FANTASTIC ROMFORD CHARITY SCOOPS HUGE £420,722 LOTTERY BOOST TO HELP FAMILIES IN NEED
A Romford charity which began with just 284 Christmas shoeboxes has secured an incredible £420,722 from The National Lottery Community Fund, giving S.M.I.L.E London & Essex a major three-year boost to expand its support for families facing poverty and financial hardship.
The Reaching Communities award will provide vital stability for the charity while allowing it to grow its Community Food Pantry, Community Hub and holistic support services.
Over the next three years, the funding will enable S.M.I.L.E to strengthen the support available from its Romford Hub, expand its Community Food Pantry and introduce more regular drop-in sessions with specialist partner organisations.
Families will be able to access practical help alongside advice and support on issues including housing, benefits, debt, wellbeing and other challenges that can contribute to or worsen poverty.
The funding will also help S.M.I.L.E develop its volunteer programme, giving local people the opportunity to build confidence, gain experience and develop skills which could help them move towards employment.
Maria Quaife, Founder & CEO of S.M.I.L.E London & Essex, said:
“We honestly cannot put into words what this funding means to our little charity. Receiving £420,722 from The National Lottery Community Fund is a huge lifeline and gives us something that small charities like ours rarely have, the ability to plan ahead.
“For years our team has worked incredibly hard to keep responding to the growing need we see every day, often without knowing where the funding for the following year would come from. This award gives us three years to grow what is already working, develop our Community Hub and Pantry and bring even more specialist support directly to the families who need it.
“We don’t want to simply hand somebody a bag of food and send them on their way. Food or clothing might be the reason someone first walks through our door, but often there is much more happening behind the scenes. We want to help families deal with those wider issues before they reach crisis and give people the support, confidence and opportunities they need to move forward.
“This funding is a reflection of the incredible hard work that our staff, trustees and volunteers have put into S.M.I.L.E over the years. We have grown so much, often with very limited resources, and everyone has played their part in getting us to where we are today. This award gives us the security to build on everything we have achieved together, and I can’t wait to see where the next three years take us.”
From 284 shoeboxes to a year-round Community Hub
S.M.I.L.E London & Essex began in 2017 after a small Christmas appeal collected 284 shoeboxes for local children.
The organisation became a registered charity in 2018 and has since grown into a year-round Community Hub supporting children and families experiencing poverty and hardship across Havering, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge, Newham and parts of Essex.
Today, S.M.I.L.E provides food, clothing, school uniform, household essentials and crisis support, alongside community activities and access to wider advice and specialist organisations.
Its Community Food Pantry distributes around seven tonnes of food every year, helping families struggling with the rising cost of living while also reducing food waste.
The charity’s School Uniform Project has supported hundreds of local children, including 534 children in 2025 alone, helping families save thousands of pounds on the cost of getting their children ready for school.
S.M.I.L.E also supports families through its Clothing Bank, New Home Boxes, Christmas and Easter appeals, Prom Dress Boutique, community activities, crisis support and outreach work.
Alongside its own services, the charity works closely with schools, NHS services, housing providers, councils, churches, charities and other frontline organisations.
Its developing programme of specialist drop-in sessions at the Community Hub aims to make it easier for families to access different types of support in one familiar and welcoming place.
For S.M.I.L.E, practical help is often just the beginning.
A family may initially walk through the doors because they need food, clothing or school uniform, but building that relationship can uncover wider problems affecting the household.
The charity can then help families access appropriate specialist support rather than leaving them to navigate those services alone.
The new three-year Reaching Communities funding will allow S.M.I.L.E to build on this approach and provide greater stability for a charity that has experienced significant growth in both demand and the range of support it provides.
In 2024, when S.M.I.L.E unexpectedly had to relocate its Community Hub, the local community rallied behind the charity, raising more than £40,000 in just three weeks to help secure new premises and continue its work.
Now firmly established at its Romford Hub, the charity says the National Lottery funding marks the beginning of its next chapter.
From 284 shoeboxes to a thriving community hub, S.M.I.L.E is now preparing for its biggest chapter yet.
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