Posts Tagged :

charity fundraising

Teeing off in memory of Louie Hibberd

 780 400 Susie
By:

For the last few years, the Hibberd family has generously supported Spread a Smile by organising a Golf Day in memory of their son Louie, who sadly lost his life to a brain tumour three years ago.

Spread a Smile supported Louie and his family whilst he was receiving treatment and it was the family’s aim to create a day that would act as a lasting tribute to Louie, bringing together family and friends and helping to keep Louie’s memory alive.

Stuart Hibberd, Louie’s Dad said, “We wanted to support Spread a Smile as it’s not a huge charity and yet it does such important work. We wanted to give something back and really make a difference to children in hospital, hopefully helping to make other families’ lives a bit more manageable during some of the most difficult times.”

This year’s Golf Day was an incredible event, bringing together 100 keen golfers for a fun and relaxed day of golf. One of Spread a Smile’s magicians was on hand on the course to spread some smiles and bring a little bit of extra fun to proceedings.

An amazing £11,408 was raised for Spread a Smile’s work bringing joy to seriously ill children in hospital, with additional donations going to the Paul Linger Foundation and the Golf Club’s charity.

Josephine Segal, Spread a Smile Co-founder and Trustee said, “It means a huge amount to me and everyone at Spread a Smile that we were able to support Louie and his family during Louie’s illness and that we remain part of each other’s families to this day. Even in the face of such a huge loss and heartache, the Hibberd family has created such a special tribute to Louie through their annual Golf Day. It is a very special celebration of his life and we feel so honoured that they have kept us close to their hearts, helping to ensure we can share our smiles with other families going through similar things. Thank you to Louie’s Dad Stuart, Mum Lisa, sisters Ella and Evie and everyone involved for being such an incredible part of the Spread a Smile family.”

A huge thank you to the Hibberd family for their support, kindness and commitment and everyone who supported this wonderful event in Louie’s memory.

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

 

 

Cycling miles for Spread a Smile – The Big 100

 780 400 Susie
By:

Sometimes our supporters really do go the extra mile for Spread a Smile.

Carter Schwartz is a leading executive search boutique and more than familiar with overcoming challenging situations. So when it comes to encouraging a massive group of keen cyclists to join in their annual cycle ride, it was a breeze. This year the Carter Schwartz team relaunched the cycle ride as The Big 100 bringing participants from across healthcare and social care to ride either 100km or 100 miles through The Chilterns. They partnered with Spread A Smile to raise an incredible £15,434 to support our work bringing joy and laughter to seriously ill children, young people and their families.

Carter Schwart’s Founder and Managing Partner, Adam Carter said, “a record breaking cycle challenge – 47 riders, our largest group yet, raising an enormous £15K plus for the amazing Spread A Smile…Fantastic generosity in these pressing of times. I’m so proud of my team for going the extra mile, our amazing sponsors who supported this amazing day and of course all the riders who gave it their all.”

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive said, “The team at Carter Schwartz has been an inspiration to us at Spread a Smile over the last few months, working tirelessly to organise a fantastic fundraising event to support our work. We’re so grateful to everyone involved, including all of the riders and sponsors for their effort and commitment and for helping to raise such an incredible amount of money which will make such a difference to so many seriously ill children and their families. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.” 

Carter Schwartz was introduced to the charity at our Gala Dinner earlier this year through long-term supporters, Downing, who also were also headline sponsors for this brilliant fundraising event.

Downing’s Head of Development Capital and Partner, Mark Gross said, “Downing and The Downing Foundation are proud to be headline sponsor of The Big 100 cycle ride. A huge thank you to Carter Schwartz for organising the event; bringing professionals together from across the healthcare industry and raising money and awareness for the wonderful healthcare charity Spread a Smile.”

Check out this short film from the event. The Big 100 – Cycle Challenge September 2023. – YouTube

Thank you to the event sponsors: Downing, Bracebridge, Bevan Brihan, Hazlewoods, Sensecheck, JEM Property, Shawbrook, Precious, Colliers, DC Advisory and Connell Consulting.

Spread a Smile Golf Days a huge success

 780 400 Susie
By:

Last week we celebrated our 3rd annual Golf Days at the stunning Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, welcoming an amazing 36 teams of four-balls across two days of golf.

The sun shone as the teams took on the 18-hole Palmerston Course, with Spread a Smile entertainers dotted around the course to cheer everyone on. Our magicians wowed our golfers with a little bit of magic, Judge the Poet was on hand with a bit of spontaneous poetry and our musicians Collette and Andy sang and played, making everyone smile with their personalised dedications.

Once the score sheets were in, guests enjoyed a lovely three course meal in the club house, followed by prize giving and a raffle, with Spread a Smile Chief Executive Lucy Jackson sharing a little bit about how our golfers will help to make a huge difference to the families we support.

Neil Taylor, Managing Director at Opticore IT said, “The organisation of the Spread a Smile Golf Day is always exceptional and the cause itself surpasses everything; it resonates with every person that attends. Having so many people in one place having a great time with a shared intention of making a difference is great see, it continues to bring people back year after year.”

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all of our teams for joining us and for helping to raise vital funds to spread smiles to the seriously ill children we support.

Also, to Opticore IT for sponsoring the water bottles, Elaine and Andrew Jaye for sponsoring the raffle, Activit Drinks for their generous donation of 200 cans of Tropical Boost Sparkling Water and Olly’s for kindly donating pretzels and olives for the golfers to enjoy on the course.

Please do get in touch with Rosie at rosie@spreadasmile.org if you would like to find out more about joining our 2024 Golf Days and our exciting sponsorship opportunities.