Category: News

We’d love you to join us on Sunday 2nd November at 11am for our annual walk to celebrate Milly’s birthday. We will be setting off from our unit in Great Harwood, BB6 7UA at 11am, and aim to be back for 1pm.

It might be a little wet and muddy, but it’s always heart-lifting, full of laughter, and a wonderful way to come together in Milly’s memory. Well behaved dogs are very welcome, unfortunately the route is not totally pram friendly due to areas of mud along the way. As always it is completely free to come along, although we do ask for a small donation towards the refreshments afterwards.

At the end of the walk there’ll be a very warm welcome, complete with hot drinks and a sausage buttie (the perfect reward after a stomp through the puddles!).

To help us plan, please let us know if you’ll be joining us it really helps us make sure there’s enough warmth, cheer, and sausages to go around!

#MillysSmiles #WalkForMilly #TogetherForMilly #Family #Community #CharityWalk #ChildhoodCancerAwareness #MakingADifference

This months SOULS group was full of fun, laughter, and lovely conversation as we gathered for our Halloween-themed session. The room was blessed at the start, setting a calm and comforting tone before we got creative.

Everyone enjoyed a fabulous Halloween treat box from the Lancashire Kitchen which was full of lovely goodies, and we accompanied this with lots of chat along with some craft making, where we made beautiful personalised seasonal baubles.

Our SOULS sessions run monthly and are open to parents, grandparents, and siblings who are living with the loss of their child, grandchild, or sibling. The sessions are completely free to attend, relaxed, and welcoming, we have no expectations from you and you will be with people who truly get it. Please get in touch if you would like to join us.

#MillysSmiles #SOULS #BereavementSupport #ChildLoss #Community #Togetherness #GriefSupport #LancashireCharity

We are so incredibly grateful to Cobden House Chambers for taking on the challenge of this year’s Manchester Half Marathon for Milly’s Smiles. This decision was inspired by their colleague Chloe, whose family were supported by us earlier this year.

When Chloe and Joe arrived on Ward 86 at Manchester Children’s Hospital, they did not realise they would be there for over a month, without going home. The first 48 hours was, for them, a whirlwind of life changing information, surgeries, and various procedures for Freddie all whilst being terrified of what his prognosis was. Having a welcome bag from Milly’s Smiles, which included a rainbow blanket and knitted elephant which Freddie has kept with him throughout his journey, was a welcome bit of comfort.

To say thank you, 25 amazing runners from Cobden House Chambers laced up their trainers and took on the Manchester Half Marathon.

Unfortunately for Freddie’s dad Joe, he felt obliged to also run the half marathon, having successfully avoided the running bug his whole life!

The whole team of runners did incredible and raised an eye-watering amount of £9466.00 which will help us continue supporting families like theirs.

We are sending all our love to Freddie and his family as he continues his treatment, and our heartfelt thanks to everyone at Cobden House Chambers for their dedication and their incredible kindness and support.

#MillysSmiles #TeamMillysSmiles #SupportingFamilies #ChildhoodCancerAwareness #CommunityKindness #ActsOfKindness #FreddiesJourney #MakingADifference

We were absolutely blown away by the incredible donation of toiletries we recently received from the wonderful people at PM+M!

Claire and Sinead kindly brought this fabulous delivery to the unit last week, and it was such a pleasure to see them and show them around. Their generosity will make such a difference, every single item helps to make a difference to families at a time when their whole world has collapsed.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone at PM+M for your amazing support, kindness and thoughtfulness, it truly means the world to us and to the families we support.

On 5th September, Ashley and her amazing team from Coptrim Ltd in Leeds took on an incredible challenge, walking from Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, where her son Tyler was diagnosed with cancer, to Leeds General Infirmary, where he received his treatment (and his Milly Bag).

Ashley wanted to give something back after the Milly Bag made such a difference to their family during Tyler’s hospital stay.

Graeme and I went down to meet the team as they set off on their epic 9-mile walk. Spirits were high, the sun was shining, and even the dogs joined in the fun!

We’re so happy to share that Tyler is doing really well now, which is absolutely wonderful news.

A huge thank you to Ashley, her colleagues at Coptrim Ltd, and everyone who supported the walk, your kindness helps us to continue to make a difference to families when they need it most.

When Fin was diagnosed with Lymphoma a few weeks ago, he received one of our Milly’s Smiles bags, his mum told us that it put a smile on his face after having a really tough few weeks.

During his treatment Fin has had some amazing support from his friends, and they decided to organise a charity walk from Fin’s school to Manchester Children’s Hospital which is around 5.3 miles! Fin wanted any monies raised to go to Milly’s Smiles as ‘the charity understands what we are going through and it is a chance for us to give a little something back’.

The boys met at school where they posed for some pre-walk photos, Fin’s best friend Bobby had said he wanted to do the walk in fancy dress but wanted Fin to choose his costume! Fin chose him a fabulous inflatable cow outfit, which Bobby wore for the whole walk!

On the day, the weather was absolutely dreadful but that didn’t stop them. Friends, family and supporters all turned up, full of energy and love, to walk alongside Fin’s friends and show their support.

Together, they have already raised an incredible £2,000 for Milly’s Smiles!

We’re so proud of Fin, his amazing friends, and his wonderful family, and we send Fin our love and very best wishes as he continues his treatment journey.

#MillysSmiles #FundraisingForGood #CharityWalk #FriendsForFin #CommunitySpirit #ManchesterChildrensHospital

On 20th September, for Milly’s anniversary, our wonderful supporters Diane and Kevin took on a very special 5K challenge, walking the whole distance tied together as three legs! We loved this idea as soon as Diane mentioned it, and really… what could possibly go wrong?!

Starting from their home, the pair walked the full 5K tied together. Along the way they faced torrential downpours, but fortunately they had planned ahead with waterproof capes and fabulous rainbow umbrella hats, which looked amazing.

Cheered on by some brilliant supporters, Diane and Kevin carried a collection bucket, and together with their JustGiving page they have raised an incredible £1,000!

We are so proud of them, Diane, Kevin and their family have supported Milly’s Smiles for many years, and we feel so lucky to have them as part of our team.

Thank you, Diane and Kevin, for bringing so much fun, love and energy into everything you do for Milly’s Smiles.

#MillysSmiles #BecauseOfMilly #GoGold #ChildhoodCancerAwareness #MakingADifference #FamiliesMatter #TeamMillysSmiles

Earlier this month, Belthorn Academy Primary School went all out to support Milly’s Smiles with their very own Go Gold Day for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

The children learned all about our Milly Bags during a special assembly, where our fabulous young supporter Evelyn shared a brilliant video explaining the contents of the bag and why they are so important. We are so proud of Evelyn and the time she gave to help others understand our work.

A very special moment came when one of Belthorn’s pupils, Imana, bravely stood up to share her own story. Imana received a Milly Bag a few years ago, and she proudly showed off her elephant and water bottle to everyone in assembly. We are so happy to say that Iman is doing really well.

Staff and pupils also brought in an amazing collection of toiletries for us, which will soon be packed into our next batch of Milly Bags.

Everyone looked fantastic in gold, we loved seeing all of the photographs from the day. .

A heartfelt thank you to Mr Carr for organising the day, to his daughter Evelyn for her incredible support, and to Imana for sharing her journey with such courage. Belthorn, you are all shining bright for Milly’s Smiles.

On Milly’s 10th anniversary, we asked if you would join us in remembering her by walking, running, or cycling 5K. Lots of you registered with us and on the day, despite the rain absolutely pouring down, you came out in force, and we were totally overwhelmed by the love and support shown for Milly.

From park runs to work runs, family walks to holiday swims, people took part all across the country (and even further afield!). We had families who have received Milly Bags join in by running their local park run, which absolutely meant so much to us.

Seeing everyone’s photos, smiles, soggy trainers and big hearts reminded us once again of the impact Milly’s life continues to have.

Thank you to everyone who braved the weather, who remembered Milly, and who stood with us on such a special day, you are all truly incredible people.