Posts Tagged :

christmas

Festive Smile Hamper Appeal 2023

 1024 525 Susie
By:

Christmas is always a busy time of year for Spread a Smile because it’s a time when the families we support need us most. For children and young people battling serious or terminal illness, Christmas can mean time spent in hospital, undergoing treatment and separated from family and friends.

Please join us in our mission to bring the magic of Christmas and as much joy and laughter as possible to the thousands of children we support and their families as we send out over 1,400 personalised Smile Hampers for children and their siblings. A Smile Hamper is a complimentary gift box containing a selection of toys, games and treats. Each hamper is personalised and handpicked for each child.

Please donate £25 to help fund a Smile Hamper for a seriously ill child or their sibling.

“Folakemi’s heart condition is life-limiting and as she grows we just don’t know what will happen. Spread a Smile shines a little light through all the worry and darkness, particularly at Christmas time. Folakemi and her sister Temitope are so looking forward to receiving their Smile Hampers. The excitement and joy are wonderful and it brings a tear to my eye watching them laugh and unwrap their gifts. It means the world to all of us.” Anita, Folakemi and Temitope’s Mum

The children we support deserve a special treat and with your help, we can give them just that. Please give what you can and help us reach every family who needs us with a little bit of Spread a Smile joy this festive season. Thank you.

Help spread smiles and joy this Christmas

 780 400 Susie
By:

This Christmas, Spread a Smile will send over 1,000 personalised festive Smile Hampers and 4,000 gifts to seriously ill children in hospital and at home and to their siblings too, spreading joy when it is needed most.

Our Smile Hampers are packed full of gifts, hand-picked with each child in mind, and are delivered directly to their home or to hospital in time for Christmas. We’ll also be delivering gifts to our NHS hospital and hospice partners to be shared with children and young people on the wards, helping to bring smiles and distraction during the festive period.

To do this, we need the support of generous businesses and individuals to donate gifts and treats for our gift packages.

Can you or your company help to spread a smile this Christmas?

You can purchase gifts from our Amazon gift list which we will then send to children in hospital or pop into one of our Smile Hampers.

If your business can help, or you could put us in touch with one who might, please email the team at fundraising@spreadasmile.org We are looking for items suitable for children of all ages and need more than 4,000 small and medium sized gifts. Everything has to be brand new and we specifically looking for…

  • Gifts for teenagers, (including jewellery, water bottles, stationery, fluffy socks, beanie hats, toiletries, lip balms, crystal art sets, portable speakers and phone accessories);
  • Gifts for boys aged 7+ (such as toiletries, beanie hats, gaming stuff, headphones etc.);
  • Gifts for toddlers and babies aged three and under (books, rattles, teethers, soft and sensory toys).

For the seriously ill children and young people we support, Christmas can be a difficult time, spent in hospital away from the comforts of home. Each year Spread a Smile helps bring back the magic of Christmas.

A huge thank you to the individuals and companies who have donated gifts so far, including
Hasbro, Rainbow Designs, OTL Technology, Cheatwell Games, Aurora World, Plus Plus, Crayola, Barry M, Playmobil and Melissa and Doug.

We have lots planned this festive season to spread smiles far and wide, so please contact the team if you’d like to find out more about sponsoring any of our activities. Thank you.

A very special party for our families

 780 400 Susie
By:

Last Saturday we welcomed over 100 of children and families we support to a special Spread a Smile Party, generously hosted by our friends at Corinthia London.

It was a truly magical day out for everyone who joined us, with our guests enjoying a special visit from Father Christmas, magic, facepainting and the chance to meet Thomas the Therapy Dog, Santa’s elves and our beautiful Christmas tree fairy.

There was so much to do and see, with a delicious afternoon tea, hot chocolate, cookie decorating, bauble making, Christmas card crafts and graffiti art, nail painting and more. It really was a day to remember full of festive fun and activities.

Days out like this mean a huge amount to the families we support. We know that everyone in a family is deeply affected by the illness of a child or sibling. Spread a Smile’s outings, events and activities aim to support young patients, their parents, carers and siblings and bring moments of respite, joyful experiences and enduring memories at the most challenging of times.

As the parent of one of the children we support said, “I just wanted to say a massive thank you for our amazing experience on Saturday. It really was a wonderland, and it was so special for us to spend some one-to-one time together as her brother has been going through treatment for 2.5 years, so as you can imagine time together doing lovely things has been very little. Everyone was so welcoming and went out of their way to make her so happy.”

A big thank you to the Corinthia London for their wonderful support and for helping to make our families so welcome. This very special partnership is making a real and positive impact for our families and we can’t thank them enough for their support.

Find out more about our events and outings here.