This September, we’ll be participating in the 15K Tough Mudder: a 15km obstacle course aimed at truly testing your mettle! Our reasoning for undertaking such a feat is to raise funds for an incredibly important charity, Candlelighters.

Candlelighters is a charity with one clear vision: bringing light and hope to all families affected by childhood cancer in Yorkshire. They help countless families through these unimaginable circumstances, providing as much help as possible through emotional, practical, and financial support, as well as investing funds in crucial research to improve the outcomes and lives of children facing cancer. More than anything though, they give people hope.

This charity is especially close to us, as one of our staff has had firsthand experience with their services. Ben Heywood, one of our plant yard staff, has had to endure the unthinkable scenario of having a child with cancer. Grayson, his son, was unfortunately diagnosed at eight months old. Since then he has had his tumour removed, and is now in remission but still in need of support. Grayson still has an NG tube, and struggles to eat and drink, though right now he’s receiving both food evasion therapy in addition to speech and language therapy to help with these.

Whilst in hospital on one of his many visits, Grayson used the playrooms there – the equipment from which was provided by Candlelighters. The charity also visits children and families on the wards; providing practical support to those staying there or visiting the clinic, helping to direct families to the right place to make their visit as stress-free as possible, entertaining children so their parents can get some much-deserved respite, and anything else that might make families lives that much easier.

They also fund the roles of key people that work on the wards; social workers, play leaders, dinner ladies etc, all to provide some extra support to families, as well as the NHS staff at the hospitals themselves. As you could imagine, having a child with cancer means spending significantly more time in hospitals, and the Candlelighters do everything they can to make that environment feel a bit less daunting through the funding of decorations, activities, and home comforts for the children.

There’s also the added stress of needing time out of work to care for a child dealing with cancer, often leading to financial concerns. Candlelighters offer grants to families to help them cover costs and ease their minds. Additionally, the charity works to provide children and their families with holidays and days out, another important way of taking time away from the day-to-day burden of cancer.

Ben has praised Candlelighters for the amazing support they were able to provide him and Grayson, and is one of the many reasons we’re choosing to support them through our participation in the Tough Mudder in September. To learn more about this life changing charity, visit their website here.

And don’t forget to check out our fundraiser! Click here to visit our GoFundMe, and consider donating if you can!