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spread a smile

Play That Goes Wrong

Mischief May raises over £6k

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We’re so grateful to everyone from multi award-winning comedy troupe Mischief and the London company of The Play That Goes Wrong for their support during ‘Mischief May’.

During the month of May, the team, cast and crew all put in a huge amount of effort to raise vital funds and awareness for Spread a Smile, raising over £6,400 through bucket collections and online donations to help spread smiles to seriously ill children and young people across the UK.

It’s been a fantastic month which saw some brilliantly creative initiatives and support for the charity, including a behind the scenes half-term online workshop especially for our families. During the workshop, guests had the opportunity to discover how the chaos and total mayhem of the play is created and meet the cast, creative and stage management teams during a live Q&A.

Play That Goes WrongAs a very special treat, Mischief also invited some of the families supported by Spread a Smile to see The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre, London, including a meet and greet with the cast and crew. Outings such as this are extremely important, providing a chance to escape from the worries and restrictions of serious illness, even if just for a short while.

Earlier this month, Spread a Smile Co-Founder and Trustee, Josephine Segal was invited on stage to accept their donation on behalf of all of the families we support saying,

“It’s been wonderful to see such generous support from everyone at Mischief and The Play That Goes Wrong. We are honoured and grateful to have worked with their incredible teams and can’t thank them enough for everything they have done during Mischief May. It has meant a huge amount to us and all of the families who have been touched by their creativity and commitment to our work.” Josephine Segal, Co-Founder and Trustee, Spread a Smile

Thank you to everyone at Mischief, the Play That Goes Wrong and the Duchess Theatre for their support. We’ve loved your spirit, positivity, and every moment of Mischief May!

Croydon University Hospital. May Chu with Spread a Smile team

Croydon University Hospital collaboration

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Today Spread a Smile announces its newest collaboration with Croydon University Hospital to help spread smiles of joy to seriously ill patients under their care.

Patients and families across the Paediatric Unit, Oncology Clinic and inpatient and outpatients wards will now be able to access the many vital services that Spread a Smile provides, such as in-person entertainer visits as well as visits done virtually, suiting to the patient’s needs.

Working closely with hospital staff and play teams, we aim to spread joy and laughter at the most difficult times, providing opportunities for connection and distraction from treatment and illness. Croydon University Hospital joins the Spread a Smile family alongside the 25 other NHS hospitals and 2 hospices nationwide.

By collaborating together, we aim to help seriously ill children who are on their road to recovery with entertainment, smiles and laughter. The Spread a Smile team will spend quality time with patients, as well as running holiday themed virtual events and entertainment. Virtual visits alongside face-to-face sessions allow the team to see as many patients as possible, all with the aim of spreading hundreds of smiles at the hospital every single year.

The collaboration will add to the work already accomplished by the Croydon Health Charity, which continually raises funds to enhance the patient experience for Croydon’s sick children and young people.

Children will be invited to join weekly virtual group hospital sessions with Spread a Smile entertainers, take part in themed activity days when celebrating events like Easter and Christmas, giving children and their families many opportunities to join in with other activities, including family days out. Families of long-term patients will also be able to book one-on-one sessions.

May Chu, Senior Healthcare Play Specialist at Croydon University Hospital said, “Spread a Smile never fails to bring happiness and joy to our patients and staff. We always look forward to showing them around. The time and effort they take for each patient is really appreciated.”

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive added, “We are delighted to be providing monthly in-person entertainer visits. We know that our visits help patients cope better with the hospital environment and allow them to feel less isolated. 

“Our support to the young oncology patients is all about making their experience in hospital a more positive one and distracting them from challenging treatments and procedures. We look forward to more in-person visits with our team of entertainers in the future.”  

Please consider making a donation to help us continue our vital work supporting seriously ill children in hospital. Thank you.

Mount Toubkal Summit - Team Smile

Team Smile conquers Mount Toubkal

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Last week, 14 amazing supporters joined our Chief Executive, Lucy Jackson us for an incredible 6-day fundraising trek through the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco in aid of Spread a Smile.

This tough but incredibly rewarding challenge pushed the team mentally and physically, taking in peaks dotted with Berber villages before tackling northern Africa’s tallest peak – Jebel Toubkal, standing at a whopping 4,167m.

Team Smile Mount Toubkal“The trek was an absolutely incredible experience. Being part of a group and watching people find their physical and emotional edge and push on past it to reach a summit of 4,167 meters is something I ‘ll never forget. Thank you to everyone in the group. Sharing that experience with some of the Spread a Smile team made it really special for me.” Richard Balloqui

We are so grateful to this brilliant team who raised over £30,000 for our work spreading smiles to seriously ill children and young people. A HUGE Spread a Smile shout out to Aron, Danielle, Ernest, Janet, Joanna, Lisa, Liz, Lucy, Matthew, Natalie, Nicole, Rachel, Richard and Sammy. Also to our trek partners Charity Challenge.

“You have a picture in your mind of how the trek is going to go and then as you start to climb higher and higher, that picture fades away and reality kicks in. It was so much harder than we thought it would be, However you have two choices; to stop, turn around and return to something comfortable or to push yourself past what you thought was your limit and reach that summit stronger than you ever believed you could be.

“At all times in the back of our minds are the families and children in hospital. Thinking about them spurred us on. Every step we took, we took for them. As a group we could not have done this without each other. The support and camaraderie was amazing. It was an experience never to be forgotten, making us stronger as individuals and hopefully spreading more smiles to the wonderful children who deserve only happiness in their lives.” Natalie Gubbay-Jackson

We’re already planning our 2024 trip and we’d love for you to join us! Please email us at fundraising@spreadasmile.org to be the first to find out more.

 

Chloe and Therapy Dog

Mental Health Awareness Week

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Today is the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, a very important week which aims to educate and raise awareness around mental health.

For the families we support, the pressures of serious illness can be hugely and negatively impactful on mental health. Spread a Smile aims to support our families and their wellbeing, providing positive and happy moments of distraction and helping to reduce stress and feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Our team of entertainers include musicians, magicians, poets, therapy dogs, artists, fairies and more. Each bring their own unique talents and abilities to their work, creating special moments of joy, fun and engagement which enable our families to escape – even if it’s just for a moment – from their day-to-day realities. A visit from one of our team to a child at their hospital bedside can make such a difference to how they feel and manage their hospital experience.

“I have seen the Spread a Smile team interact with my child when he was so ill that he list all interest in play, but they managed to re-engage the magic.” Parent

“Having a singer sing nursery rhymes at her bedside filled us with joy, as it just felt like some normality amongst all of the chaos and heartache.” Parent

Our Therapy Dogs provide a physical comfort and warmth to the patients they meet. Patients enjoy brushing their fur, stroking them, sitting quietly with them and feeding them treats.

“It was during our daily visits to UCLH that we met Spread a Smile. The team were visiting with Buddy, one of their Therapy Dogs. Kaiden was in recovery from general anaesthetic and wasn’t particularly bothered about seeing anyone. However, within a couple of minutes of meeting Buddy, he was sitting up in bed, stroking and playing with Buddy and giving him treats. Kaiden’s recovery from anaesthetic was super quick that day! He just wanted to get up and absolutely loved being with Buddy. It was wonderful for me to see Kaiden happy and enjoying something different. When you spend so long in hospital, anything that breaks the monotony is a treat.” Parent

As part of #mentalhealthawarenessweek we are extremely grateful to our friends at Opticore for sponsoring our Therapy Dog visits to University College London Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Art is important in every child’s development. It encourages children to express their creativity, develop motor skills and heightens their ability to communicate and problem solve. For children in hospital, our art related projects and activities also provide a welcome distraction from treatment and the hospital environment.

“I have seen children express their feelings, fear and hopes through art in a wat they never could with words. Watching these young people, many of whom are going through the toughest times, utterly distracted from their treatment and hospital environment is a joy.” Marina Constantinou, Spread a Smile Head of Art.

We couldn’t do what we do without the generous support of our donors, fundraisers, volunteers and partners. Thank you for all your support and please take a look here for how you enable us to make a difference for incredible children like Chloe and their families.

Tasha - Spread a Smile entertainer

Meet Visit Manager Tasha

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The Spread a Smile team of entertainers is at the heart of everything we do spreading smiles to seriously ill children and young people across our NHS hospital and hospice partners. We spoke to Tasha, one of our Visit Managers about her role with Spread a Smile.

“I have been working in theatre for 10 years now and am a singer and Visit Manager for Spread a Smile.

“I came to start working for the charity after hearing about them through a friend who already worked there. Being an Auntie to 7 little ones, I love kids and it sounded like an incredible thing to be part of. 

“Singing is my favorite thing to do and it’s a huge privilege to be able to use this to bring joy to children  and their families during some of their most challenging times. I remember singing to a little girl who didn’t speak any English but sang along with me to ‘Let it Go!’ Her Mum told me that her daughter hadn’t smiled much in weeks and suddenly there we were laughing together. We performed to her Grandparents over zoom from her hospital room and it was a memorable experience which I’m sure none of us will forget.

“Taking part in the TCS London Marathon was a huge moment for me. I started running during Covid when I was no longer able to perform and had a lot of time on my hands! When I got a place in the ballot I saw it as an amazing opportunity to raise some money for a charity where I see first hand just the enormous difference that’s being made.

“The marathon was extremely difficult, but the atmosphere and support was incredible. When I was struggling along the way, I just thought about some of the amazingly strong kids I have met through Spread a Smile and it kept me going! 

“I think often the most special part of what we do is seeing the parents’ reaction when they see their child simply being a child again – laughing and having fun. I love being part of the Spread a Smile team and everyone is so supportive with one common goal: to use what we do to bring as much joy as possible to those who need it most.”

To support Tasha’s work spreading smiles in hospitals and beyond, please donate here. Thank you.

Broadcast Revolution pro bono support

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The support of external organisations is vital for charities like Spread a Smile. Our work simply wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our partners and suppliers. One of the partners we’ve been lucky enough to work with is Broadcast Revolution, a specialist broadcast PR agency who have worked pro-bono to help Spread a Smile reach the airwaves of UK TV and Radio stations.

An example of this was for the launch of Smile TV, Spread a Smile’s 24-hour entertainment channel. As the pandemic significantly affected our ability to work in hospitals, we wanted to get the word out about our virtual entertainment programmes to reach as many seriously ill children and young people and their families. It was important not only to spread the message of Spread a Smile’s work, but to help us stand out when so many other charities were also dominating the news agenda. The launch was featured on LBC News, Talk Radio, and BBC London.

Other initiatives that Broadcast Revolution have supported on include our Riding House tea parties, Valentine’s Day balloons, celebrity ambassador announcements, our comedy shows, our virtual Christmas Grotto, and our summer party! It’s been wonderful to work with such a brilliant organisation to highlight our family events.

Broadcast Revolution have also generously supported us with video production, helping to develop a moving and impactful film about one of our annual golf days.

Pro bono support such as this is hugely impactful, enabling Spread a Smile to reach new audiences and achieve even more in our mission to make a difference to the lives of families struggling with the impact of serious illness. A huge thank you to Broadcast Revolution and all of the amazing companies that give up their time and resource to give so much.

Please contact our Head of Fundraising, Amanda Azouz to find out more about working with and supporting Spread a Smile.

10th Anniversary Gala Dinner

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Last night we celebrated 10 years of Spread a Smile at our special 10th Anniversary Gala Dinner at the beautiful Nobu Hotel London Portman Square. And what an amazing evening it was with an incredible £505,000 raised for our work spreading smiles to seriously ill children and young people.

We were joined by nearly 400 supporters, friends, families, and colleagues from across our hospital partners for an incredible evening of good food, entertainment, magic and of course laughter.

Suzi RuffellOur host, comedian Suzi Ruffell, expertly guided us through the proceedings, sharing her own personal journey as to how she became a Spread a Smile Ambassador after a friend’s child was in hospital and saw what a positive difference our entertainers made.

We also heard from our Co-Founders and Trustees, Josephine Segal and Vanessa Crocker who set up the charity after seeing the positive impact a magician’s visit had on Josephine’s young nephew, Aaron, during his treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). A very special moment followed when Josephine welcomed Aaron himself to the stage to share his story with us.

Richard JonesAs always, our talented entertainers were on hand to spread smiles during dinner, wowing guests with magic, poetry and musical performances. We were treated to very special performance from Spread a Smile Ambassador, magician, and winner of Britain’s Got Talent, Richard Jones, who kept everyone on the edge of their seats with his magical skills.

Spread a Smile CEO, Lucy Jackson and Chair of Trustees, Paul Godfrey both spoke about the impact of our work and how our guests and supporters have played an important role enabling the charity to grow over the last 10 years and will continue to do so as we embark on plans to achieve even more in the future.

Our work is vital to the children, young people and families we support and also the medical staff across our hospital and hospice partners. Eleanor Tyrell, Matron, Children’s and Young People’s Cancer Service at University College Hospital spoke to guests about her first-hand experience of Spread a Smile and the difference we make to staff and patients alike.

We were also honoured to welcome the family of Chloe Balloqui to share their journey with us. We met Chloe, Mum Karen, Dad Richard, and brother James in 2013, not long after Chloe’s diagnosis of stage 4 neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer. Last night Karen, Richard and James all spoke about the hugely positive impact Spread a Smile had on their lives during this dreadful time. We are so grateful to this brave, kind and inspirational family for sharing their personal life and experiences with us. You can find out more about Chloe’s journey and watch her special film here.

Guests had the opportunity to commit their support to Spread a Smile by pledging on the night and we are delighted to announce that an incredible £505,000 was raised for our work spreading smiles to seriously ill children, young people and their families across the UK.

A huge thank you to everyone for joining is last night, for their kindness and commitment and for helping us to celebrate our 10th birthday in style. You can take a look at photos from the event here.

Make sure you keep an eye out for photos of the amazing LEGO® table centrepieces; each one made by one of the families we support using sets donated by our friends at the LEGO Group. (You can read more about this amazing initiative here).

Thanks to the Nobu Hotel London Portman Square and our headline sponsor, Spring Finance Limited for their generous support and making this event possible.

Also, to Suzi Ruffell, Richard Jones, Aaron Maurice and everyone who helped make the event such a huge success. Here’s to the next 10 years!

10 years partnership with GOSH

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Spread a Smile’s partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) dates back to when Josephine Segal and Vanessa Crocker founded Spread a Smile 10 years ago.

In 2013, Josephine’s young nephew, Aaron, was receiving treatment at GOSH. After noticing that Aaron was becoming increasingly withdrawn, she arranged for a magician to visit. It had the most remarkable effect: Aaron’s spirits were lifted and his treatment became more bearable.

As a result, Aaron asked if magicians could also visit friends that he’d met on the ward and Josephine promised Aaron she would find a way to make it happen.  Josephine teamed up with friend and former colleague Vanessa Crocker and working closely with GOSH, they founded Spread a Smile.

Since then, the Spread a Smile has continued to work closely with the team at GOSH to spread smiles to their patients, providing regular in person entertainer visits, online sessions, treat drops and much more.

Spread a Smile Sensory Boxes

Today we are proud to visit the hospital twice a week providing support across all in patient wards including the three paediatric intensive care units at the hospital: Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU), Paediatric Intensive Care (PICU) and Cardiac Intensive Care (CICU) as well as other wards such as oncology day care, outpatients and pre-op.

We spoke to Jamie Wilcox, Head of Volunteer Services at GOSH about our important work supporting children and young people under the GOSH’s care.

“As the Trust lead for volunteering and visiting organisations, patient parties and other entertainment, the inspirational co-founders of Spread a Smile, Josephine and Vanessa, came to meet me back in the early days of the organisation’s life.

“Over the past 10 years I have watched a small and highly passionate team of volunteers create and grow an idea into a large, fully-staffed, well-governed, slick charity, serving a number of hospitals and providing a much-needed service.

“I can’t tell you how many times GOSH staff have commented on how important it has been to have weekly visits from highly skilled professional entertainers. Not only does it have a direct impact on the patients and families, but having entertainers in the hospital brightens the wards, lifts staff spirits, helps them with anxious patients and gives them an opportunity to smile.

Spread a Smile Team at GOSH over Christmas

“We have seen how Spread a Smile entertainers can relax a patient, help them feel that little bit better on a tough day, be a wonderful distraction from a procedure or being in pain. The entertainers spend considerable 

time with each patient, adapting to their needs and expectations – whether that be a quiet song with some fairies, an upbeat interactive performance from a magician, doing face painting, or delivering a special poem created right there on the spot. This wonderful organisation has such a diverse and varied depth of talent it can accommodate any patient of any age and help take them away from the clinical environment for a moment of their day.

“There is no other organisation in the hospital that provides a service so professionally and regularly. We are proud to have it as one of our key partners.”

10 years of spreading smiles

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10 years ago today, Josephine Segal and Vanessa Crocker co-founded Spread a Smile, and what a 10 years it’s been!

We have grown considerably since we started spreading smiles in our first hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), and today we work in partnership with 25 NHS hospitals and 2 hospices across the UK. We are extremely proud to work alongside and provide important support to the incredible teams who care for seriously ill children and young people on a daily basis.

“Every time we hear a child we are caring for giggle and laugh along with the Spread a Smile entertainers, it is huge. Knowing that for a brief period they can just be children brings a smile to our faces and it makes the tough times that bit easier.” Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialists, Miriam Sager and Tenneh Koroma, Northwick Park Hospital

The families we support are at the heart of everything we do. During 2022/23, we visited over 8,500 hospital bedsides and made over 1,800 virtual visits, spreading smiles and laughter to many thousands of patients, their siblings and family members.

“We appreciate you so, so much. In hospital, out of hospital, at home, via zoom, for siblings and through lockdown. I really don’t know what my children would’ve done without you – making cakes, paintings and magic shows. You are a real true blessing. The summer party this year was a first out of hospital and I still talk about it to this day!” Parent

As we head into 2023/24, our aim is to reach even more children in even more hospitals across the country, expanding our reach and spreading smiles where they are needed most. We couldn’t do that without our entertainers, service and support team, fundraisers, trustees and the amazing donors and organisations who make everything we do possible.

“Thank you to everyone who has been there for Spread a Smile and the families we support over the last 10 years, helping us to grow, develop and bring so much joy during some of the darkest times. We couldn’t have done it without our dedicated office team, our wonderfully talented entertainers, our brilliant trustees and of course our generous supporters”.  Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive

Happy Birthday Spread a Smile and here’s to the next 10 years and beyond!

Meet Magic Nick

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Meet Nick, the Magician, aka ‘Magic Nick’ and our newest recruit to the Spread a Smile team of entertainers.

Nick became interested in magic from a young age, sharing his natural talent for all things magic with family and friends at every opportunity. He is now a full-time Magician and we spoke to Nick about why he decided to use his skills to help spread smiles to some of the seriously ill children and young people we support.

“My journey with Spread a Smile started because of a personal connection. I have two nephews, both of whom spend time in and out of hospital, including Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

“It was my youngest nephew’s second birthday during one hospital visit to GOSH and knowing this, one of the nurses arranged for a virtual visit with a Spread a Smile Fairy. The session was like pure magic. For 30 minutes, the clinical hospital room felt like a space in which we could celebrate. The sounds of the machines faded into the background and instead the room was filled with songs, cheer and most importantly, laughter.

“Not long after that Spread a Smile visited my nephew in person, and I was delighted to see it was a magician who came to visit. My nephew absolutely loved it and so did his older brother.

“For the boys’ Mum, it was a welcome change from the medical side of hospital. Seeing your child unwell is difficult for any parent and as their Uncle, I found it extremely challenging. You feel helpless. So when someone like Spread a Smile visits whose only job is to bring joy and laughter, it is incredible. You can escape, even if it’s just for a short time and you’re reminded how to be a child again.

“From that moment I knew I had to get involved with Spread a Smile as a Magician and I am so proud to now have the opportunity to join the team and go into hospitals to help make children laugh when they really need it. It is some of the most rewarding work I have ever done – leaving a visit and hearing the heartfelt thanks from a parent, guardian or the child themselves. There is nothing like it and I feel privileged to be able to help in some way.”

Please help us continue our vital work spreading smiles to children in hospital by donating today. Thank you.