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spread a smile

Access Self Storage Christmas gift drive

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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.

A magic Harry Potter LEGO event

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Our family events and outings are an important part of Spread a Smile’s work which provide families of seriously ill children with the opportunity to enjoy some special time together and escape the worries of illness and treatment – even if just for a day.

Last month, we were joined by an incredible 22 families for two amazing, fun and magic filled Harry Potter themed LEGO® workshops.

The workshops, hosted by our friends at the LEGO Group, was a great opportunity to get creative. Upon arrival, everyone was ‘sorted’ into their houses, before each group got stuck into a variety of Harry Potter themed activities, including wand making. making their own magic wand to take home with them.

There was so much going on for our families to enjoy including free play LEGO building, arts and crafts, a construction of Diagon Alley and even a game of ‘find Dobby’s socks!’

“We’re so proud to be able to be able to provide such interesting and engaging days out for the families we support. I’ve seen first hand how much enjoyment everyone gets, from being their with parents and siblings and doing something fun together. It really does make everyone smile.” Natalie Donaldson, Spread a Smile Head of Family Events

To find out more about our family outings and events, please take a look here.

Smash Arts 24-hour musical

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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.

Whipps Cross Hospital – New NHS partner

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Spread a Smile today announces its latest NHS hospital partner Whipps Cross Hospital, which is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. Spread a Smile will work closely with the play team and staff across the paediatric wards, to support seriously ill children and young people receiving treatment for a range of everyday and highly complex and specialist conditions and illnesses. These patients, along with their families are invited to join the Spread a Smile family and benefit from their services.

Spread a Smile’s mission is to bring joy and laughter to as many seriously ill children as possible in NHS hospitals, clinical settings, hospices and homes across the UK. Whipps Cross Hospital joins 28 other major and speciality NHS hospitals and three hospice partners already supported by Spread a Smile, taking the charity one step closer to its aim.

The Spread a Smile team of talented entertainers, including musicians, artists, magicians and therapy dogs, will spend quality time with patients in hospital through one-to-one visits and group sessions. Patients and their families will also be able to access virtual online events and activity sessions, including art clubs, balloon modelling, music lessons and more, enabling the charity to see and support as many people as possible. All with the aim of spreading hundreds of smiles and a lot of happiness to children undergoing treatment for serious illness and their families.

Children at Whipps Cross Hospital will be able to join special themed virtual activity days, via iPad, celebrating seasonal occasions such as Christmas, with a virtual Santa’s grotto, benefit from regular treat drops and enjoy entertainer visits scheduled throughout the year, all giving seriously ill children and their families the opportunity to join in with fun and exciting experiences that they may otherwise not have access to.

Rebecca Bremner, Play Specialist at Whipps Cross Hospital said of the partnership, “Spread a Smile has been an amazing addition to facilitating smiles and laughter to Acorn ward (and beyond!) in Whipps Cross. We take great pleasure in showing the entertainers across the ward and visiting the patients we feel are in need of a distraction and a positive experience within the sterile hospital environment. Often children and young people feel isolated and excluded from what is going on around them when it comes to their treatment. By having Spread a Smile visit it allows them to feel a connection to something that is real in front of them – talk of blood tests, results, scans etc can make a child or young person feel disconnected. But the wonder of having their card appear at the top of a pile or a favourite Disney song echoing through the halls is magical to say the least! We also had a 9-year-old boy unwell with asthma on the ward, who was very anxious at having his treatment, then Spread a Smile arrived to distract him with some magic, bubbles and lots of laughter. 

“We also find that children and young people live through experiences by media, so having the option for online activities can make our patients feel included, especially when one of our long-term patients interacted with her favourite YouTube star in a Spread a Smile event! In conclusion we thoroughly enjoy our visits from Spread a Smile. The experiences that the patients receive are not rushed and are inclusive.  Everyone feels important and worthy of something a bit special instead of everything being about illness or treatment which often comes first within a hospital environment”.

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive added, “It is such a pleasure to be supporting the amazing team at Whipps Cross Hospital to spread smiles to seriously ill children and young people on the wards. We are looking forward to meeting even more patients and their families as our partnership with the hospital develops, being there to support them when they need us most.” 

To donate to help us continue to spread smiles, please click here. Thank you.

Canary Wharf Contractors Fund support

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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.

First family event outside London

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Last month, as part of Play in Hospital Week 2023, we were proud to organise our first ever family event outside of London.

18 families from Leicester Children’s Hospital and Nottingham Children’s Hospital joined us for a theatre trip to see ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. It was such a special evening as one of our very own Spread a Smile singers played the role of Tink and Mrs Darling in the show.

Our guests were treated to delicious cupcakes from Lola’s Cupcakes and a goody bag from Hasbro plus a meet and greet with the cast after the show which involved a Q&A. Every family was able to take photos with their favourite cast members and they even got to see the magic of Peter Pan flying!

“I just wanted to message and say a massive thank you for tonight. We all had the best time at Peter Pan Goes Wrong and we appreciate the memories we made tonight so much. I find it overwhelming the kindness shown to our special little warrior. Keep up the hard work as the memories that your charity brings are priceless.” Parent

Laura Walter, Director of Services for Spread a Smile said, “We’re so glad we were able to meet so many of our families in person from Leicester and Nottingham Children’s Hospitals. We have seen first-hand just how important it is for our families to be able to experience these special times outside of hospital and we are delighted that we could bring so much laughter and happiness for a wonderful evening together.”

A huge thank you to all of our families for joining us, Lola’s Cupcakes and Hasbro for their kind donations and the team, cast and crew from Mischief and Peter Pan Goes Wrong for their wonderful support and kindness.

Please click here to find out more about our family events and outings.

Spread a Smile partners with Kingston Hospital

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Spread a Smile today announces its latest hospital partner, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, based in South West London, which provides a full range of diagnostic services and treatment services. Their Paediatrics departments care for around 5,000 children and young people every year, including 2,000 inpatients. These patients, along with their families are invited to join the Spread a Smile family and benefit from their services.

Spread a Smile’s mission is to bring joy and laughter to as many seriously ill children as possible in NHS hospitals, clinical settings, hospices and homes across the UK. Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust joins 27 other major and speciality NHS hospitals and three hospice partners already supported by Spread a Smile, taking the charity one step closer to its aim.

The Spread a Smile team of talented entertainers, including musicians, artists, magicians and therapy dogs, will spend quality time with patients in hospital through one-to-one visits and group sessions. Patients and their families will also be able to access virtual online events and activity sessions via iPads, including art clubs, balloon modelling, music lessons and more, enabling the charity to see and support as many people as possible. All with the aim of spreading hundreds of smiles and a lot of happiness to children undergoing treatment for serious illness and their families.

Children at Kingston Hospital will be able to join special themed virtual activity days celebrating seasonal occasions such as Christmas, with a virtual Santa’s grotto, benefit from regular treat drops and entertainer visits scheduled throughout the year, all giving seriously ill children and their families the opportunity to join in with fun and exciting experiences that they may otherwise not have access to.

Julie Morris, Play Specialist, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said, “We are so excited to be working with Spread a Smile at Kingston Hospital. They are such an amazing charity and we are so happy to have them visit us on a monthly basis. The first visit, which took place in September, was truly magical and all the children and parents were so happy, and had so much fun! We had LEGO building activities, stories and a beautiful music session which was so calming and the children enjoyed requesting songs and singing along. 

“The children and parents will benefit from the monthly visits, as it  will really cheer them up and help them have a happy, positive experience in hospital, even in the toughest of times. Being in hospital for long periods of time can be so difficult for everyone, so the visits will make a huge difference to long term patients. Thank you so much Spread a Smile, you really do spread happiness!”

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive added, “Spread a Smile’s aim is to bring joy and happiness into the lives of as many seriously ill children, young people and their families across the country as possible. We are delighted to be working in partnership with the brilliant team at Kingston Hospital to deliver entertainment, laughter and bring the Spread a Smile magic to patients, families and staff alike.”

To find out more about our working supporting hospitals and hospices across the country, please read on here.

A record breaking Play in Hospital Week

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Held every October, Play in Hospital Week (PIHW) is a very special week which aims to raise awareness of the benefits and importance of play in healthcare settings.

Play is an essential part of childhood and is at the very heart of mental, social and emotional growth and well-being. It is essential that play continues to be part of a child’s life, even when they are admitted to hospital – a time when they are at their most vulnerable.

This year (9-15 October), Spread a Smile celebrated PIHW in true Spread a Smile style, going all out to do more than ever before to spread smiles and bring joy and happiness to seriously ill children and young people through play. 

A record number of in-person visits…

Last week, we carried out an amazing 19 in-person visits to 17 different NHS hospitals, spreading smiles to over 450 seriously ill children and young people. It’s a huge achievement and our highest number in one week. Our entertainers were out in force supporting Play Specialist teams to celebrate this important week by spreading smiles through singing, music, magic, art and much more.

A special road trip to Leicester and Nottingham…

We were proud to spend two days visiting patients and families at Leicester Children’s Hospital and Nottingham Children’s Hospital. We brought along Fairy Ellie, Marina our incredible face painter, Judge the Spontaneous Poet, and Magic Nick, one of our amazing magicians to visit both hospitals and see patients across all inpatient and outpatient areas. In Nottingham, they hosted a special party with our Spread a Smile entertainers where children could leave their bedspaces and come join in the fun altogether, a brilliant opportunity for patients to connect together and meet others in similar situations. We also brought Lola’s cupcakes to make the party extra special!

Our first family event outside of London…

We were proud to organise our first ever family event for 18 families from two hospitals, taking them to see ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. It was such a special evening and so much fun was had by everyone who joined us. They were treated to a meet and greet with the cast after the show which involved a Q&A, and every family was able to take photos with their favourite cast members. One of our very own Spread a Smile singers played the role of Tink and Mrs Darling in the show, which made it even more special for everyone involved. 

“I just wanted to message and say a massive thank you for tonight. We all had the best time at Peter Pan Goes Wrong and we appreciate the memories we made tonight so much. I find it overwhelming the kindness shown to our special little warrior. Keep up the hard work as the memories that your charity brings are priceless.” Parent

Saturday smiles for patients at GOSH…

We carried out a special in-person visit to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) on Saturday, bringing the joy of LEGO to patients on the wards during one of the quietest times in hospital. The weekends are a time when there is less to do in hospital and we’re proud to be continuing our weekend visits to support our families at these times.

Play focused Virtual Visits…

We also ran our virtual group sessions this week, focusing on play based activities for patients and siblings of all ages, such as a puppetry workshop, interactive storytelling, improvisation and games.

Spread a Smile Entertainers and staff work closely with and support Play Specialists and Play Workers in 27 Hospitals and three Hospices across the UK, providing a wide variety of entertainment and play activities for seriously and terminally ill children and young people. Our aim is to help distract, relieve fear and stress and create a safe, welcoming environment during treatment and hospital admissions.

We are so proud of our achievements for PIHW 2023 and would like to say a huge thank you to our Spread a Smile Entertainers, the hospital play teams and all of the companies that have helped make it so special. Also, to Mischief and everyone at Peter Pan Goes Wrong for their brilliant support and kindness.

To make a donation to ensure we can continue our vital work, please click here.

Mia’s Monopoly Mitzvah

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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

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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.