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funding

John Radcliffe expansion

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Spread a Smile is delighted to be expanding delivery of our services across children’s wards at Oxford Children’s Hospital (John Radcliffe site), part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Spread a Smile has been supporting seriously ill children and young people receiving treatment at the hospital since 2024, making monthly in-person entertainer visits alongside providing a range of virtual services. Thanks to the support from Oxford Hospitals Charity, the number of visits is being doubled. The funding from Oxford Hospitals Charity will help ensure that Spread a Smile reaches every patient that could benefit from their services across, children’s in-patients and out-patients.

Kelly Osborne, whose 12-year-old son Jenson spent three months in hospital following gastro surgery, praised the support, saying: “It’s amazing seeing him so happy. Jenson is a long-term patient, so for him having these sessions is really important – they make his week!

“It’s good to have someone non-medical who isn’t doing a procedure, just having fun with him. After the sessions have taken place he tells everyone about them. He just loves them.

“I’m so appreciative for this extra support from the charities, it really makes such a difference to families like ours. It’s amazing.”

Sarah Vaccari from Oxford Hospitals Charity said: “It was wonderful to see Jenson’s delight at the Disney songs and bubble play, so skillfully provided by Laura and Kerry from the Spread a Smile Team!

“Our charity team is thrilled that thanks to our kind supporters and the talents of Spread a Smile, we have been able to fund these extra sessions to bring more joy into the Oxford Children’s Hospital. Fun and laughter in hospital is so important and has such a positive impact on our young patients and their families. It’s just wonderful to see.”

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive said: “Spread a Smile is committed to supporting as many seriously ill children, young people and their families as possible across the country. Through our entertainer visits, family outings and events and art initiatives, it is our mission to make sure that all of the families we support have a chance to smile, laugh and have fun. We are extremely grateful to our friends from the Oxford Hospitals Charity for helping to take us one step closer to achieving our aims of delivering regular in-person entertainer visits to all 28 specialist children’s hospitals in the UK by 2035.”

Jo Pinney, Health Play Specialist Team Manager at John Radcliffe Hospital added: “We are so grateful to Spread a Smile for the energy, kindness and creativity they bring to our wards. These sessions offer children a chance to simply be children again, and that impact is felt by their families and staff alike.”

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The Clarkson Foundation funds hospital visits

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As a charity which doesn’t receive any government funding, we rely completely on the support of companies, organisations and individuals to fund our vital work spreading smiles to seriously ill children and their families.

One such organisation is The Clarkson Foundation, which last year made a generous donation to enable Spread as Smile to make 120 hospital visits, helping to spread smiles to over 1,900 children and their families.

Lucy Jackson, Chief Executive for Spread a Smile said, “Donations from Trusts and Foundations specifically enable us to directly fund certain areas of our work, ensuring the continuation of those services into the future. We are extremely grateful to The Clarkson Foundation for helping us to reach so many children in hospital and their families when they need us most.”

The Clarkson Foundation aims to make a tangible difference and a lasting impact across communities through meaningful grant-giving to causes that they feel passionate about. In the run-up to Christmas 2023, The Clarkson Foundation further extended their support to us by funding the purchase of presents to send out to the children and families over Christmas time.

Dharani Sridharan, Trustee of The Clarkson Foundation said, “We are incredibly proud to be supporting Spread a Smile and their commitment to deliver joy to young patients and their families. The energy and positivity that Spread a Smile provides is inspirational and we hope it brings the children and their families some enjoyment and support them.”

A huge thank you to all our friends at The Clarkson Foundation for their kindness and support. We couldn’t do what we do without you.

If you are part of a Trust or Foundation, or know of one that might be able to support Spread a Smile, we’d love to hear from you. Please do reach out at fundraising@spreadasmile.org – thank you.