As we draw the Mirror’s incredible Christmas appeal for Lifelites to a close, thank you to our readers for helping raise £30K with your donations. Now we take a look back at some of the wonderful families we met along the way
The Mirror’s Christmas charity campaign has raised almost £30k to give seriously ill children the joy of play and connection. We launched our ‘Light Up a Child’s Christmas’ campaign at the start of December to raise vital funds for Lifelites, the only charity dedicated to providing assistive and sensory technology, for youngsters with life-limiting conditions.
Across December we brought you the inspiring stories of remarkable children and their families who have benefited from using Lifelites technology and they told how it had changed their lives. Lifelites partners with 65 children’s hospices and palliative care services across the UK and Ireland
Of the 100,000 children in the UK with life-limiting conditions, 15,000 currently have access to Lifelites tech but 85,000 are still without it – which is why our Christmas appeal was so vital. Our campaign was also backed by celebrities including, Olly Murs, Rosie Jones, Anita Dobson, Strictly and rugby star Chris Robshaw and his wife singer Camilla Kerslake and Yorkshire Vet star Matt Jackson-Smith.
READ MORE: Comedian Rosie Jones talks of ‘isolation’ as a disabled person, saying ‘the world isn’t built for us’
Among the tech the charity provides is the Eyegaze, which enables users to control a device with just their eyes, the Magic Carpet, which projects interactive images onto a flat surface and Soundbeam, which translates motion into music.
One youngster Felix Forbes, who is supported by Tŷ Hafan Hospice in South Wales, moved pop star Olly Murs by playing music with his eyes on the Eyegaze and we also heard from the mum of Seb Coles who was able to tell his mum Hannah he loved her for the first time using the same technology.
Olly said: “Felix, you are so inspiring, the fact that you are able to make music using only your eyes is truly incredible. Honestly I’m blown away. The video of you and your dad was so emotional.”
Teenager Mikey Strachan, 13, who has a condition so rare doctors worldwide have been unable to diagnose it, showed how the Lifelites Meta Quest 3 VR tech helps him escape into the world of virtual reality. He can’t travel but through the VR swims with dolphins and climbs trees with gorillas in the rainforest.
Rob Lightfoot, CEO of Lifelites, said: “Thanks to the incredible generosity of readers, the Mirror’s ‘Light Up a Child’s Christmas Appeal’ has raised a staggering £27,500 for Lifelites. That money will go towards creating life-changing experiences for seriously ill children and their families by harnessing the incredible power of assistive technology.
“It will help children to express themselves through art and music, to play as equals alongside brothers and sisters and even tell their mum that they love them for the very first time. These experiences can often be out of reach but with your support Lifelites can now make the impossible possible. On behalf of everyone at Lifelites and particularly the children and families, whose lives you’ve changed, thank you.”
Our campaign also received praise from organisation Heard, which is a narrative change charity, that supports the media to use communications in a way that helps the public to better understand big issues. Chiara Vare from Heard, said: “We’ve been working on the narrative around children’s palliative care for the past five years and the Mirror’s appeal in aid of Lifelites is a great example of how to reframe the conversation in order to increase support and public understanding of this incredible care.
“We would love to see more of this kind of positive, life-affirming storytelling in the media, which has real power to change narratives, encourage constructive dialogue, and build support for the children’s palliative care sector across the UK.’
Unwrap the magic of Christmas
Donate today and unwrap the Magic of Christmas for seriously ill children. Donations from Mirror readers will be used to provide seriously ill children access to life-changing technology that will enable them to play, communicate and have fun in ways that would otherwise be impossible.
- Donate online HERE
- Text MIRROR to 70085 to give £10. To donate without receiving further updates, text MIRRORNOINFO. Texts will cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message, and you’ll be opting into hearing more from Lifelites.
- Donate by post: Send cheques made payable to Lifelites, 60 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ
READ MORE: Olly Murs ‘blown away’ in special video for schoolboy who plays music with his eyes
