A Partnership to help raise awareness and recognition of children’s cancer in Yorkshire

At the end of 2015 the Vista team decided that they wanted to nominate a charity of the year. It’s extremely difficult to choose between the plethora of excellent causes out there, even just in our local regions in Leeds and London, but every member of our team was invited to vote and their decision was very clear; Candlelighters was our charity of choice for 2016.

Giving back to good causes is extremely important to our team. It’s part of our sustainable approach and is at the core of our company values. It’s what helps make us a responsible business, which you can read more about elsewhere on our website.

But how can a business like ours really help make a difference to important charities such as Candlelighters and the work they do? Sure, we have a number of fun fundraising activities that our team love to organise around the office (raffles, Easter egg hunts, dress down days, throw a wet sponge at a board member…) but is it all about money?

Candlelighters were thrilled when we got in touch with them to tell them we’d like to support them in 2016, but they had the same thought as us. Of course funds are always needed to fund research, equipment and the family holidays and breaks that Candlelighters provide, but they had a bigger mission in mind too.

Having heard about the great work we do with Leeds’ Golden Owl Awards – a young film competition that runs throughout the whole city – they came to us with an ambitious idea. As a relatively small charity, they wanted to produce an event that would raise awareness of children’s cancer, celebrate the people that support the charity and families – and hopefully raise a bit of money in the process. They wanted to get the Candlelighters brand out there to garner more support and awareness of the charity than ever before, they wanted us to help them produce the very first Candlelighters Awards.

Of course, we leapt at the opportunity. Events management is one of our specialist services, and something we’ve been known for for twenty years. Being appointed their trusted advisor to help make that dream become a reality – for the charity as well as the families it supports – is an honour as well as a calling. And the whole team are buzzing with excitement to deliver this very special project.

If you’d like to find out more about the Candlelighters Awards, nominate for an award or purchase tickets please click here for more details.

From all the team at Candlelighters, a big thank you to the Vista team without whom we would never be attempting such a high level event.

The Candlelighters Awards take place on 9th September, during Children’s Cancer Awareness Month at Elland Road. Tickets and sponsorship are available now.