Our Christmas Smiles 2021 campaign launches today. Throughout the month of December we are determined to spread some festive cheer and help bring smiles to the faces of our little troopers, especially those who have a parent serving overseas during the holidays.
Louise, founder of our charity comments: “Christmas Smiles is our busiest time of year because we know that it can also be one of the hardest times of year for any children who have a loved one serving away from home. Thanks to the support of our fundraisers and donors, we have been able to celebrate our tenth year by making Christmas Smiles bigger and better than ever before. There are lots of ways that families can get involved and benefit this Christmas and we hope these things make military children smile and help them to feel part of our very special community of little troopers.”
For the second year in a row we have partnered with Build-A-Bear Foundation to distribute 2,000 free teddy bears to military children who have a loved one deployed overseas this Christmas. The charity has already delivered hundreds of bears to 25 locations across the UK where Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force service personnel are either already deployed or deploying imminently.
We will also be individually posting out 200 free bears to any British Armed Forces child who has a parent deployed at Christmas. Details of how to apply have been sent out to the Little Troopers mailing list this morning. 200 names will be drawn at random and winners will be contacted on 15th December 2021.
We are also delighted to announce that joining Christmas Smiles this year is ODEON Cinemas. With their help we have given away over 450 tickets for an exclusive screening of The Polar Express at five cinemas around England. On the 11th December we’ll be bringing hundreds of little troopers together to enjoy the Christmas movie.
To bring extra Christmas cheer, we will also be running weekly giveaways on its Facebook and Instagram pages throughout December. Keep an eye out for a chance to win:
- 100 copies of ‘Evie’s Christmas Surprise’, a heart-warming story written by a real-life little trooper, eight-year-
old Darcy Thorp, which has been professionally illustrated after winning the charity’s recent story competition. ‘Evie’s Christmas Surprise’ is also available for all military families to read for free on the Little Troopers Treasures storyrecording app for tablet devices. - One year’s subscription to Cosmic Yoga.
- A Command Bunker Set from The Little Adventure Shop.
- 5 Big Life Journals for children.
- Several book bundles from Hachette Children’s Group.
Louise adds, “To make sure you don’t miss any of our Christmas Smiles news, follow our social media channels and sign up for our newsletter.”
