Make a Smile is a student-led charity that was set up in 2016, and has grown from strength to strength, building year on year. We have an increasing number of volunteers, and fantastic partners and every year we visit more and more children. We currently have over 100 volunteers and have visited over 3000 throughout over 1500 volunteering hours.
Over the last few years, we've branched further across the UK, opening Chapter Houses in England and Scotland, and continuing to expand our costume collection, constantly improving their standards, as part of the overarching aim of bringing smiles to more children. We aim to branch overseas over the next few years, making more people aware of our cause and causing a global impact on the childhood of children worldwide.
We believe that through no fault of their own, often children undergoing hardship can miss vital play opportunities or lose out on opportunities to interact with their idols. With illness, this can be due to frequent trips to the hospital or long stays in hospital wards. Alternatively, children with disabilities, they can struggle to communicate or interact with their idols. We are keen to change this.
An absence of these vital opportunities can cause children to mature much faster than they otherwise would, missing important parts of their childhood. As such, we offer a safe, friendly, inclusive atmosphere to take children away from their hardships and give them the opportunity to play and interact with their idols.
FOUNDER'S NOTE
"Make a Smile was founded on the belief that all children deserve a childhood. Seeing that idea spread across the UK and beyond has proven that many others share this belief. Being able to give more and more children the opportunity to meet and interact with the characters they look up to is an amazing experience that is often overlooked, but with every event we prove the invaluable impact that it can have on children. Having seen how far we've come since that first event in a cheap Peter Pan costume and a few friends, I look forward to see how we move forward to give children the best possible interactions."
Luke Morgan
Founder & Chair of Trustees
A Timeline of our Origin...
2016
Cardiff Uni medical student Luke Morgan sets up Make a Smile, after realising the importance of childhood, fun and enjoyment within physical, cognitive and behavioural development.
2017
Cardiff becomes the founding chapter of the charity, with Luke bringing in friends, communicating with Cardiff-based charities and organisations, and expanding student interest through the Cardiff University Students' Union Volunteering Department.
2019 - Present
With its successes in Cardiff, Make a Smile branches into England, with Luke setting up 'chapters' in various English universities.
