Industry charity The Light Fund has raised £92,000 this year – to include monies raised at The Gift Awards in May – which is to be put to very good use funding 19 different charity projects in 2025, helping men, women and children across the world.
“Thanks to the ongoing and brilliant support of the gift, licensing, greeting card and housewares community we are able to donate over £92,000 to 19 charities whose projects will make a difference to thousands of people,” stated Trevor Jones, chairman of The Light Fund, which was co-founded by Max Publishing directors Jakki Brown and Ian Hyder together with some likeminded folk from the greeting card and licensing industries back in 2004.
As Jakki added: “What a wonderful way to end The Light Fund’s 20th anniversary. The impressive sum from this year’s fundraising means that The Light Fund has given well over £2.3 million to 174 different charities, since it started. All the monies raised by the raffles at The Gift Awards, The Retas, The Henries and the Licensing Awards, generous donations from those in the industry as well as many other events over the years have all added up.”
Funding various helplines, support resources and workshops for cancer sufferers, providing equipment in Great Ormond Street Hospital, running a roadshow to raise awareness of prostate cancer, installing a drinking water facility in a school in rural Nepal, an incubator for premature babies in a UK hospital, a hospice home care and providing free meals to young people in deprived areas, are just some of the ways the charity’s 2024 total will be used.
Submissions were invited from any UK-registered charities, and The Light Fund committee members and other major supporters then voted individually for which charity projects they would most like to see funded.
The organisation’s committee and voters met on Tuesday evening, 3 December, at which it was announced which charity projects are being funded by this year’s donations as a result of the voting.
The beneficiary charities from the 2024 funds are: Bone Cancer Research Trust, Bowel Cancer UK, The Brain Tumour Charity, Brain Tumour Support, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), Child Bereavement UK, Child Rescue Nepal, Crohn’s & Colitis UK, Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, Inspire Youth Zone Chorley, Maggie’s, Motor Neurone Disease Association, New Life Special Care Babies, Orchid Cancer Appeal, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Papyrus, Princess Alice Hospice, ShelterBox and Shooting Star Children’s Hospices.
The full details of the charity projects supported by The Light Fund from 2024 monies are as follows:
Bone Cancer Research Trust – £5100
To fund the provision of Patient Support Boxes. Aimed at helping to demystify being diagnosed with bone cancer, treatment and life beyond, each box contains a range of personally tailored information and resources including a Step-By-Step patient guide.
Bowel Cancer UK – £4710
To fund the printing of 15,000 copies of the charity’s health information resource Your Operation: A Guide to Bowel Cancer Surgery that will be printed in early 2025.
The Brain Tumour Charity – £5000
To fund the printing of a further 500 Paediatric Information Packs which help families navigate their way through an incredibly difficult and scary time following a child’s brain tumour diagnosis.
Brain Tumour Support – £3932
Funding of four Early Intervention Project support groups in Bristol and South Gloucester, which are attended by a diverse mix of those with a brain tumour and their loved ones, offering a safe space to speak openly about the impacts of a brain tumour, to discuss and meet others in similar situations.
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) – £5000
Funding for the charity’s life-saving suicide prevention helpline.
Child Bereavement UK – £5000
The funding will subsidise training (from the education team and training team) to allow them to provide a Rapid Response Service to schools and small charities who would not have the budget to fund any training.
Child Rescue Nepal – £3500
Child Rescue Nepal works to combat child trafficking and end child slavery in Nepal. The donation will help fund the installation of a new drinking water facility at Janashram School in the rural district Makwanpur of which currently has 135 pupils. It will also go towards the cost of providing hygiene training to children and teachers.
Crohn’s & Colitis UK – £5000
Funding towards the costs of running the charity’s multi-channel Helpline (by phone, email, Live Chat, and social media). This Helpline provides hope and relief to hundreds of people (of all ages) who live with Crohn’s and Colitis.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity – £4000
Funding of equipment, such as a treatment chair, as part of the £300 million redevelopment of the Children’s Cancer Centre campaign at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Inspire Youth Zone Chorley – £5000
To help fund and grow the charity’s outreach food offer. The donation will enable them to provide free meals to young people in their most deprived areas who are experiencing deep poverty.
Maggie’s – £5000
A contribution to the delivery of Eating Well workshops in its West London centre and towards enabling their Benefits Advisors to support adult men and women with cancer.
Motor Neurone Disease Association – £5000
The funding will go towards the charity’s children and young people’s Memory Box service, which will benefit more than 200 children and young people affected by MND.
New Life Special Care Babies – £5000
To provide a ‘Hot Cot’ Neo-Natal baby Unit for newly born babies that will be installed in a hospital, either in Poole in Dorset or in Wales.
Orchid Cancer Appeal – £5000
To help fund the charity’s Male Cancer Information Roadshow in September, in Sunderland or London, during Male Cancer Awareness Week. Male cancer is easier to treat and cure if it is discovered early which is why Orchid helps raise awareness of the risk factors, signs and symptoms of prostate, testicular and penile cancer to help avoid late diagnoses with fewer treatment options and a poorer prognosis.
Pancreatic Cancer UK – £5075
To provide specialist expert information, advice, and support to patients and their loved ones recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Through the Support Line, a team of specialist nurses are only a phone call or email away.
Papyrus – £5500
To deliver 10 suicide prevention training sessions. These bespoke CPD accredited training sessions SPEAK (Suicide Prevention Explore, Ask, Keep-Safe) are delivered to adults who work with young people, with a particular focus on those statistically at higher risk of suicide due to their lived experience, demographic or geography.
Princess Alice Hospice – £5250
Funding to provide the Hospice at Home service. Most people want to be at home at the end of their life and their Hospice at Home service gives patients the right care by the right person at the right time in the place they want to be.
ShelterBox – £5000
For work to support families affected by flooding in Eastern Bangladesh. A low-pressure weather system over the Bay of Bengal caused devastating floods that affected 5.8 million people and damaged 334,434 houses. The monies will help in reconstruction of homes for 100 people.
Shooting Star Children’s Hospices – £5000
The donation will allow the charity to support a family with three months specialist pre-bereavement support, providing essential guidance on pain management, family and sibling support, and anticipatory grief.
Plans are already underway for next year’s fundraising of The Light Fund with the first event being the Northern Quiz on 20 March at Hotel Football in Manchester, organised by the charity’s northern committee. You can find out more about The Light Fund by clicking here.
Top: Some of The Light Fund committee members and supporters at last week’s Light Fund Quiz that took place at Lords.
