Posts Tagged :

fundraising

Taking on the Sahara Desert in aid of Spread a Smile

 780 400 Susie
By:

In March 2024, Team Smile will head to Morocco for an incredible 5-day trek, covering 100km across the Sahara Desert. We spoke to Spread a Smile supporter and professional photographer, Simon Webb about why he is taking on this amazing challenge and helping to raise vital funds for our work spreading smiles to seriously ill children and young people.

How were first introduced to Spread a Smile?

“I was introduced to the charity through their CEO, Lucy Jackson. I’ve worked with Lucy for over 15 years as a photographer and was asked to do a shoot with the Spread a Smile entertainers at my studio in Camberwell. It was such a lovely day and the team were so wonderful. I found out more about the charity and what they do and was truly inspired.”

What motivated you to get involved with the charity?

“I loved working with the team and saw how amazing the work they do is. I do a lot of commercial work and it’s really nice to have the opportunity to use my skills as a photographer to give something back. I want to be able to help others in some way and this feels right. There is something lovely and really special about Spread a Smile and it’s clear that they make such a huge difference to so many people.”

What made you sign up for the Sahara Desert trek in aid of Spread a Smile?

“I love the desert – it’s so vast and open and it’s a wonderful place to go and be at one with yourself. Living in the London with all the noise and craziness, it’s good to find a place and time to think and reflect. I saw the trek mentioned on Instagram and I knew I wanted to do it. Life and work are always so busy and full and I instantly felt like it was what I needed to do – to support this wonderful charity and find space for myself. It feels like such an exciting adventure and it reminded me of all the stuff I loved doing when I was a boy – hiking, caving, being outdoors all the time – I felt a pull to get out there in the wild again. Being able to support an amazing charity like Spread a Smile at the same time makes the experience complete.”

What are you looking forward to the most?

“I’m looking forward to being away from my computer and phone (although naturally I’ll take the opportunity to capture some beautiful pictures). I’m excited to meet new people and have a whole new adventure. I’m ready for the challenge and looking forward to pushing myself. I’m already doing some outward-bound training and getting into that world a bit more. It’s going to be fun and so rewarding.

“I’m so pleased to be raising vital funds for Spread a Smile to help the families they support. To be able to help children who are seriously ill in hospital is really motivating. I can’t think of a better reason for doing it.”

What would you say to someone else thinking about signing up for the trek?

“Do it! It will be rewarding for you as an individual and also for all of the families you’ll be supporting. It’ll be such an adventure bringing positivity and happiness to everyone involved.”

Inspired by Simon? Join us from Saturday 2 March – Saturday 9 March 2024 for this incredible trek across the Sahara Desert in aid of Spread a Smile. Find the full itinerary and a short film here, or contact Rimi at fundraising@spreadasmile.org to join Team Smile today.

You can check out Simon’s photography skills here!

Meet our supporters extraordinaire

 780 400 Susie
By:

As a charity, Spread a Smile doesn’t receive any government funding and we are therefore extremely grateful to every single donor, fundraiser and corporate supporter who helps to fund out vital work.

Two such amazing people are Lee McDowell and Danny Imray who have supported Spread a Smile for a number of years, helping to raise thousands of pounds and much needed awareness for Spread a Smile.

Close friends for over 20 years, Lee and Danny are both successful businessmen within the construction industry and insurance industry respectively. We spoke to Lee and Danny about how they came to support Spread a Smile and what motivates them.

“We were first introduced to Spread a Smile by Lee’s friend Rob Threadgold who is also Chair of the Spread a Smile Business Committee. We were looking for a children’s charity to support as part of an event we were organising and found Spread a Smile to be the perfect fit. We hosted a football event at Billericay Football Club, bringing together 20 teams for an exciting 5-a-side tournament. The day was a great success, concluding with a lively gathering and a disco for all participants. It was great to have Spread a Smile as part of it and since then, we’ve been committed to doing what we can to support this brilliant charity.

“We’ve seen first-hand the positive impact that Spread a Smile has on the lives of the families they support. Knowing that our fundraising is helping to achieve that is incredibly rewarding. The dedication and effort put in by everyone at Spread a Smile is truly inspiring – something we find even more meaningful being parents ourselves. We are regularly kept up to date on the charity’s progress which helps motivate us and drives us to continue to do what we can do to help.

“Each year we host two annual events: a football day and a golf day, both aimed at raising awareness and funds for Spread a Smile. Additionally, a team of volunteers from Lee’s company LMAC Group generously gives up their time to help wrap and deliver Christmas gifts to seriously ill children and their siblings.

“Over the past three years, we’ve successfully raised over £123,427 for Spread a Smile, something we are extremely proud of. Our goal is to continue to build on this success and reach our target of £500,000 for the charity and to help spread even more smiles across the country.

“We feel proud to work with and support such a brilliant cause. The work they do is truly remarkable and knowing we are helping to raise essential funds to support numerous families during challenging times of their lives, is deeply fulfilling. Within our business, we have a unique platform to make a difference, and supporting Spread a Smile holds a special place in our hearts as it unites people and creates a sense of community. It is a privilege to be part of such a special family.”

It’s thanks to people like Lee and Danny that Spread a Smile is able to continue its work spreading joy and happiness to seriously ill children, young people and their families up and down the country. We’d like to say a huge thank you to them and everyone at LMAC Group for their incredible support. As Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive said, “Lee and Danny are an inspiration to us all and it is an absolute pleasure to have them as part of our Spread a Smile family. We are so grateful for all that they do to support Spread a Smile and our families, bringing such kindness and dedication to everything they do. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Access Self Storage Christmas gift drive

 780 400 Susie
By:

Over the last 10 years, Access Self Storage has collected over 18,500 children’s toys for charity through their annual Christmas campaign and this year, Spread a Smile is delighted to be their nominated charity.

Access Self Storage is encouraging local residents and customers to donate brand new and unwrapped toys and gifts at one of stores or storage locations around the country. The gifts will then be collated and sent to Spread a Smile HQ where our elves will deliver them to thousands of seriously ill children and young people either at home, hospital or via our virtual Christmas grotto

Jan Albert Fourie, Head of Operations at Access Self Storage commented, “Our stores work closely with their local communities and each year build upon this campaign.  We hope that this 10th anniversary year will enable us to smash the 20,000 donated toys ceiling, and that children in hospital across the UK will be treated to a gift this year from our Christmas collection.  If all our customers and our local communities get behind the campaign it will make a huge difference.”

Staff have already begun collecting toys and people are invited to bring their toy & gift donations in to store between 13th November – 11th December, ahead of the charity collection and distribution in time for Christmas.

Lucy Jackson, Chief Executive Spread a Smile said of the partnership, “Partnering with Access Self Storage, for the first time, for its toy collection will mean we can spread even more magic this Christmas.  It’s a precious time of year and we know the Santa visits create unique and lasting memories.  The support of the Access Self Storage teams, customers and their communities is truly priceless.”

We are so grateful to everyone at Access Self Storage and all of their customers for their brilliant support this Christmas. You can find a list of stores here.

Smash Arts 24-hour musical

 780 400 Susie
By:

We are delighted to be the chosen charity for the Smash Arts Theatre Company’s 24-hour musical!

This exciting project will challenge participants to create and perform a musical to a full paying audience in just 24 hours. With limited time to sleep, the 24-hour cast, creatives and team will work solidly through the night and day to create the best version of a secret show possible.

Leading up to the project cast members will be sent a series of clues which could indicate what the show is going to be, be aware we could throw in some red herrings for fun! These could be parts of costumes or props which we may ask you to bring in.

Rehearsals will start at 6.30pm on Friday 16 February, with the performance taking place on the evening of Saturday 17 February at Berkhamsted School, who have generously allowed full use of their Centenary Theatre for this brilliant initiative.

Smash Arts Theatre company was formed in 2020 by co-founders Dani Acors and Alex Williams. Dani is also part of the Spread a Smile team of entertainers, regularly using her performing talents to spread smiles across Spread a Smile’s hospital and hospice partners. Smash Arts has partnered with Berkhamsted School previously to showcase some incredible productions such as their ‘Musical in a Week’ which saw a group of talented 8–18-year-olds stage and perform a musical in just six days. As if six days wasn’t already little time to produce a musical production, the 24-hour musical challenge will certainly be an exciting next step.

“When we thought of the idea for the 24-hour musical we knew we wanted it to be something very special, for everyone involved. Which is why we chose Spread a Smile as the beneficiary charity. I’ve seen first-hand just how important their work is bringing a little bit of joy and happiness to really seriously ill children and young people. I’m so excited about seeing our performers work together to create something amazing for the stage whilst also supporting this brilliant cause.” Dani Acors, Smash Arts Theatre Company Co-founder

As part of the process, performers will be encouraged to raise vital funds in sponsorship for Spread a Smile in recognition of all their hard work and effort, giving up their time and sleep over 24 hours to put on the show.

“Spread a Smile is so proud to have been chosen by Smash Arts as beneficiary charity for their exciting 24-hour musical. It looks set to be such an exciting initiative which will inspire everyone involved and can’t wait to see the final production. A huge thank you to Dani, xxx and everyone at Smash Arts Theatre Company for their support and for helping us to spread smiles to even more seriously ill children, young people and their families.” Josephine Segal, Spread a Smile Co-founder

Booking for the show will be via the website here and anyone aged 16 and over interested in taking part should take a look here for more information.

A huge thank you to Dani, Alex and everyone at Smash Arts Theatre Company and Berkhamsted School for making this brilliant event possible and for supporting Spread a Smile and our families.

Canary Wharf Contractors Fund support

 780 400 Susie
By:

We wanted to shout about our brilliant partnership with Canary Wharf Group and their charity Canary Wharf Contractors Fund, which supports Spread a Smile through a number of exciting initiatives.

They really do go the extra mile for charity, each year hosting an annual Golf Day, Football Tournament and Dragon Boat Race which help to raise vital funds for Spread a Smile, alongside other charities such as London Air Ambulance, St Joseph’s Hospice, Construction Youth and the Lighthouse Construction Charity.

Lucy Jackson, Chief Executive at Spread a Smile said, “It is an absolute pleasure working with the team at Canary Wharf Contractors Fund. They have such enthusiasm to help make a difference and support our work spreading smiles to seriously ill children, young people and their families. We really can’t thank them enough for their wonderful support.”

Canary Wharf Contractors are also the proud sponsor of our annual Comedy Night, helping us to bring this brilliant event to the fore and reach new audiences:

“We’re so proud to continue to sponsor the Spread a Smile’s Comedy Night each year. It’s set to be another great evening and we’re pleased to be able to support it and the brilliant work the charity does spreading smiles to seriously ill children.” Alec Vallintine, Managing Director – Construction at Canary Wharf Group.

We’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone at Canary Wharf Contractors Fund and Canary Wharf Group for their brilliant support.

Mia’s Monopoly Mitzvah

 780 400 Susie
By:

At 6am one Saturday morning in September, 11 year old Mia set off with her Dad, Gideon, to complete an incredible ‘Monopoly Board Walk’ fundraiser as part of Mia’s bat mitzvah.

Covering over 21km in 6.5hours, Mia and Gideon visited all of the properties which appear on the original London Monopoly Board, raising over £1,600 so far to help spread smiles to seriously ill children, young people and their families.

Mia said, “I know that I am extremely lucky be able to celebrate my bat mitzvah. In order to help others I walked the monopoly board around London with my Dad to raise money to help children and families across the UK supported by the charity Spread a Smile. I also plan to spend time in the Spread a Smile office to find out more about the fantastic people that run this amazing charity.”

We are so grateful to Mia and her Dad for all their effort and support. Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive said, “It’s incredibly special when young people choose to raise funds for other young people and we were so touched when Mia contacted us to tell us about her Monopoly Board Walk. We are really looking forward to Mia volunteering with us in the office and hearing more about her challenge. As a charity that doesn’t receive any government funding, we rely completely on the generosity of our donors and supporters so that we can continue with our work. Thank you Mia and Gideon for all that you have done.”

You can donate to Mia’s fundraising page here.

An amazing day at the Royal Parks Half Marathon

 780 400 Susie
By:

What a brilliant day yesterday with Team Smile for the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London!

67 runners joined us to take on the beautiful 13.1-mile course on closed roads and within four of London’s eight Royal Parks – Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens.

This was our largest team to date including some of our amazing supporters and fundraisers, our Head of Family Events, Natalie Donaldson, 28 runners from the Corinthia Hotel and friends from Mishcon de Reya, Hamilton Court Foreign Exchange, Downing LLP, Blackrock and Convex Insurance.

“What an incredible day to be part of. I loved every second of it and running in aid of Spread a Smile made it all the more special. It was an emotional endurance text which I would 100% do all over again.” Natalie Donaldson, Spread a Smile Head of Family Events

It was a beautifully sunny day and we loved welcoming and meeting all our runners in our first ever Spread a Smile marquee. Our Co-founders Josephine Segal and Vanessa Crocker and Chief Executive Lucy Jackson were there on the day along with the Spread a Smile team to cheer everyone on.

Thanks to the incredible support and efforts of our amazing fundraisers, over £29,000 has been raised to support our vital work spreading smiles to seriously ill children and young people in hospital.

A huge thank you to all of our runners. We salute you!

Please email Rimi at rimi@spreadasmile.org to join Team Smile for one of our fundraising challenges, including the London Landmarks Half Marathon on 7 April 2024.

Celebrating World Smile Day 2023

 780 400 Susie
By:

October 6 is World Smile Day and is all about making people smile, through laughter and kindness.

At Spread a Smile we love making people smile every day, but today we have some extra special things planned to help spread even more smiles to the seriously ill children, young people and families we support.

We have a lovely afternoon tea party planned with the team at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) for parents of children on Fox and Rabbit wards. Our amazing friends at Brigit’s Bakery have generously donated 20 delicious afternoon teas for parents to enjoy and two of our talented entertainers will be joining in the fun with music and singing. Our aromatherapist, Priya will also be at GOSH delivering pamper sessions for parents and much needed moments of relaxation and calm. We’re hoping to see many smiles across the hospital from families and the hospital teams alike.

What’s more, Spread a Smile entertainers will be sharing lots of smiles with patients undergoing proton beam therapy at University College Hospital. We really do hope that all of our activities will spread many smiles and bring a little joy.

World Smile Day was initiated by Harvey Ball, a commercial artist from Worcester, Massachusetts, known for creating the iconic smiley face symbol in 1963. He believed that his creation had become too commercialised and wanted to devote a day to genuine smiles and acts of kindness.

We are extremely grateful for some acts of kindness and support from two of our partners for World Smile Day. Alongside their afternoon tea donation, Brigit’s Bakery will kindly donate 10% from every order placed on World Smile Day. Plus, the amazing team at Mildreds have created a special trio of macrons with all profits from sales this month being donated to Spread a Smile. They will also be adding an optional £1 onto guest bills across their restaurants from 1- 14 October. Find out more here.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Brigit’s Bakery, Mildreds, our hospital partners and all our supporters for helping Spread a Smile do what we do best, today and beyond.

Meet Cary, Spread a Smile fundraiser

 780 400 Susie
By:

On Sunday 8 October an incredible 67 runners will join Team Smile for the Royal Parks Half Marathon. One of our amazing runners is Cary Driscoll who is taking on this beautiful run in aid of Spread a Smile. We spoke to Cary about why he is running and his top tips for fundraising!

Why have you joined Team Smile for the Royal Parks Half Marathon?

 “I came across Spread a Smile back in 2018 when a family friend’s daughter received visits from their entertainers in hospital. I was touched by the concept and the impact it has on the child and their siblings and parents. So, I decided to run the London Marathon for Spread a Smile in 2019 and it made the incredible experience even more special. I’m really looking forward to taking on the Royal Parks Half as well.”

Is this your first half marathon?

“I have run the Royal Parks Half Marathon twice before, (too long ago to remember the first one!) and it is my favourite half marathon. The crowds as you run into the Hyde Park entrance after running past Buckingham Palace has stuck in my mind ever since. I can’t wait to experience this again for Spread a Smile.”

How have you found the training?

“I know that my marathon days are past me due to cumulative injuries to different parts of my legs and feet!  I’ve found training challenging as a new and wonderful heel injury called Plantar Fasciitis which makes walking very painful for days after a run.  I’ve been managing this by reducing the amount of runs I do and gratefully I’m good to go for Sunday. Team Smile have been brilliant at supporting and motivating me in my training and when I think of the families I’m fundraising to support, I know it will all be worth it.”

What are you looking forward to the most?

“I’m really looking forward to waving to the Spread a Smile supporters at Mile 9 and even more so at Mile 12! I know they will bring plenty of smiles and cheers to help me along. It’s great to know I’m part of a big team that are behind each other every step of the way.”

Any tips for fundraising?

“Regular, but not too regular social media reminders, concentrating on the incredible work Spread a Smile do. I find it strikes a chord with many people who were not previously aware of Spread a Smile, and even if the publicity doesn’t result in immediate donations, it will plant a seed for later – for your fundraising or someone else who fund raises for Spread a Smile in the future.”

Good luck to Cary and all our runners. We’ll be there to cheer you on!

If you’re inspired and would like to join Team Smile for future fundraising challenges, please email Rimi at rimi@spreadasmile.org – why not take one of our places for the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April 2024? Find out more here.

Mildreds’ macarons help spread smiles

 780 400 Susie
By:

Looking for a tasty treat which gives back during October? Then look no further than Mildreds and their sister restaurant Mallow.

To celebrate World Smile Day on 6 October, Mildreds have created a special trio of macrons with all profits from sales of this delicious treat being donated to the charity during October.

Each macaron has a different flavour which represents the Spread a Smile colours: sour cherry jam for pink, chocolate orange ganache for orange, and vanilla bean buttercream for blue. And, are as delicious as they look!

Mildreds and Mallow are a group of plant-based restaurants with venues in Camden, Covent Garden, Soho, Kings Cross, Dalston (Mildreds) and Borough Market and Canary Wharf (Mallow).

They have been supporting Spread a Smile for over a year, welcoming some of the families we support for regular afternoon teas at their restaurant in Covent Garden.

Sam Anstey, Managing Director at Mildreds said, “We are so proud to be working with such a special charity so close to our hearts. Spread a Smile do amazing work and all our teams are so pleased to be able to support them. It has been great to be involved and to experience the impact that Spread a Smile have in helping others.”

Alongside the macarons, Mildreds will also be fundraising for Spread a Smile by adding an optional £1 onto guest bills across their restaurants from 1- 14 October.

Vanessa Crocker Spread a Smile Co-founder said, “Mildreds have been a wonderfully supportive partner over the past year, helping to provide moments of respite and relaxation through their afternoon teas for some of the families we support. We’re excited to see their plans for October and World Smile Day and are so grateful to all of the team for their continued support and enthusiasm.”

Please do show your support for Mildreds during October and help us raise as much as possible to ensure we can continue to spread smiles to seriously ill children and young people when they need it most.

Find your nearest Mildreds and Mallow restaurants here.