Last week, we received the incredible news that Candlelighters has been generously awarded a grant of £11,400 from The Susie P Foundation.

The grant will enable Candlelighters to provide three months of adapted family support services to ten families being affected by COVID-19, including 1:1 virtual talking therapies for both adults and children and weekly check-ins with the team.

We are already seeing just how much of an impact our adapted services are having during this challenging time and are so grateful to supporters such as The Susie P Foundation for enabling us to keep our candle burning and bring light to families in these darkest of times.

Having been first diagnosed when she was just 11 months old, last year four year old Hannah relapsed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Although Hannah is remaining resilient, Mum Allison and Dad Joseph continue to struggle with their daughters’ diagnoses and the additional challenges presented by Covid-19. New hospital restrictions mean that only one parent can be on the ward with their child and they must remain there permanently to avoid bringing the virus to the ward. Allison said, “These new restrictions have made things extremely hard as we aren’t able to properly comfort each other or even just give each other a hug. We feel ripped apart.”

Allison and her family hugely appreciate the services Candlelighters have provided during both of Hannah’s diagnoses and through the Covid-19 crisis, “We feel it would have been very hard without the support of Candlelighters and we are extremely fortunate that we can continue to access to this kind of support.”

The grant from The Susie P Foundation will help us to help more families like Hannah’s.

Chairman of Trustees, Ian Pruchniewicz set the Charity up in 2007, the year that his wife Susie sadly passed away from metastatic liver cancer. The Foundation was formed with the purpose of helping children with cancer.

He told us about the Foundation’s legacy: “The reason behind this specific objective came out of Susie being very upset seeing young children going through treatment when she was attending hospital for her chemotherapy sessions. Although she was only 56, she felt that she had had a good life, but seeing these very ill children at the start of life’s journey really upset her.”

Since 2007, the Foundation has continued to champion this cause and has supported Candlelighters previously, funding family holidays for those who are facing childhood cancer, enabling them to enjoy quality time together and to make special lasting memories, as well as helping to furnish The Candlelighters Cottage in 2017.

We’d like to say a huge THANK YOU to Ian, and all at The Susie P Charitable Foundation for their continued support and for helping us to keep our candle burning and bring light to families in these darkest of times. The Susie P Foundation are working on a new website. If anyone who would like to know more or support The Foundation, please do get in contact by email: [email protected]