International Friendship Day

For International Friendship Day on 30 July, we’re celebrating the role Spread a Smile plays in supporting seriously ill children and their families to build friendships and enjoy wonderful days out together.

Mums, Louise and Kathryn shared how their children Dottie and Kaiden met and how Spread a Smile’s virtual sessions and events provide an opportunity for them to meet up and have fun.

“Dottie and Kaiden met through ‘Ravi’s Dream Team’, a choir formed for Britain’s Got Talent by 8-year old Ravi, who like Dottie and Kaiden has a brain tumour. When they met, Dottie and Kaiden just hit it off, understanding each other with their naughty brains! Us Mums did too and then the Dads met along with the rest of the siblings and things went from there. We were spending every weekend together for months for rehearsals and would chat on the phone nearly every day about life and the daily struggles we have with our brain tumour journeys.

“Dottie and Kaiden would chat on the phone too and organise to join Spread a Smile’s amazing weekly virtual sessions. As they knew different singers and magicians, they would always have something extra to talk about and would love catching up on the sessions, what they had planned and any exciting packs that the charity had sent out in advance for the sessions.

“We live few hours apart and when the Spread a Smile events come up, it’s a perfect excuse to all meet up together and have a brilliantly fun das out. Their events really do put a smile on our faces. Even going through what we’re going through, Spread a Smile helps us put that aside and forget all about it for a day. We’re able to just have fun and make unbelievable memories together as families. And that is so wonderful for all of us. Spread a Smile helps us to find time and space to just be ourselves and do things together like other families, and that means the world.”

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