hospitality

Just like many charities across the UK, Spread a Smile is fortunate to receive support from some wonderful restaurant and hospitality partners through events and fundraising – both of which go a long way helping us achieve our aims of being there for families with seriously ill children when they need us most.

We have been working in partnership with the Riding House Café group since January 2022, with their three restaurants generously hosting numerous events and tea parties for children and families supported by Spread a Smile. These events provide wonderful opportunities for families with seriously ill children to do something fun together and have a huge impact on wellbeing and positivity for the whole family.

Mildreds restaurants also host a monthly afternoon tea, providing a chance for our families to relax and enjoy themselves, with Spread a Smile’s entertainers on hand to join in the fun with music, magic, arts & crafts and face painting.

These events enable us to support families in a very important way, providing enjoyable days out during a very difficult time and we are so grateful to our brilliant friends at the Riding House Café group and Mildreds Restaurants for giving up their venues, time and resources to give something back.

And the support doesn’t end there. Many restaurants across the UK are also helping to raise significant amounts for different charities simply by adding a small discretionary donation to a menu item or the total bill. It is a hugely effective fundraising mechanism, providing an easy way for diners to give to charity.

Since 2022, the Riding House Group, has raised an incredible £55,223 for Spread a Smile by adding 25p to customers’ final dining bills (customers can opt out).  This is a huge amount which has helped Spread a Smile support over 1,830 seriously ill children and their families, through entertainment in hospital and virtually.

Similarly, both Mildreds restaurants and Brigit’s Bakery have supported Spread a Smile for World Smile Day, with Mildreds adding £1 to customer bills and raising around £8k in 2023 and Brigit’s Bakery regularly donating a % of all sales from bookings.

Spread a Smile has also been an incredibly grateful recipient of donations from the Flat Iron Fund. Guests at Flat Iron restaurants are invited to make an optional donation of 10 pence to the Flat Iron Fund, for every meal that they enjoy. The donation is matched by Flat Iron and 100% of the proceeds are then distributed to charities. In 2018, after raising £1m for Macmillan Cancer Support, the Flat Iron Fund was set up as an independent registered charity. Since then, the Fund has extended its support to many more charities, including Spread a Smile.

While there isn’t a single figure representing the total amount raised by all UK restaurants annually, this example shows how the approach can effectively generate substantial funds for charitable causes. Plus, the method aligns the restaurant’s financial success with charitable giving, creating a win-win scenario for both the business and the charity.

Lucy Jackson, Chief Executive of Spread a Smile on the impact of this fundraising tactic for the charity, said; “This simple act creates significant impact, allowing us to raise crucial funds that directly contribute to the important work that we undertake. What’s particularly powerful about this initiative is how seamlessly it can complement other corporate social responsibility efforts undertaken by restaurants, creating a meaningful partnership that not only supports a worthy cause but also deepens community engagement, increases awareness of our work and enhances customer goodwill.”

Jane Moore from Riding House Café said: “We are proud to partner with Spread a Smile.  As well as utilising our space to host events, we are fully committed to continue to raising funds and our fundraising efforts, whilst seemingly simple, are hugely impactful and go a long way to supporting the vital work they do.  

“We can help make a real difference in the lives of those in need while fostering a sense of community among our customers and staff. We believe it’s important for the wider restaurant industry to embrace similar practices. Collectively, we have the power to create substantial and lasting change across the charity sector in the UK, demonstrating that small actions can lead to big impact.”

We are incredibly grateful to Riding House Café group, Mildreds, Brigit’s Bakery and the Flat Iron Fund for their commitment to Spread a Smile and for enabling us to so much to support seriously ill children and their families.

Our aim is to be there for every child and young person that needs us, bringing joy and laughter during one of the darkest times of their lives.  So we welcome any restaurants or hospitality venues that would like to find out more about joining the Spread a Smile family and supporting our work. Please do reach out to our Partnerships Manager Lucy Keith by email at lucykeith@spreadasmile.org or on 020 7482 5191.