Author: Lorraine

We truly enjoy hearing about the diverse challenges that individuals undertake when they choose to fundraise for Milly’s Smiles. While we are immensely grateful for the donations—without which we could not fulfill our mission—it is also about the remarkable people behind the fundraising efforts and their reasons for selecting Milly’s Smiles.

One story that particularly moved us was that of Salahman, a 5-year-old diagnosed with leukemia at his local hospital in November after a visit to his doctor. Within hours, Salahman was rushed to Manchester Children’s Hospital with his mother Charlotte and father Shaz. Upon arriving at Ward 86, he started receiving blood and platelet transfusions, with chemotherapy beginning the very next day.

Never did Salahman’s mum expect to find themselves admitted to the Children’s Oncology Ward, and this meant they were totally unprepared for an unexpected hospital stay without personal belongings. Receiving their Milly Bag was described as the “most heartwarming gift,” providing not only essentials but also sentimental items that helped them process the situation.

In an effort to raise awareness about Salahman’s journey and funds for Milly’s Smiles, Charlotte’s sister Danielle and her husband Adam decided to take action. They recognised that the distance from their home in Burnley to Manchester Children’s Hospital was the same as a marathon, prompting Adam to decide to run this distance on Christmas Eve to generate awareness and donations. Adam also planned to collect pyjamas, noting how many Salahman needed daily due to treatment side effects and take these along with him.

On Christmas Eve, Adam set off early, dressed as an Elf, wearing a Milly’s Smiles T-shirt, whilst pushing a beautifully decorated pram filled with hundreds of pairs of pajamas. His route took him from Burnley, through Edenfield, Bury (via The Rock Shopping Centre due to his satnav!), and Prestwich, ultimately reaching The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital where he was warmly welcomed by the brave Salahman.

Despite facing challenging weather conditions—including rain, wind, and sleet—Adam persevered with the support of his children, family, and friends. It was heartwarming for us to witness live updates and videos on Facebook throughout his journey.

A huge thank you to Adam and his support team for this incredible achievement. We are truly humbled by your generosity and kindness. Adam has raised an impressive total of £5,270, which will fund over 37 Milly Bags—an incredible impact!

We send all our love to Salahman and his family, keeping them in our hearts and prayers as he continues his treatment journey.

We have had some incredible support over the Christmas period, and we send our very grateful thanks to;

Centra (British Gas) for their kind donation of £2000

McDermott Homes for their fundraising Christmas Jumper day, raising a fabulous £280

Ewood Foods for their generous donation of £1000

Muldoon Financial Planning for their generous donation of £200 in lieu of sending out Christmas Cards

Clayton Community Singers for donating a wonderful amount of £52 which was raised at a recent Carol concert.

BT Contact Centre in Accrington for raising a fantastic £152

The Railway Pub in Accrington for raising a wonderful amount of £260

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (Official)for having a Christmas Grotto and taking Santa around town raising a marvelous amount of £405.68

A beautiful family from Alder Hey who have made a donation in memory of their son.

… and finally to the wonderful kind-hearted people who have made individual donations to us – we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

Truly, every single penny makes such a difference to us, we never take it for granted and we never fail to be humbled by everyone’s generosity.

In December, our charming town of Great Harwood transformed into a winter wonderland with a Christmas Extravanza that spanned three magical weekends! We were absolutely thrilled to be part of the grand finale, where stalls overflowed with goodies, food vendors served up tasty treats, and the entertainment was off the charts—with East 17 taking center stage for the ultimate Christmas showdown!

We had our own little corner of cheer with a stall brimming with stunning hand-knitted Christmas decorations, lovingly crafted and donated by the fabulous Maureen. Plus, we had a treasure trove of other decorations, including a dazzling Christmas Cake just waiting to be won in our raffle, which was kindly donated by Yvonne.

Little ones got to unleash their festive spirit with face painting magic, thanks to our wonderful volunteers, Karen and Danielle. Huge shoutout to all our amazing volunteers who braved the frosty air to help at our stall—you were fantastic!

Big thanks to Great Harwood Events for the invite and to everyone who popped by to support us. We jingled all the way to a fabulous £362.50 on the day!

Sadly children continue to get diagnosed with cancer even at Christmas time, so in December we headed over to Leeds Children’s Hospital with 20 more Milly Bags for Wards L31,32 and 33.

As always we were met by the wonderful Elaine who looked very festive in her Christmas top. We have been working with Elaine for many years now and she is meticulous at ensuring all new families receive a Milly Bag as soon as they arrive on the ward, she also takes responsibility for reordering more stock when needed.

Elaine is the most amazing lady I’ve ever had the honor of getting to know. She made our stay so warm in the bad times my son was going through . We were so thankful for a millies smiles bag in our stay and we still cherish it to this day . You are amazing all of you. Ward L31 mum.

The most special and important thing we ever received at the most horrendous time. 3.5 years since starting treatment this blanket is still my sons comfort. Ward L31 mum.

These bags are amazing. Elsie and I loved the blanket through our hospital stays , especially when in the isolation rooms , it kept us cosy. I always feel sad though as I know each bag will tell a story to another family and child going through the most horrific journey. Ward L31 mum.

Whilst we were at the hospital we made a quick visit onto the transplant ward to hand over some of our Bone Marrow Journals for their transplant families. We look forward to receiving feedback from the families later next year.

We feel very humbled that we are able to provide this support to so many children and families going through one of the most difficult times imaginable, and for that we thank everyone who continues to support us.

#millyssmiles#childrenscancer#charity#leeds#childrenshospital

Our December SOULS group became a festive wreath-making extravaganza, and was enjoyed by everyone who attended.

The wonderful Debbie from Ewood Florist took the lead, helping us craft some truly beautiful Christmas wreaths. 

The atmosphere in our group is always relaxed and inviting—no pressure, no judgment! We warmly welcome bereaved parents, grandparents, and siblings to connect with others who genuinely understand the journey of loss.

We provide the snacks, the engaging activity, and a comfortable space for everyone to be themselves.

The session was a fantastic success, with everyone showcasing a lovely array of festive creations to admire.

A huge thank you to Debbie, everyone who participated, and a special mention to Asda Foundation Charity for their generous contribution that made this wreath-making experience possible!

In November last year, Milly’s Smiles were thrilled and honoured to receive a Lancastrian Award.

The awards are given out annually to recognise people and organisations who have made a real difference in Lancashire and are presented by Friends of Real Lancashire to celebrate Lancashire Day. 

The award is a recognition of people who support their communities, people who preserve the county’s heritage, people who improve the lives of others, and people who embody the Lancastrian spirit. 

Thank you to however nominated us, we feel very proud to accept this award.

November saw us making a further delivery of 20 Milly Bags to Ward 3B at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. We have been supporting the ward for 6 years and have delivered a total of 450 Milly Bags at a cost of £63,000.

It is a privilege to be able to offer this support although we wish with all our hearts that there was simply no need for our Milly Bags.

On this delivery Graeme recruited new volunteer Julie for the day, it was lovely to welcome her to the team and she did a sterling job making sure that all the bags got to the ward safely.

Last year we received a lovely message from an Alder Hey mum who told us just how much having a Milly Bag means:

“Just wanted to say a big thank you.

I am currently in Alder Hey hospital with my 7 year old daughter Mia who was formally diagnosed with leukaemia on Friday morning… we are riding the biggest rollercoaster of our lives…

We have been given one of your Milly Bags and Mia whose favourite colour is rainbow, loves the elephant, neck pillow and blanket all in her bed with her as we speak...

I am making good use of the wallet and notebook and you saved my life last night when the baby wipes I brought with me ran out and I remembered I had seen a pack in the bag…

Only 2 days into our journey, already seems so long but I Just wanted to express my appreciation and tell you gestures like this and people like you matter so much.

Thank you“

A huge thank you to Dunbia UK (Cumbria), for making an amazing donation of £1,400 over the weekend.

Dunbia UK are committed to supporting charities, activities and organisations that are of relevance and valued by team members and stakeholders at both local and national levels. We were thrilled to be nominated as one of their charities to receive support, and we will use their donation towards funding a further 10 Milly Bags.

Working with 6 of the 16 Principal Treatment Centres across the country means that we are able to support children across a large part of the country including; Northumberland, Cumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne, Lancashire, Humberside, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Merseyside, Isle of Man, North Wales, Nottinghamshire, Oxford and the Thames Valley.

Thank you so much Dunbia Uk, for supporting us in making a difference every day to children newly diagnosed with a cancer related illness.

Happy Heavenly Birthday my beautiful Milly…(6th November)

..I miss you more and more each and every day..I miss waking up and seeing you dressed, ready for school…I miss your giggle..I miss you in the car singing along to the radio pretending you know the words..I miss brushing and plaiting your hair..I miss sitting at the table eating tea and finding you have pinched my slippers..I miss you trying to put your hands round my neck because you know I don’t like it..I miss seeing you skip out of school..I miss your hugs..I miss your kisses…I miss watching your swimming lessons..I miss washing and ironing your clothes..I miss seeing your face at your bedroom window waiting for me to get home from work..I miss tucking you up in bed..I miss you asking me to say a good dream spell to stop you having nightmares..I miss your laugh..I miss your beautiful face..I miss life with you..i miss the life we were meant to have..

The “what-ifs” are so strong everyday. I wonder what your interests would be. I wonder if you would have any new passions. I wonder what we would be doing for your 21st birthday, would you be having a party… or spending it with your friends…. I wonder how much more beautiful you would be, if that would even be possible.

We have missed out on a lifetime of memories, missed out on watching you grow up, leave school, make decisions about your future, and it’s so hard not to feel cheated with only having had a very brief 11 years with you.

You are missed every second Milly and loved endlessly….

Have a lovely birthday in heaven with the angels and always know that..

“I will carry you,

Here and there,

There and here,

Until I am where you are.”

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Sunday (3rd November) for our 10th Annual Walk for Milly.

It was lovely to see so many familiar faces along with a few new faces too. It was especially nice to have a number of families who have received a Milly Bag join us.

The walkers were treated to potatoe pie, cheese pie after the walk and as a special birthday treat we had some delicious cupcakes that were donated by North Lancs Training Group – NLTG which were enjoyed by everyone.

We love this event so much, and it means the world to have such wonderful support for Milly and her charity.