News

We are delighted to have been chosen as Christie’s London’s Charity Partner for 2019. 

Founded in 1766, Christie’s has since conducted the greatest and most celebrated auctions through the centuries.

The auction house will organise a series of internal events, including quizzes, a Christmas fair and a staff art show all in aid of Spread a Smile. Christie’s staff are also going to support the charity by sharing their skills and expertise in pro-bono assistance and volunteering.

We were nominated by Sandra who works for Christie’s. We entertain Sandra’s 7-year-old son, Paolo, who has been receiving treatment for cancer at GOSH and St Mary’s Hospital for several years. Paolo, who is pictured below, had a visit recently from Ian, one of our brilliant magicians. Sandra sent us this photo, and told us “Paolo loved the magician”. Thank you so much to Sandra for being instrumental in our being chosen as Christie’s Charity of the Year. 

Thank you to Christie’s for your generous support. We are looking forward to working with you this year.

Join us on Wednesday 20 March to pop-up and shop some amazing brands all in aid of Spread a Smile. The inaugural pop-up and shop, organised by Claudia Salem, takes place at Chandos House, 2 Queen Anne Street, London W1G 9LQ, from 9.30am – 4.30pm.  

You can shop from amazing brands including beachwear from Solly the Dolly, coming to the UK especially for our pop-up, jewellery from Joubi Jewellery, stylish sportswear from Ana Heart, gorgeous and unique clothing from Jessica Russell Flint, homewares from Casa Carta, handbags from Meli Melo, skincare designed especially for girls and boys by Spots and Stripes, gorgeous beach towels from Hamamingo and lots more.  

You can also join our wellbeing workshop from 11.30am to hear a talk from Yalda of Eat Burn Sleep. Tired of Kale and Spirulina? Yalda’s approach is simple, easy, science-based and yields results. Feel heathier, improve your IBS, lose weight, have glowing skin without feeling deprived. Join us to hear how to achieve this and more. Tickets to Yalda’s talk are £50 per head and bookable here and all proceeds will be donated to Spread a Smile. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

Entry to the pop up is free. 20-25% of proceeds from sales at the pop-up and shop will be donated to Spread a Smile.

The lovely Claudia Winkleman spread smiles with us at Great Ormond Street Hospital last month while Alesha Dixon surprised patients and staff at University College Hospital.

Visits from well-known celebrities bring smiles to our young patients, brighten their day, help distract from their treatment and give them serious bragging rights with their friends.

Miles for smiles

We have two incredible challenges for you this year.

ArcelorMittal Orbit Abseil

Join Team Spread a Smile on the morning of Sunday 16 June 2019 for the UK’s highest freefall abseil experience from the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the UK’s tallest sculpture, located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London. Descend the 262 feet while taking in breath-taking views of London and raising funds for us at the same time.

You will travel in the lift to the very top of the structure to get a hawk’s eye view of the park below and to look out over the rest of London. From here you’ll be able to pick out The Shard, BT Tower, The Gherkin, Big Ben, Canary Wharf and the O2 Arena – the views stretch up to 20 miles on a clear day. Then, you will head out to the open-air platform to begin your descent. 

The registration fee is £30 and the minimum donation or sponsorship £300. You must be over 14 to participate. 

Royal Parks Half Marathon

In 2018, 17 runners took on an incredible challenge in aid of Spread a Smile. You can follow in their footsteps by snapping up one of the remaining places for the Royal Parks Half Marathon 2019 on Sunday 13 October. Join 16,000 runners for this 13.1 mile race, taking in world famous London landmarks. Register for your place or email amanda@spreadasmile.org for more information. 

The registration fee is £30 and minimum donation or sponsorship is £370.

We are incredibly excited to announce a brand new partnership with sought after makeup brand Trinny London. 

Trinny Woodall, world renowned fashion and make up expert, is the brains behind the makeup brand and she jumped at the chance to help us to spread more smiles. 

To kick-off our exciting partnership, Trinny London is launching two brand new FreshFlush LIP2CHEEKS, called Mama and Katja, in time for Mother’s Day and is generously donating 10% of sales from both LIP2CHEEK colours to Spread a Smile. Look out for our logo on the products, which can be bought from Fenwick in Bond Street, Brent Cross, Newcastle and trinnylondon.com. 

Trinny said: “We are thrilled to be able to support Spread a Smile, which is a phenomenally good cause. Our LIP2CHEEKS accentuate a smile so this seemed the perfect way to support this wonderful charity. I hope that, through the sale of Mama and Katja, we can help to spread more smiles and laughter to seriously ill children in hospital.”

In the run up to Mother’s Day and beyond, Trinny will be posting news about her partnership with us in her own inimitable, fantastic style so do check out her Instagram @trinnylondon 

Alexandra Shulman in conversation with Gaby Roslin

On Monday 14^th January, former editor of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman, was in conversation with TV presenter and host Gaby Roslin chatting about her time at the helm of the iconic fashion magazine and all in aid of Spread a Smile.

An audience of 70+ joined us at Century Club in Soho as Alexandra described her 25 years in charge of Britain’s leading fashion magazine.

We are so grateful to Alexandra Shulman and Gaby Roslin for so generously giving up their time and to the Century Club for providing a fabulous venue for the evening. Please keep an eye out for our next “in conversation with” event.

Irwin Mitchell pledges their support

We are delighted to have been chosen as Charity of the Year for the London office of law firm Irwin Mitchell. The national law firm’s annual charity initiative sees staff across 13 of its offices take part in a vote to select a good cause which they can support through both voluntary work and fundraising events. It is part of work undertaken by the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation (IMCF), an independent charity founded in 1997 which has raised more than £1.8 million for charities in the UK and abroad. This year, the London office of Irwin Mitchell has voted to support the work of Spread a Smile. 

Partner Alison Eddy said, “As a firm we have always been passionate about doing what we can to support important causes and organisations through both the IMCF and the Charity of the Year initiative. 

“Spread a Smile undertakes incredibly important work to bring joy, entertainment & laughter to children who are seriously ill and we are already planning a range of activities across the year which will ensure that vital funds are raised to support its services. 

“Helping good causes is a core part of life here at Irwin Mitchell and we are excited about seeing just how much we can do for Spread a Smile and our other chosen charities across the coming months.”

We plan to use funds raised by Irwin Mitchell to specifically support our work at The Royal London Hospital, reaching up to 1,500 patients next year. The site specialises in cystic fibrosis, retinoblastoma and gastroenterology and also has a paediatric critical care unit and neonatal unit for babies. 

Lucy Jackson, chief executive of Spread a Smile, said: “We burst into spontaneous applause when we heard Irwin Mitchell will be supporting us in 2019. We are a small charity so every penny raised really will make a difference to us and help us to spread even more smiles to seriously ill children in hospital in London.

“We are looking forward to getting to know staff at Irwin Mitchell and having lots of fun along the way.”

Feeling Festive at Chickenshed

We began to get into the festive spirit early on in December, as we took 30 guests to see Chickenshed’s A Christmas Carol. The Victorian tale had had a makeover: it was a brand new musical version updated to 1930s Britain. It was a real extravaganza – Chickenshed are an inclusive theatre company, and the cast was over 200-strong!

Our guests loved the afternoon. They were excited to meet and take a selfie with some of the cast before the show, including Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past. They were also treated to a Spread a Smile welcome with pizza and brownies, and got into the spirit of the season with many a fine Christmas jumper!

And the show was a hit.

Mum Anna said: “Thanking you all for the fun-filled day at Chickenshed today. Such welcoming and accommodating staff, as well as a fantastic performance of The Christmas Carol. A reminder of what is important and for the many everyday little things to be grateful for.”

Christine, mother of 6-yr-old Theo, said: “Thank you so much Spread a Smile for inviting us to Chickenshed to watch A Christmas Carol. We loved seeing you all again. Thank you all for doing amazing things for our children. It really makes a difference. Our son always looks forward to seeing you all at University College Hospital.”

A big thank you to Chickenshed for a wonderful afternoon, and our entertainers and volunteers for making the event a delight for our guests.

Bone Marrow Transplant Unit Visits at GOSH

Since April, we have been given special access to visit children in isolation rooms on Fox and Robin wards at Great Ormond Street Hospital. These wards are for children who need a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. They are treated in strict isolation before and after their transplant as they are at major risk of infection.

As infection control on these wards is so high, our entertainers are not allowed to enter the isolation rooms as this would compromise the patients. Instead they entertain the children through the room windows, communicating using the intercom system. Our entertainers have become adept at knowing what sort of performance will work under these limitations – a particular test for our magicians whose tricks normally rely on audience participation. They are so brilliant that they are still able to amaze and astound despite the lack of contact. We were approved for access to the ward after proving our due diligence with the understandably high standard of hygiene required.

The children, who range in age from 0 to 18 years, are kept in isolation usually for 3-4 weeks post-transplant – some for much longer. They are allowed visits from up to three carers, but their siblings are not allowed to visit until their neutrophil – a form of white blood cell – count is back to a safe level. The time in the room is very taxing. Play Specialist Amy Crowley told us, “They are not allowed to leave the room so they are naturally constricted. They are also connected to machines and pumps for the majority of the day so they do not have free movement. They are isolated from their friends and family, have no privacy and suffer from disturbed sleep. They never have a break.”

We spoke to Beverley, mother of Celeste who spent four months in an isolation room after her bone marrow transplant surgery. Celeste was 10 years old at the time and received a bone marrow transplant from her older sister as part of treatment for leukaemia.

Beverley said they were desperate for Spread a Smile to visit: “Celeste’s long four months in one room were incredibly isolating. She was not allowed to leave her room for the full four months after surgery, and couldn’t see her siblings for the first two months. The only visitors allowed for the initial stretch were me, and her dad at weekends when he wasn’t at work. Celeste couldn’t even see her twin sister.”

Play Specialist Amy stressed the importance of Spread a Smile’s visits: “The children and families love and appreciate seeing all the different entertainers. It brings happiness to the ward. I think Spread a Smile is amazing. To see the children’s faces when the entertainers come to their windows is a picture. Your performers are incredible. I can’t thank you enough for everything you do for Fox and Robin kids.”