Leeds colleagues raise over £32,000 for Candlelighters charity

We look back on our fundraising activities from 2019-2021 in support of Candlelighters.

The Leeds office began fundraising for Candlelighters in May 2019 to offer our support to families affected by children's cancer locally in Yorkshire. Candlelighters gets involved in all manner of different projects to help ordinary families who are facing extraordinary circumstances, providing support across hospital wards, at their family support centre ‘The Square’ or out within the community. This allows the charity to act as a familial support network, providing assistance through both simple companionship in the short-term and funding cancer research in the longer-term. Candlelighters additionally offers financial aid, family events and help with holiday planning.

Fundraising at Shoosmiths has involved a host of various office-wide events, with highlights such as the office ‘Pink-it-up’ events, the Great North Run, and walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks. More recently, the committee came up with creative fundraising activities due to the Covid restrictions, including virtual bingo, a virtual Race Across America, and a Leeds office gameshow challenge.

In total, Shoosmiths has raised an incredible £32,454.25 for Candlelighters since we began supporting them, which we are grateful to have been able to achieve, given the challenges that we have faced over the past year surrounding COVID-19.

An office team of 8 runners will also be participating in the Great North Run on 12th September 2021 to support Candlelighters as it was postponed due to COVID-19 in 2020. Simon Meek, Richard Bellamy, David Farnell, Lucy Flanagan, Ed Foster, Amy Fretwell, Mike Whitworth and Rachael Brook will complete the half marathon to enable Candlelighters to continue providing practical, emotional and financial support to children living with cancer in Yorkshire and their families.

Chris Salt, Partnerships Executive at Candlelighters said, “We want to say a huge thank you to everyone at Shoosmiths. Your support of Candlelighters across the last two years has been absolutely incredible and has helped to ensure that children and their families facing childhood cancer across Yorkshire receive all the support they need. We have been bowled over by the commitment of the Shoosmiths team to continue raising funds despite a global pandemic and the fundraising ideas and events were so creative and engaging. Good luck to the team taking on the Great North Run, we’ll be cheering you on!”

The Leeds office has really enjoyed partnering with Candlelighters over the past two years. Thank you to everybody that helped support this amazing charity.