SPREAD a Smile, the charity with a mission to bring joy and laughter to as many seriously ill children as possible in NHS hospitals and clinical settings across the UK has been in partnership with the Riding House Café group of restaurants since January 2022.
Since the partnership began, the three restaurants in the Riding House Group, have raised £55,223 for Spread a Smile, by simply adding 25p to customers’ final dining bills (customers can opt out). This amount has gone far in the support of over 1,830 seriously ill children and their families by Spread a Smile, enabling the charity to send entertainers into hospitals.
They’ve also hosted numerous events in aid of the children and families that the charity supports and the teams at each of the restaurants are heavily involved and invested in the delivery of these, both in advance and on the day.
In addition to the Riding House Group, Spread a Smile is also supported by other restaurants, including Mildreds who host regular tea parties in their restaurants and in October 2023 added £1 to customer bills to commemorate World Smile Day, raising around £8k for the charity.
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. It was set up by Sophie Carroll (wife of Flat Iron founder, Charlie Carroll).
Hosting events and the support from the teams is paramount to the success of what the charity delivers for its families, however, the financial impact for the charity has been seen from the fundraising mechanic by the restaurant group. In the UK, restaurants raise significant amounts for charity by simply adding a small discretionary donation to a menu item or the total bill. For example, Hospitality Action, a leading charity in the hospitality sector, has benefited substantially from such initiatives. Restaurants can add a voluntary donation—typically £1 to £1.25—to the bill, which customers can choose to pay or remove. This simple mechanism has proven effective, with some restaurants raising tens of thousands of pounds over just a few months.
While there isn’t a single figure representing the total amount raised by all UK restaurants annually, this example illustrates that this simple approach can generate substantial funds for charitable causes.
Adding a small percentage of the cost of an individual menu item as a donation to charity is an effective strategy employed by restaurants. The menu donation method aligns the restaurant’s financial success with charitable giving, creating a win-win scenario for both the business and the charity.
The events at Riding House restaurants are a major success, they host regular tea parties for the families Spread a Smile supports, helping to provide respite and moments of relaxation and enjoyment in amongst the pressures of hospitals and treatment for serious illness. Most recently (in August 2024), the team at the beautiful Riding House Café, Bloomsbury welcomed 70 children, young people, their siblings and family members for a delicious afternoon tea, with Spread a Smile entertainers on hand to spread even more smiles and fun through music, magic, face painting and much more. It’s these events that directly benefit from the money raised by partners such as Riding House Group and other partners, paying for the entertainers and staffing in addition to funding entertainer visits to hospitals.
Lucy Jackson, Chief Executive of Spread a Smile on the impact of this fundraising tactic for the charity, said:
“This simple act creates a 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 continuing to raise 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.”
