Working in the North East of England, our vision is to put a smile on the face of every disabled and disadvantaged youngster. We empower these children and young people to achieve their potential to live a full and happy life.

Our support enhances the life experience of disabled and disadvantaged youngsters, giving them the opportunity to smile. We put the needs of our beneficiaries at the heart of everything we do. 

Café Beam

We provide essential work experience placements at our Café Beam in Gosforth – a beautiful café/bistro which is run by a team of young people with a variety of disabilities and learning difficulties.

These youngsters help to prepare all of the produce, serve customers, operate tills and handle money as well as welcoming many different members of the community both volunteers and customers.

Café Beam is a must-visit for anyone who enjoys delicious, home-cooked food and hot drinks, cakes and amazing service, as provided by our wonderful young people. We also love our doggy customers, so please feel free to bring your four-legged friends!

Individual Support

We support young people with disabilities and learning difficulties in various ways. We provide equipment which makes their day-to-day lives easier, experiences that enable them to make memories and challenge themselves in new and exciting ways, and even help with bedroom and garden makeovers to create an environment which is more accessible and appropriate for their needs. Find out about some of the young people we have supported on our home page.

Tuesday Club

Our regular Tuesday Club is an accessible place for young people with a range of disabilities to come and keep active, make friends, and, above all, have fun! The social aspect of the club is invaluable to all of the youngsters who attend; reducing isolation, encouraging new friendships and improving their all-round wellbeing. 

The two-hour sessions include a range of accessible sports and games, as well as a quiet area for more relaxed activities. A healthy tea is also provided at the sessions.

Challenge Days And Trips

We recognise the issues that many youngsters face during long school and college holidays, often becoming socially isolated and regressing in their physical and emotional development.

Our Challenge Day programme began in 2010 and provides wonderful group activities throughout the year which bring a huge range of disabled and disadvantaged youngsters together to enjoy new and exciting activities, reducing isolation and improving general wellbeing and self-esteem.

Every year we also host a residential Challenge Weekend which provides the opportunity for many youngsters to travel away from home with their friends and enjoy new physical activities and valuable social time together.

All of our challenge events are supported by trained and DBS checked volunteers.

International challenges

Camping on ice lakes, scaling peaks in the searing heat and canoeing along rivers are just some of the challenging activities our young people have been lucky enough to undertake on our trips abroad. Norway, Spain and France have all been visited by Smile For Life in the past few years, who knows where the next few years will take us?

Events

We hold a range of events every year to raise vital funds and awareness of our charity and the issues faced by young people. These have included two Smile For A Night variety shows – hosted by patron and CBBC star Danny Adams and featuring some of the best acts from across the region; ‘swishing’ event Tea and Togs at Novotel, Newcastle and, most recently, Smile on the Tyne, our first ever comedy fundraiser with another patron and Britain’s Got Talent winner Lost Voice Guy. Our annual Smile Ball gives us the chance to thank our supporters and tell people about what the charity has been up to that year, whilst enjoying a fabulous evening of dinner and dancing.

Thursday Club

The Thursday Club has started more recently at our very own Café Beam, and is a social club for those 18+ with a range of disabilities. It is great opportunity for socialisation for the attendees, and each week we run a fun activity which develops and promotes new skills and wellbeing. We’re thrilled that it’s been so popular, but we do now have a waiting list so if you are interested please email Hannah.