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Enewsletter spread a smile

September 2025 e-newsletter

 600 290 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Our September e-newsletter is here!  

We’ve had another incredible month, packed with family events, amazing fundraising efforts, and so many smiles.  

We had the pleasure of welcoming some of the families we support to wonderful theatre trips, including 101 Dalmatians and The Lion King, complete with a pre-theatre party including magic, face painting, music and delicious treats.  

We also hosted a special evening to celebrate the incredible NHS healthcare professionals we work with. We were delighted to give these professionals a chance to be on the receiving end of some magic, a way for us to show our heartfelt appreciation for all they do.  

We were pleased to speak at the inaugural BizzFest as their official charity partner, and we also had partners hosting amazing events such as the Insurance Dinner and the Compass Carter TB100.  

We also announced some exciting events: Entertainer Variety Show on 23 October, and our Comedy Night hosted by Suzi Ruffell on 17 November.  

Last but no means least, we shared the news that after many years of dedicated service as Trustee and Co-Founder, our much-loved Josephine Segal, has decided that the time is right to step back from her role on the Board and her day-to-day involvement with Spread a Smile.

Find out more in our September e-news here.  

Sign up to our e-news here to get our e-newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every month.  

Making connections at BizzFest 2025

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

We recently had the pleasure of being selected as a charity partner for the inaugural BizzFest – a dynamic new networking event designed to inspire, connect, and propel business growth. It was an incredible day, bringing together young founders and teams for a daytime conference followed by an evening festival.

Our Partnerships Manager, Rosie Perkins, spoke to attendees and guests about Spread a Smile and the charity’s work and inspiring opportunities to develop bespoke and mutually beneficial partnerships. Rosie was also joined by one of our brilliant magicians, who offered a glimpse of the joy and fun the charity brings to the young patients in hospital.

Partnering with Spread a Smile is a fantastic way for businesses to achieve their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives. These partnerships not only give back to the community but also help to inspire teams and boost morale. At Spread a Smile, we offer various packages for companies to get involved, from fundraising and event opportunities to bespoke volunteering days, such as helping to pack 2,000 Smile Hampers to be sent to seriously ill children and their siblings in time for Christmas.

At Spread a Smile, we rely completely on the support of generous companies, trusts and individuals to continue our work spreading smiles across the country when they are needed most. We are extremely grateful to everyone at BizzFest for giving us the opportunity to share our work and raise much needed awareness amongst such an ambitious and inspiring group of people.

If you are interested in exploring ways your company can work with Spread a Smile, please reach out to Lucy Chesney, our Head of Partnerships, at lucychesney@spreadasmile.org.

NHS healthcare professionals

Celebrating healthcare professionals

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting a special event to celebrate the incredible healthcare professionals we work with, welcoming staff from 11 of the NHS hospitals we support. We are immensely grateful for their tireless efforts and hard work in supporting the seriously ill children and families we work with and this annual event is a chance to thank them in person and give them a chance to relax and celebrate what they do together.

To bring some of our own magic to the evening, our Spread a Smile entertainers were on hand, with Judge the Poet performing spontaneous, personalised poetry, Magic Nick amazing guests with his incredible magic tricks, and Louise crafting intricate balloon models for our guests to take home.

The evening was made even more special thanks to our wonderful partners, Pan-n-Ice, Sushi Dog, and Lola’s Cupcakes who provided delicious food and treats for our special guests. We are also incredibly grateful to our friends from Uncommon for hosting the event and making us all so welcome.

Spread a Smile is proud to partner with 39 NHS hospitals across the country, working with hundreds of healthcare professionals to support seriously ill children and young people under their care. To find out about our work and how you can support us, please take a look here.

Fundraisers of the Month: Vidhi and Polly

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

This month, we’ve been overwhelmed with incredible fundraising efforts from our brilliant supporters. This month, we’re sharing Vidhi and Polly’s stories with you. Their hard work and dedication has been inspirational, helping us spread many more smiles to seriously ill children and their families.

Vidhi’s Birthday Fundraiser

Vidh

For her ninth birthday, Vidhi chose to fundraise for Spread a Smile in support of our Intensive Care Library Project. Vidhi dedicated herself to the cause by skipping, selling cupcakes, and approaching local businesses to get them involved, raising an incredible £5,725 to fund books to for our libraries at our NHS hospital partners.

Vidhi told us, “I was eight when I skipped, I baked and worked extremely hard to help children in hospital. Together with over 1,000 supporters and close to 400 donors, we raised over £5,725!

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the many happy faces when the books are delivered. I want to carry on, grateful for how good it feels to make a difference.”

Polly’s Plod

Polly's Plod

Polly raised an amazing £2,600 by plodding over 40 miles throughout August. She exceeded her goal of a mile a day, pushing herself whenever her energy levels allowed and we loved seeing how she got on across the month.

Polly’s mum shared this message with us: “We have been lucky enough to experience the impact of Spread a Smile first hand and will be forever grateful to the charity for giving Polly her smile back in times where it felt like her smile would never return.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to each and every one of you for plodding alongside Polly, both literally and metaphorically.”

Thank you to Vidhi, Polly and their families for their wonderful support and for going the extra mile to raise so much to spread smiles to seriously ill children in hospital.

 

If you’re feeling inspired by these two superstars, why not take on your own fundraising challenge and help make a difference to the families we support? Email rimi@spreadasmile.org to find out more.

 

 

 

Spread a Smile Padel Tournament

Padel Tournament 2025 – a smash hit!

 740 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Last week, we were delighted to host our third Padel tournament at Stratford Padel Club. Generously sponsored by Enra, our tournament welcomed 16 teams for a day of fierce competition, with players from Enra, Texel, HCFX, HILCO Capital, and Peel Hunt.

Each team brought their finest skills and competitive spirit to the court, and after a series of suspense-filled matches, Team Peel Hunt took home the trophy.

Alongside the competition, our Spread a Smile entertainer was on hand to bring even more fun to the day with his incredible magic and card tricks. It was a wonderful opportunity for our guests to see the magic our entertainers bring to seriously ill children and their families.

We finished the day with a raffle, with the chance to win a signed cricket bat donated by the ECB, a pair of tickets to the Spread a Smile comedy night on 17 November, and two rackets donated by Stratford Padel Club. It was great to see so many people win fantastic prizes!

A huge thank you to our sponsor Enra, all teams who took part and to Stratford Padel Club. Thanks to your incredible support, we raised vital funds that will help us spread even more smiles to seriously ill children and their families.

Feeling inspired?

Snap up one of our places for the Vitality 10k on 28 September, or sign up to our e-newsletter here to stay up to date with our upcoming events.

 

Fundraiser of the month: 2 Peaks challenge

Fundraisers of the month: Alice and Sophie

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Our incredible fundraising community is key to Spread a Smile, helping us raise vital funds to spread smiles to seriously ill children in hospital. For August, we’re shining our Fundraiser of the Month spotlight on 12-year-old Alice and Sophie, who recently took on the 2 Peak Challenge to celebrate their B’nei Mitzvahs.

This ambitious challenge involved conquering the two tallest peaks in the Lake District: Blencathra and Helvellyn, over two days. The climbs proved to be challenging, with Alice and Sophie facing wind, hail, rain and a total of 1,818 M of altitude. Yet, their unwavering perseverance saw them proudly complete the challenge with Sophie sharing her motivation for the challenge, saying, “Being only 12 myself, I wanted to support a charity that helps children. I remembered hearing about Spread a Smile at a talk we had at Brownies and how they bring joy and entertainment to seriously ill children – it immediately came to mind.

“There were moments when I thought it might be too much, but then I reminded myself of the children Spread a Smile supports. Thinking about what they go through every day helped me push through – because what I was facing was nothing compared to their challenges.”

Alice also added, “For my Bat Mitzvah, I wanted to do something to give back to children less fortunate than me. I knew about Spread a Smile as my Mum had donated to them through her work… and I love what they do to bring art, music and even therapy dogs to visit seriously ill children in hospital.

“The climb up Blencathra on the Friday was really hard as we were walking through rain, wind and hail and even with our waterproofs on we got soaked!”

We’re so grateful for Alice and Sophie’s incredible efforts. Together they raised an incredible £3,500 to support Spread a Smile’s vital work bringing joy and laughter to seriously ill children and their families. Their effort is a powerful example of how a challenge fundraiser can meaningfully commemorate a milestone whilst making a difference to others.

Feeling inspired? Why not hit your fitness goals by signing up to our Vitality 10k race on Sunday 28 September.
Join Team Smile here!

July Newsletter Spread a Smile 2025

July 2025 e-newsletter

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Our much-anticipated annual Summer Party was a highlight, as we welcomed over 750 children, young people, and families for a day of fun and laughter. We couldn’t have done it without the support of hundreds of volunteers and partners who donated their time, stalls, gifts, food, and drink to make the party so special.

Dive into our July e-newsletter to read more about the Summer Party along with everything else we’ve been up to and what we have planned, including:

  • Launch of our Silent Auction to win two VIP Oasis tickets for Sunday 3 August;
  • Celebrating a new charity partnership with Cosmic to increase the number of Spread a Smile visits to St Mary’s Hospital;
  • World Play Day with the LEGO Group;
  • Meet Dottie and Kaiden for International Day of Friendship;
  • Welcoming our new Trustee, Sanjiv Patel;
  • Snap up a place in the Vitality 10,000 London and take inspiration from Herne Hill Run Club and the Saucony 10k;
  • A brilliant effort from Team Smile for the National Three Peaks Challenge;
  • How to secure one of the last remaining teams for our annual Golf Days in September.

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Gabrielle Devine Joins Spread a Smile

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Spread a Smile is delighted to welcome Gabrielle Devine, our new Digital Marketing Executive to the team. We spoke to Gabrielle about her background and what led her to make the move into the charity sector.

“Moving into the charity sector has long been a dream of mine. My passion for making a positive difference began during the COVID-19 pandemic when I started volunteering as a befriender for Glasgow’s Golden Generation, a charity which supports the wellbeing of elderly individuals facing social isolation. I’ve continued this for almost five years now. Seeing the impact a simple, friendly interaction can have on someone’s day, and making a positive difference in the lives of others, is something that is really important to me.

“This experience resonated deeply with Spread a Smile’s mission: bringing joy and distraction to seriously ill children and their families as they face prolonged time in hospital. In just my first few weeks here, I’ve already seen the huge difference Spread a Smile makes. My first family event was particularly impactful. The dedication to giving individualised attention to each child and their family, combined with the team’s incredible effort in seamlessly running the event, resulted in genuine laughter and fun for the children – and it was wonderful to see their parents smiling alongside them.

“As a painter with a fine art background, I’m especially drawn to how Spread a Smile nurtures young people’s creativity and self-expression in hospitals. Through arts and crafts sessions and by decorating wards with vibrant paintings, we bring comfort and a vital outlet for expression into children’s lives, which is so important during long hospital stays and time away from school.

“I’m incredibly excited to be part of such an amazing team within such a special charity. I can’t wait to fully immerse myself in the Spread a Smile mission, helping to grow our social media presence and share the incredible work we do with the world. I’m especially keen to help us reach new audiences across all our social platforms, particularly on TikTok, and grow our accounts by sharing compelling stories through great images, videos, and impactful writing.”

Susie Baxter, Spread a Smile’s Head of Marketing also said, “I’m delighted to welcome Gabrielle to the team and looking forward to seeing the impact she will no doubt make as we support the charity’s awareness, fundraising and service delivery goals. It is an exciting time for Spread a Smile in terms of our position and aims going forward and already we’re developing lots of new socials initiatives to increase our exposure and ultimately ensure we can continue to be there for seriously ill children and their families when they need us most.”

 

 

Saucony 2025 Run charity

Herne Hill Run Club takes on the Saucony 10K

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

The atmosphere in London’s city centre this weekend was buzzing as over 17,000 runners took part in the annual Saucony 10K. Among them were 14 members of the Herne Hill Run Club, who took on the race as a fundraising challenge for Spread a Smile.

Despite the summer heat, the Herne Hill runners demonstrated their sportsmanship and determination, powering through to the finish line in their Spread a Smile running tops and helping to raise vital funds for seriously ill children and young people along the way. A huge thank you to the Herne Hill Run Club for going the extra mile to support Spread a Smile.

A 10K run is a great challenge for both new runners and experienced athletes aiming for a personal best. As the Herne Hill Run Club demonstrated, it’s a fantastic way for your own run club to come together, train for a shared goal, and raise vital funds to support our work.

If you’re inspired, Spread a Smile has spaces for the Vitality 10K on Sunday 28 September 2025, offering a perfect opportunity to achieve your fitness goals before the end of summer, all while raising vital funds to help us spread even more smiles when they’re needed most.

Secure your place now!

 

 

Lego Play pavilion charity day

World Play Day with the LEGO Group

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Spread a Smile was delighted to be invited by the LEGO Group to welcome some of the families we support to the LEGO Play Pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery, London for some exciting LEGO® based workshops and fun.

The pop-up pavilion was installed to celebrate World Play Day, the LEGO Group’s celebration of the UN’s International Day of Play on 11 June and featured brilliant LEGO® creations including a LEGO® wall, slide and a giant parrot. Families supported by Spread a Smile were invited to join across two days, immersing themselves in the world of play and LEGO® and taking part in three workshops:

“Abstract Art” – using large trays of LEGO® in all different shapes, sizes and colours, guests were encouraged to make an abstract piece of art which were then displayed on a large mural wall.

“Pop Art” – for this workshop, the families used a 10 x 10 base board to create any design they wanted in the style of pop art, which finished pieces including a rainbow and characters such as Mario and PAC-Man!

“Speed Building Challenge” – This fun, quick fire building challenge saw our families create a robot using their LEGO® within 7 minutes, before adapting the robots to fly and then adding extra parts so the robot could swim underwater.

LEGO play pavilion

Events such as these provide meaningful and valuable opportunities for families with seriously ill children to do something fun together, providing moments of creativity, connection, and enjoyment.

The workshop leaders were fantastic, showing incredible patience and adapting the workshops to suit each family, and we are so grateful to the LEGO Group for offering this wonderful opportunity to the families we support.

At Spread a Smile, we are proud of the partnerships we build with our corporate supporters. We’ve worked with the LEGO Group for a number of years, developing innovative initiatives to support families with seriously ill children and creating a special and mutually beneficial partnership which engages and inspires everyone involved.

If you or your company would like to find out more about developing a bespoke partnership with Spread a Smile, then please do reach out to Rosie Perkins from our Partnerships Team at rosie@spreadasmile.org.