It was so lovely to be invited down to the club at the end of last month to collect the cheque and to meet some of the fantastic swimmers and dedicated club organisers. The passion, kindness and sense of community was very clear to see.
Milly was a member of the Otters for many years and absolutely loved training with the club, so it truly does hold a very special place in our hearts.
Thank you to everyone for making me feel so welcome, and thank you again for raising such a wonderful amount of money to support our work. It really does mean the world.
We want to send the warmest Christmas thank you to Danielle and her daughter Elise, who have spent the past few weeks turning our knitted elephants into the most charming, sparkly Christmas Reindeer Elephants for the Great Harwood Christmas Extravaganza.
They have poured so many hours into choosing colours, adding tiny festive touches, and carefully finishing each one by hand. Every elephant glittered with love, imagination and Christmas cheer, and they looked absolutely magical on the stall.
This wonderful project also formed part of Elise’s Duke of Edinburgh Award, and we were so touched that she chose Milly’s Smiles as her charity to support. Elise was diagnosed with liver cancer just one week after Milly, and our families travelled that same frightening journey together. That bond has stayed with us, and seeing Elise now giving her creativity and kindness back to the charity means more than words can say.
Elise was joined on Saturday by another of our fabulous DofE volunteers, Evelyn, who threw herself into the day with enthusiasm and festive spirit. Both girls chatted, sold elephants, welcomed visitors and worked so hard, they were a joy to watch.
Danielle shared something this weekend that captured Christmas kindness perfectly: “Milly Bags aren’t just practical, they are a warm hug, a spark of joy and a little bit of hope when families are stepping into a world they never expected”.
On Ward 84, when Danielle and Elise were there themselves, Milly’s Smiles didn’t exist. To see them now helping us bring comfort to other families at the scariest moment of their lives… it’s incredibly moving, even more so at this time of year.
Saturday was fantastic! With their help, and the generosity of everyone who visited our stall, bought an elephant or stopped to share a smile, we raised an amazing £740.44!
This will help us continue providing Milly Bags to families whose world has collapsed, and for that we are so grateful.
To Danielle, Elise and Evelyn, thank you so much for your time, talent, heart and Christmas sparkle.
A special mention to Richard for cutting out all the reindeers and Santa’s Cookie Mats, to Great Harwood Events and finally to everyone who supported us, thank you for helping us keep Milly’s legacy shining bright this festive season.
This morning Graeme and Mark delivered a further 20 Milly Bags to Ward 3B at Alder Hey, along with some Christmas treats for the wonderful staff, who work so hard caring for families every single day.
This delivery brings our total to 530 Milly Bags – thats 530 families who have received comfort and practical support on one of the hardest days of their lives.
We wish more than anything that there was no need for our bags. We can’t change a diagnosis or an outcome. But if we can offer a little bit of care, a little bit of comfort, and remind families they are not alone… then we feel honoured to do so.
Every single one of those bags has been made possible by our amazing supporters and fundraisers. We truly could not do what we do without you.
Thank you to everyone who helps us make a difference when it is needed, we are so grateful for all your support and kindness.
Our SOULS group enjoyed a fantastic Christmas wreath-making session on Sunday, led by the amazing Debbie from Ewood Florist. Everyone threw themselves into the activity, and the wreaths created were absolutely brilliant, and it was lovely to see so much talent in one room!
A big thank you to Debbie for her time and expertise, and to the Asda Foundation,whose generous grant funded this session. Their support meant our families could enjoy a relaxed, creative morning together at a time of year that can be especially difficult.
We’re really proud to be able to offer monthly support sessions like this, each session is always free to attend with no pressure or expectations from anyone. Just a warm, kind welcome for everyone living with the loss of a child.
A massive WELL DONE to the amazing pupils in Class 5 who completed a sponsored swim and raised an incredible £1,073.50 for Milly’s Smiles!
This amazing amount will help seven families providing them with support at a time when they feel their whole world has collapsed.
We absolutely love it when children get involved in fundraising for us, they are always so passionate about doing their absolute best and raising as much as they can, and we can safely say Class 5 smashed it!
To every swimmer, you are awesome, and we are truly so very proud of you.
Thank you for helping us to make such a big difference.
Our chilly start this morning was made much warmer when we received a lovely welcome from Elaine at Leeds Children’s Hospital.
Earlier today, Graeme and Mark braved the bitter cold and trekked over the Pennines to deliver 20 more Milly Bags to the wonderful team at Leeds Children’s Hospital.
They were warmly greeted by the lovely Elaine, who always makes our visits feel so appreciated. It really is a pleasure to see her standing at the entrance with her trolley ready and waiting for us!
Elaine is incredibly efficient in managing our Milly Bags, she even collects feedback from families a few days after receiving their bag, which we absolutely love. Knowing the difference the bags make means the world to us.
From our very first delivery in October 2019 to today, we have now provided 430 Milly Bags to families in Leeds at a cost of £60,200!
We are so proud to be able to continue supporting the incredible team at Leeds, and so grateful to everyone who helps make mornings like this possible, our volunteers, donors, and everyone who believes in Milly’s Smiles.
Together, we really are making a difference when families feel their world has collapsed.
Today has been an incredibly exciting and emotional day for Milly’s Smiles!
Graeme and I set off bright and early for Cambridge, travelling down to deliver our very first Milly Bags to our 7th hospital, Addenbrooke’s Children’s Hospital. The journey was smooth, but the weather was varied, we began with torrential rain, snow, sleet and then as we approached Cambridge the sun finally came out to greet us!
As we arrived 2 lovely ladies from the Play Team were waiting to greet us, they both helped us load the trolley with the Milly Bags (and goodies for the nurses). Once on the ward we received a lovely welcome from Helen and her fabulous team on Ward C2.
All the staff were warm, engaged, and genuinely delighted to receive their Milly Bags. Seeing their enthusiasm and hearing how much these bags will mean to families, reinforced our drive to support as many families as we possibly can.
And for a little added joy… as we were chatting, one of the nurses overheard Graeme from the corridor and thought he was Peter Kay! Honestly, that absolutely made our day!
As we drove home, we couldn’t help but think about how far we’ve come. It’s almost 10 years since the very first Milly Bag went out. Back then, I was working from my dining room table, with all the stock crammed into my garage. I never imagined, not even for a moment, that we would grow into a charity supporting almost half the country’s children’s oncology wards.
To now be standing in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, delivering our Milly Bags filled with comfort, hope and love feels nothing short of incredible.
Every single Milly Bag carries a piece of Milly with it, and knowing that her light now reaches families in seven hospitals across England and Wales means everything to us.
We are so proud to be making a difference when families feel their world has collapsed and it is only possible because of the unbelievable support we receive.
Thank you to everyone for believing in us, walking with us, and helping Milly’s Smiles reach more families than we ever dreamed possible.
Yesterday we came together for our 11th Annual Walk for Milly, and what a wonderful day it was!
The turnout was incredible and it was lovely to see so many smiling faces, ready join us in our walk, there were lots of familiar faces as well as lots of new faces too, which is always lovely to see.
The weather was very kind to us, and everyone enjoyed a rain free three-mile route, in fact we were even treated to a sprinkling of sunshine at times! The route was brilliantly manned by Be Strong volunteers who did a fabulous job, ensuring everyone got round safely and no one was left behind.
Halfway round, walkers were treated to a chocolate pick-me-up, and on return to the unit, waiting for them were very tasty sausage sandwiches, hot drinks, and Milly’s birthday cupcakes, lovingly served by our wonderful volunteers.
We were especially honoured to have several families from Ward 86 join us. Seeing them there reminded us all as to why Milly’s Smiles exists and why we do what we do.
Milly’s walk is always about coming together to remember Milly as her birthday approaches, to celebrate her life, and to thank our community for the love and support shown over the past year.
It is not a fundraising event but people are so kind and do want to donate, and we are therefore thrilled to have raised a fantastic £674.91. Thank you so much to everyone who joined us, donated, volunteered, and shared the day with us, it really means the world,
And just when we thought the day couldn’t be any more perfect, as we locked up the unit a beautiful bright rainbow appeared in the sky!
Last Friday we had the absolute pleasure of watching the brilliant band the Outside. Right from the start of the evening they had the whole place rocking, the dance floor was full, the music was fantastic, and the atmosphere was just incredible.
The band very kindly donated their fee for the evening, sold custom-designed T-shirts, and collected donations throughout the night. We are thrilled to say they raised an amazing £572.52 for Milly’s Smiles.
We are so grateful to the band for their generosity and energy, and to everyone who came along, danced, sang, and supported.
Your kindness truly helps us continue making a difference at a time when families feel their entire world has collapsed.
