In November 2013, Gabrielle Alderson was diagnosed with an aggressive form of children’s cancer. After the diagnosis, Gaby herself, as well as family, friends and the school she attended, worked tirelessly to raise money to fund new treatments, research and raise awareness of the disease.

After battling Neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of children’s cancer, for almost three and a half years, Gaby very sadly passed away in March this year, aged 14.

However, the fundraising efforts of those close to Gaby continued. An incredible £953.81 was raised at her funeral, which was donated to Candlelighters to help families like Gaby’s through the difficult journey presented by children’s cancer.

On top of this, Queen Mary’s School (attended by Gaby) raised over £5700, an astonishing amount of money that truly deserves to be recognised! The school held events such as ‘Wear A Wig Wednesday’, encouraging fellow pupils to come to school wearing a wig and make a small donation on arrival. They also held an autumn fair, with a tombola and stalls to fundraise for Candlelighters.

Mrs Carole Cameron, head teacher at Queen Mary’s School said: “Each year Queen Mary’s chooses a charity to support and we were delighted to make Candlelighters the focus of our fundraising efforts for the school year 2015-2016. The girls threw themselves into a wide range of fundraising activities with their usual enthusiasm, including a fashion show, a WOLF Run and a ‘Wear a Wig Wednesday’. We hope that the funds raised will make a valuable contribution to provide care for many children and their families, just as Candlelighters supported our own pupil Gabrielle Alderson and her family.”

From everybody here at Candlelighters we would like to say a massive thank you to the staff, pupils and parents at Queen Mary’s and of course to Gaby’s family and friends for helping to raise such a huge amount of money. It really does make such a difference to families affected by children’s cancer across Yorkshire.