We are pleased to announce that Candlelighters were recently given the opportunity to apply for, and were successful in receiving a grant from NHS Charities Together to help fund our Community Support Team. As a charity we rely on donations from supporters and grants from trusts, foundations and institutes such as NHS Charities Together.

NHS Charities Together is a fund raised by the public in the United Kingdom for the NHS (such as the fundraising by Captain Tom Moore). This is made available to different regions of the country for the NHS to spend in ways to improve health outcomes, build partnerships with community organisations and lead to a positive impact on the NHS whilst it responds to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Here at Candlelighters, we have just launched our Candlelighters In Your Community project, to ensure families feel well supported across Yorkshire, no matter the distance. The grant from NHS Charities Together has helped to support this new service from Candlelighters. The project aims to reduce the barriers that some families face when trying to access support and makes our services more accessible to all families across Yorkshire. Our Community Support Team work flexibly to ensure families have the support they need when they need it most. The support can take many different forms, such as one-to-one support, walks and talks, Wellbeing Days and more. We have four Community Support Workers who cover different areas of Yorkshire, and you can find out more about accessing their services or reading more about what they do here.

Our goal is to reduce isolation and allow families to meet others affected by childhood cancer. The grant we have received will help us to continue this important project, create support networks and bring light and hope to families of children with cancer.

We would like to say thank you to NHS Charities Together, and to Leeds Hospital Charity who administered the grant process for West Yorkshire & Harrogate, for giving us the opportunity to enhance the support we can offer, even more!