Candlelighters

In 1976, a group of parents and medical staff recognised a need for families with children facing childhood cancer to receive extra support. Back then, the prognosis for these children was very poor and it was a lonely world for them and their families. Together, the parents and medical staff started a charity with one clear vision: to bring light and hope to all families affected by childhood cancer in Yorkshire. Today, Candlelighters brings light to families by providing emotional, practical and financial support, and hope, by investing in vital research to improve the outcomes and lives of children with cancer.

 

Our family support centre, The Square, is just a minute’s walk away from Leeds Children’s Hospital. Here families can access a range of high-quality support services such as wellbeing sessions, talking therapies, and peer support groups. Alternatively, families might simply like to pop in for a drink and a chat to get away from the clinical environment of the hospital. In the height of the coronavirus pandemic, The Square was used for essential activities such as bereavement meetings, whilst our other services were adapted for a virtual capacity where possible. We also work to deliver support to families closer to their homes and within their local communities across Yorkshire through Candlelighters In Your Community, as well as funding an Outreach Play Specialist to provide additional support to families within their homes.

We have a great presence at the oncology wards and clinic at Leeds Children’s Hospital, where our Family Support Workers provide crucial front-line support for families in the hospital. The team here provide practical support to families staying on the wards or visiting the clinic, helping to signpost our services, entertaining children so that parents can get some respite and anything and everything in between. We also fund the roles of Social Workers, Play Leaders, a Dinner Lady and more on the ward, providing extra support to families and the NHS hospital staff. As many families will spend a significant amount of time in hospital, we work to make the environment feel a little less daunting by funding decorations, activities and home comforts for the children.