We’re delighted to have reached half a million pounds in donations to Eckersley House! Our 31-year partnership has helped to keep the doors of Eckersley House open to families who need it most, creating a ‘Home from Home’ just minutes from Leeds Children’s Hospital.
Leeds Children’s Hospital is nationally recognised for the specialist care provided by its children’s cancer services, where many young patients require lengthy, complex treatment. But for families who have travelled long distances, being close to their child can mean facing unaffordable hotel bills or trying to sleep in busy hospital wards.
For more than three decades we have worked side by side Eckersley House, provided by The Sick Children’s Trust, to create a ‘Home from Home’ in Leeds, for families with a seriously ill child being treated at Leeds Children’s Hospital.
Eckersley House offers families a welcoming place to stay, opposite the hospital, providing comfortable bedrooms, a shared kitchen, living spaces, and the reassurance of being close to their child.
When three-year-old Noah was diagnosed with cancer in 2025, his family’s life was thrown into turmoil. With Noah needing long stays in the hospital for treatment, the family faced time apart when they most needed to be together.
But, through the support of Candlelighters and The Sick Children’s Trust, parents Amy and James were able to stay in a room at Eckersley House.
“Eckersley House was a massive help to us”, said Noah’s mum, Amy. “Having a bed to sleep in over the road from Noah was such a help. James and I would swap doing the nights so one of us had a good night’s sleep while the other stayed with Noah. We had cooking facilities and washing facilities for our clothes; it was just a massive help.”
“It gave us time and space to zone out for a little bit, a chance to breathe for five minutes. We stayed there for six months, from the first week Noah was admitted to hospital to the day we went home. It was amazing.”
Alongside the Candlelighters Cottage, which provides emergency accommodation for up to four families with a child receiving treatment, Eckersley House is a port in a storm for the families that need them.
To mark the occasion, members of the Candlelighters team visited Eckersley House in December, sharing a cup of tea and a slice of cake with Jane McHale, the long‑serving House Manager, and her team. Sharing in our mission to support families affected by childhood cancer, our longstanding partnership is built on our commitment to ensuring we’re there for families when they need us.
Speaking about the incredible support provided by Candlelighters over the years, Jane said: “We simply couldn’t do what we do without Candlelighters’ incredible generosity and loyalty over the past 31 years. Their support has helped thousands of families stay together during some of the hardest moments imaginable. For parents facing long hospital stays, often far from home, Eckersley House really is a lifeline, and Candlelighters has played a huge part in making it possible for us to be there with them.”
We’re incredibly proud of our partnership with The Sick Children’s Trust, which means this vital support can continue for families.
