News and provisional Reports on upcoming future tour
plans for the World Wide Smiles Team.
2020 & 2021
Covid-19 has struck! Despite making plans for a major tour, all had to be abandoned due to the pandemic. We had already booked and paid for our Ferry transport to Holland to perform for the Polish sick children in Borculo, but as the Polish children were unable to travel due to Covid outbreaks in both Poland and Holland, we had no choice but to cancel in 2020 and 2021. We again plan to travel in 2022, and we are greatly indebted to our wonderful Ferry Company, Stena, who have agreed to rebook our travel at a minimal cost of £5.00 – so thank you Stena, much appreciated by this very small charity!
2018 & 2019
We again successfully performed for sick Polish children in Borculo, our 16th and 17th consecutive years. Regretfully, major tours were unable to be arranged because of lack of funds and sponsors. We are hopeful that further major tours can be funded for future years.
2017
We plan to again perform for the sick children brought to Borculo, Holland, by charity Pax Kinder, in July – our 15th consecutive year.
Major Tour: Unless more Funding can be found, it is unlikely we will be able to mount a major Tour in 2017, but we will see how our finances go and make a decision in 2017. If there are any generous individuals or a Company seeking a Charity to support, we would be extremely grateful to hear from you. Our contact details are on our Home Page, or you can use our Contact Page. THANK YOU!
2016
In September, WWS will be returning to Romania where we once again will be performing for needy Romanian children around the Oradea area, including Gypsy Camps, OAP Homes, Schools and anywhere else we feel smiles are needed. Our old friends at The Smiles Foundation and Mother Theresa Foundation will again be sponsoring our accommodation and arranging the itinerary for us, for which we are extremely grateful. We are also very thankful to the Andriessen Bedrijfswagens in Terborg, Holland who, once again, are sponsoring a Van from their fleet for the Tour!
2016 ROMANIA TOUR REPORT AND PHOTOS
Please see ‘Smiles to Romania’ and click 2016 for the report and also ‘Photos 2016’ for the photographs. Incidentally, if you click on any photo to enlarge it, and click on the arrow at the bottom of the photo, it will start a slide presentation automatically for you.
2015
See Report for Borculo in ‘Smiles to Holland’
2014
Borculo, Holland 2014:
Once again, members of World Wide Smiles will perform for sick children from Poland, our 12th consecutive year we have performed at Borculo in Holland. Conk and I will travel via the Channel Tunnel on Monday 7th July and meet up with WWS founder Clown Masjolie in Ulft, Holland. PaxKinder, a charity now in it’s 27th year, obtain grants and sponsorship to enable them to transport up to 40 sick children into Borculo for a free three week holiday, where they are given days out, good food and entertainment such as our WWS Show. They are accompanied by carers and nurses as every child has to be administered medication at various times during the day and evening. A Report will follow in due course – see ‘Taking Smiles to Holland’, left, ‘Borculo’.
Whilst in Holland, members of WWS will discuss whether we have sufficient time and funds to mount a Charity Tour in 2014.
2013
2013 Charity Tour
KENYA : 13.10.2013 – 23.10.2013
A full Report on our wonderful Tour to Kenya is now online: please go to ‘Smiles to Kenya’ (Index in column on left).
2013 Charity Tour
KENYA : 13.10.2013 – 23.10.2013
World Wide Smiles is delighted to announce their charity tour for 2013 will be in October, in Kenya, Africa, where we will be entertaining needy children of various orphanages and various schools with children with learning difficulties. We wish to place on record our deepest thanks to our lovely Sponsor, who wishes to remain anonymous, for underwriting the cost of this tour. We are looking forward very much to performing for the children of Kenya. A full report and photographs will be posted here on our return.
WARRINGTON SOROPTIMISTS INTERNATIONAL
Clown Bluey and Conk, representing World Wide Smiles, were delighted to receive a donation of £825.00* from the Warrington Soroptimists International at their Annual Luncheon on Sunday 21st April. Conk and Bluey, who had earlier entertained the Soroptimist members and their guests with a 30′ show which demonstrated examples of the type of clowning WWS provided on their overseas trips, were extremely grateful for the donation. All monies received go towards further WWS Tours to take smiles to needy children somewhere in the world.
*Since this was posted, the Soroptimists of Warrington have forwarded a further £7.15, making a total welcome donation of £832.15 – many thanks ladies, very much appreciated!
Conk & Bluey receive donation from Margaret Carr, President of Warrington Soroptimists International
On Sunday 21st April, Conk and I will entertain at the Warrington Soroptimist Club’s Annual Dinner, during which they will present to us the total monies they have collected for World Wide Smiles during the past year. We have no idea at present how much these wonderful ladies have collected for us, but we are very excited and grateful for the time, enthusiasm, commitment and effort they no doubt will have put into collecting money for us so that we can continue to take smiles and laughter to deserving children around the world. Our next planned tour is being organised for October this year where we plan to visit and entertain at orphanages and schools in Kenya.
Conk and Bluey were delighted to attend a presentation in Birmingham to accept a new portable Stage Set from George of OK-Smokey.com. The stage set is truly inspiring and we are extremely grateful to George and his company for their generous sponsorship. OK-Smokey.com manufacture electric cigarettes and cigars – for more information on their products, please visit ok-smokey.com.
New Stage Set as Sponsored by OK-Smokey.com
2012
November 2012
More exciting news: Through Conk, www.ok-smokey.com, a company that helps smokers give up smoking by offering electronic alternatives, have agreed to sponsor banners for us which we will use on our future tours overseas. We are very grateful to the OK-Smokey company for their support and help.
19.9.2012
Conk and I had a great evening at the Warrington Soroptimist Club Meeting and I believe all the ladies present enjoyed our slide presentation. We decided to make our entrance in full motley and slap which I thought helped the whole evening and there is no doubt in my mind that all the ladies were suitably enthused to help run events during the remainder of this year and 2013 to raise funds for WWS.
World Wide Smiles Ltd – UPDATE:
Further to my note below, Conk and I will be giving an illustrated presentation to the Soroptimist Club in Warrington on Tuesday, 18th September, and look forward to meeting all its members. We are specially grateful that they, through their 2012 President, have chosen to support us as their Charity for 2012.
Wonderful news: the Soroptimist Club in Warrington (it’s a service club for women in business, management and the professions) has, through its President Mrs Margaret Carr, elected to make World Wide Smiles its chosen charity for her year in office, and has already started fund-raising for us. We are deeply grateful and Conk and Clown Bluey have agreed to give a Presentation Talk at one of their monthly meetings in the near future, and perform a show either for refugees or children in need in the Warrington area.
World Wide Smile Ltd has now applied for registered Charity Status (we are currently a Registered non-registered Charity – registered with the Inland Revenue, but not with the Charity Commission).
Sponsors are being sought to allow us to plan a charity tour in 2013.
We are currently in negotiation with a Sponsor for a charity tour to orphanages, schools and hospitals in Kenya in October 2013.
Anyone who is able to offer help in the way of sponsorship, please contact us via our e-mail info@worldwidesmiles.biz, or contact Clown Bluey on 023 80869076 (clownbluey1@btinternet.com).
Thank You!
Borculo 2012:
Once again, WWS performed for 44 sick children from Poland, our 11th consecutive year we have performed at Borculo in Holland. PaxKinder, a charity now in it’s 26th year, obtain grants and sponsorship to enable them to transport up to 40 sick children into Borculo for a free three week holiday, where they are given days out, good food and entertainment such as our WWS Show. They are accompanied by carers and nurses as every child has to be administered medication at various times during the day and evening. Conk and I travelled through the Channel Tunnel and arrived at our colleague’s Masjolie and Ben’s house in Ulft, Holland, after a 5 hour drive. Ben once again stoically came out of retirement for the show and we also had ‘Marco’ to help us again. The show was well received and it was great to meet old friends and make new ones. Pax Kinder themselves have monetary problems and find it more and more difficult every year to find the sponsorship and grants needed to continue this wonderful effort, and it is hoped that they are able to find the funds required to once again launch this project in 2013. WWS would love to continue to support them as we too have to raise funds to cover the costs of travelling to Holland.
2011
Once again, WWS performed for the sick children from Poland, given a free holiday in Holland by the PaxKinder Charity. Conk and I travelled over by Ferry this year and drove to Holland from France. It was an interesting drive and took just on 4 1/2 hours. Masjolie and Ben joined us for the show (it was good to have Ben with us even though he has officially ‘retired’ from our little group!) and we also had ‘Marco’ to help us again. The show was well received and it was great to meet old friends and make new ones. Needless to say, we have been invited back to perform again in 2012!
BIG NEWS:
World Wide Smiles is now a registered Limited Company. As our Charity status has lapsed in Holland, our next step is to to apply for registered Charity Status in the U.K (we are currently a non-registered Charity). This will hopefully help us to obtain much-needed sponsorship and grants as our funds are currently exhausted. Because of the general downturn in the economy, it is unlikely that we will be able to tour this year, unless a good Samaritan steps forward and saves the day!
2010
A full report on our World Wide Smiles tour to Romania in early August is now uploaded – see “Smiles to Romania”. Photos will follow shortly.
It is with much regret and sadness that we report that after our 2010 Tour, our friend and colleague, Ben Kemperman, informed us he was retiring from our little group. We shall miss him greatly – thank you Ben from all of us for all your hard work, dedication and friendship.You will be greatly missed.