Allen Hart, from Leeds, started fundraising for Candlelighters back in the early 2000’s when his daughter, Laura, was diagnosed with Wilms Tumour. Laura sadly passed away in 2007 aged just three. Allen began fundraising whilst Laura was on treatment and has continued ever since, making him one of our longest-standing fundraisers.
It all began with Allen and a group of friends doing their first quad bike fundraiser, riding from John O’Groats to Land’s End in 2006. Allen took to the quad again in 2007, this time riding from Leeds to Folkestone, and then to Madrid and back – a total of over 2,400 miles.
Since then, Allen has supported Candlelighters in lots of ways and advocates for the charity wherever he goes. A plumber and heating engineer by trade, Allen has also used his professional skills to raise funds. By asking viewers of his popular ‘how-to’ YouTube channel to donate to Candlelighters if they found his videos valuable, he has raised over £150,000 – an incredible amount in Laura’s memory.
Another huge part of Allen’s fundraising has been his charity boiler installations, donating his work time installing boilers that he has bought himself or have been donated, and gives the amount paid by the customer straight to Candlelighters.
Allen’s amazing fundraising started to gain some attention and in 2016 he won a Pride of Britain Award. Using the attention from this award, Allen was able to secure sponsors for ‘Gas Chat Tour’ – taking his charity boiler installations across the country. Travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats in a van he’d branded in Candlelighters pink, Allen installed a boiler per month in different locations. It was a huge success, with lots of other engineers and companies donating their time and resources to help.
By championing Candlelighters far and wide, Allen has helped us to receive even more funding. Several businesses that had heard Allen’s story, like Artic Hayes and Oakwood Garden Rooms, are now huge supporters of Candlelighters and have raised over an astonishing £176,000.
Allen’s amazing support and advocacy have made an immeasurable difference to so many families facing childhood cancer, continuing Laura’s legacy each year.
