A huge thank you to our friends at Cranberry Coachways, who dedicated their weekend at the recent Transport Event in Great Harwood to raising money for Milly’s Smiles.
The team worked so hard running a raffle, “Guess the Name of the Bear,” and a tombola, and together they raised an incredible £396.00 !
We are so grateful for the amazing support and kindness shown by Cranberry Coachways, and we’re proud to be part of such a generous community. We can’t wait to continue working with them in the future.
From the bottom of our hearts, a massive thank you to everyone who supported them and to the team for working so hard for us.
Last week we delivered another batch of Milly Bags to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where we were warmly met by Louise, the ward housekeeper, who helped us take the bags up to the ward.
This delivery takes us past a very special milestone, Alder Hey has now received 510 Milly Bags since we began working with them. That’s 510 families who’ve arrived on the ward on one of the hardest days of their lives and been met with a Milly Bag offering comfort, understanding and love.
Behind every number is a child, a family, a story. And thanks to your support, each of those families has felt the impact of Milly’s Smiles at the moment their world changed forever.
Back in August, the Lancashire Volunteer Police Cadets from the Pendle Unit laced up their walking boots and took on a 10-mile sponsored walk. Setting off from Burnley Enterprise Park, they followed the canal all the way to Cut Lane in Rishton, a route filled with laughter, teamwork, and an odd blisters along the way!
Their determination and energy paid off in the best way, raising an incredible £645 (with more still to come in!) for Milly’s Smiles. Every penny will go towards supporting families on the toughest of journeys, making a difference at the very moment their world has been turned upside down.
A huge thank you to the cadets for their amazing effort, and to everyone who supported them.
Sometimes, the smaller things are the ones that mean the most….
Back in August, Graeme and our young volunteer Ben delivered 20 Milly Bags to Ward 86 at The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Our bags are so much more than just the items inside, they offer a hug and an awareness for parents that someone understands exactly what they are going through, a reminder to families that they are not alone.
This delivery was extra special as Ben, who has volunteered at our annual Spring Fairs, joined Graeme on the journey. From loading the van to making sure every single bag reached the ward safely, he was an absolute superstar.
A huge thank you to Graeme, Ben, and to every single person who supports us in so many ways, donating, volunteering, attending our events, or sharing our posts.
Because of you all we are able to continue making a difference every single day.
We were absolutely thrilled to have young volunteer, Ben join forces with Graeme this summer to help with our Milly Bag deliveries. Ben made the journey across the Pennines to Leeds Children’s Hospital, where the wonderful Elaine was there to welcome them and receive the bags on behalf of the children’s oncology wards.
It’s been such a joy having Ben’s support on our deliveries, his kindness and enthusiasm has really shone through and we feel very lucky to have had his help.
Every Milly Bag that we provide is a reminder to families that they are not alone, and that someone is thinking about them and sending love and support every single day.
Thank you, as always, to each and every one of you who makes this possible. Your support allows us to make a massive difference every single day.
Today we want to give a huge shout out to of a group of dedicated ladies who have been working together for many years to support women with physical and learning disabilities. Over time, they have become a close-knit family at Edgar Street Residential Home.
In November, their world was rocked when their colleague Charlotte’s 5-year-old son, Salahman, was diagnosed with Leukaemia. This news was absolutely devastating for the Khan family, and it has been heartbreaking for the Edgar Street family as well. Whilst they have done their best to offer support, they realised that there was so much more that they wanted to do, but they felt very limited in what they could provide.
That’s when they decided to take action! So recently a very brave team of 6 arrived at the Black Knights Skydiving Centre. They were joined by a group of fabulous supporters, all ready to cheer them on. The weather was perfect for jumping out of a plane, and we are thrilled to say every single one of them successfully completed their skydive, jumping from a whopping 15,000 feet!
As well as making this jump the team wanted to use the opportunity to raise money for Milly’s Smiles as they knew all about the support we provided, when Salahman was first diagnosed.
A huge thank you to everyone who jumped from the skies, to the people who have supported them along the way and to everyone who has donated. We are humbled by such incredible support, it really does mean the world to us.
We want to say a massive thank you to the incredible team at Siemens Newcastle, who organised a sponsored walk on11th July to raise funds for Milly’s Smiles.
The walk was held in support of a colleague whose little boy has recently been diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma, and the family received a Milly Bag after they were admitted onto Ward 4 at The Great North Children’s Hospital. His parents asked for any donations to go to Milly’s Smiles, and we are so humbled by their kindness during such a difficult time.
The work we do with Ward 4 is supported by the amazing charity TeamLuke Foundation. The wonderful team at Team Luke keep on top of our bags and make sure the ward is always stocked up ready to support all new admissions.
Thank you to Siemens Newcastle who have already raised an incredible £4,128, every penny of which will go towards supporting families during those first frightening days of a hospital stay
Earlier this week we sent our 5th pallet to Oxford, containing a further 20 Milly Bags for Oxford Children’s Hospital. It was lovely to welcome our new collection driver, who was very happy to pose for a photo in the sunshine!
We have been supporting Kamrans Ward at Oxford for almost 12 months and this will be our 5th delivery taking the total number of bags sent to 95.
We are so proud of our how far we reach with our Milly Bags, it is very humbling to be able to support so many families going through one of the most difficult times of their lives. We will always be grateful to everyone who donates, fundraises, or volunteers their time to us, without you we would not be able to make such a huge difference every single day.
Some people truly take Milly’s Smiles into their hearts, and Andy and his family are one of those special few.
After Andy’s daughter Darcie received a Milly Bag on Ward 86, the Tobutt family have spent the last 12 months doing the most incredible fundraising and awareness-raising on our behalf. We have been overwhelmed by their kindness and support.
Andy’s school, The Co-op Academy Walkden have gone above and beyond with a range of unique and brilliant fundraising events over the school year. We were thrilled to be invited to their recent Celebration Evening, where we were proudly presented with a cheque for £3,180.13!
Darcie’s school, Leyland St James Primary, also joined in to show their support, holding a dress in Orange Day last week. All the staff and pupils wore something orange and donated to Milly’s Smiles. They raised a fantastic £751.75. We were especially thrilled to have our Chair of Trustees, Gemma, attend to talk about Milly’s Smiles.
In April this year, Andy took on his own challenge of completing the London Marathon, which he did whilst also raising a massive £6800.00.
We are so grateful to this amazing family, their support has been phenomenal, and will make such a difference to us. We are also so happy to share that Darcie is doing incredibly well with her treatment and is looking forward to her summer holidays.
Thank you, Andy, Darcie, and the whole Tobutt family. Your support means the world to us.
Last week, the amazing and incredibly brave Mohammed took a giant leap and completed a bungee jump to raise money for Milly’s Smiles!
Mohammed chose to support us after his daughter Juwairiya (Juwy), was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) in December 2023. Due to the severity of her cancer, Juwy developed osteoporosis which caused fractures to her spine in multiple places, and meant that she had to spend 4 months on bedrest, on Ward 86 at The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Mohammed told us that getting a Milly Bag was one of the first kind gestures they received, and it really touched all their hearts. Everything inside the bag was useful and well used. Juwy slept every night with the blanket, the rainbow elephant and the heat pad and the bag is still used for hospital visits today.
Juwy continues to use her rainbow blanket and wear her beanie hat too, and thankfully she is now doing really well with her treatment and is walking and back at her primary school.
To show his thanks Mohammed took on the challenge of throwing himself (safely!) off a platform in a massive bungee jump, and so far he’s raised an incredible £1,036.00 for Milly’s Smiles!
A huge thank you to Mohammed for his bravery and support. Everyone at Milly’s Smiles are so grateful to you and your beautiful family, we send our love to you all, especially Juwy who we think is an absolute superstar.
