagers during their long hospital stays.

Through Spread a Smile’s own research, we know that being seriously ill can be extremely isolating and monotonous for children and their parents. Children and teenagers in hospital are currently more isolated than ever before – they can only have one parent visitor (meaning their other parent and siblings can’t see them), no outside organisations can visit face to face, and even the usual play activities in hospital play rooms are cancelled because of covid isolation rules. Digital activities and puzzles, which children can access from their hospital rooms and cubicles, are more vital than ever.

National Puzzle Day represents a fantastic opportunity to bring more puzzles and games into the hospital environment. Puzzles bring opportunities to develop problem solving skills and set children and teenagers achievable challenges. For children experiencing extended hospital stays offering new opportunities for challenge and distraction is crucial.

On Sunday 20 December, Jez Allinson, aka the Running Stormtrooper, has completed his 2020 challenge of running 1,000 miles and fundraising for Spread a Smile and Make a Wish, all whilst dressed in full Stormtrooper armour.

Despite it not being the finish he’d planned (to run from Elstree Studios to Pinewood Studies), due to the new covid restrictions, Jez ran the last 18 miles of his 2020 challenge around his RAF base, RAF Benson.

Thank you so much to Jez for this amazing achievement which will help spread smiles to seriously ill children and teenagers.

To find out more and to donate to Jez’s fundraising efforts, please visit https://stormtrooperrun.com/ 

Our wonderful supporters have been continuing to fundraise for us, ensuring that we will be spreading smiles to seriously ill children and teenagers in hospital. Thank you to everyone who has fundraised and donated, it means so much to us and to the children and their families who need the smiles and joy now more than ever.

If you’re interested to find out how you can fundraise for Spread a Smile, please email fundraising@spreadasmile.org

• The wonderful Pass the Parcel team fundraised for and made up 300 spectacular gift parcels to give to seriously ill children in hospital this festive season. We went with the team to deliver some of the bags to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
• Yavneh College in Borehamwood has chosen Spread a Smile as one of it’s charities this year. We were delighted to receive some beautiful bracelets made by some of the pupils. They also donated lots of fantastic gifts for our Gift Drive.
• Aimee Johnson baked, packaged and sold delicious tea boxes as part of her bat mitzvah preparations. Aimee has donated all of the money raised to Spread a Smile.
• The fabulous team at ebloggers has raised a wonderful £1,352 for Spread a Smile, with thanks to Laura Wills (aka The Fashion Bug Blog) and Louise Roe.
• Alcester Grammar School raised over £650 for Spread a Smile with a non-uniform day.
• Our wonderful supporter, ICBC, held a Christmas raffle in aid of Spread a Smile.

Our wonderful supporter, Lola’s Cupcakes, has spread Christmas joy and smiles with virtual cake decorating workshops at both Great Ormond Street Hospital and at UCLH.

Children and teenagers at both hospitals were sent cake and cupcake decorating kits and Lola’s led a virtual decorating session to help the participants create their stunning, seasonal Christmas designs.

One mum said, “We are so thankful for the great time we had at Great Ormond Street Hospital decorating these Christmas cupcakes from Spread a Smile and Lola’s. These kind of surprises cheer up the days. Merry Christmas everyone!”

To find out more about Lola’s decorating kits, click here.