Leeds Hospitals Charity

10/03/2026

Because of play… Ruby gets to feel like a teenager, not just a patient. 💜

Ruby has Williams Syndrome and spends a lot of time at Leeds Children's Hospital often missing out on everyday moments other teens take for granted.

But because of play, her hospital stays are filled with joy, comfort, and connection instead of fear and isolation.✨

Ruby loves having her nails and make‑up done, and when she had to spend her 16th birthday in hospital, the Play Team surprised her with a pink‑themed pamper party, making sure her special day still felt magical.🎂🎈

Her mum, Danielle, says the Play Team have become “really close to our family" supporting Ruby in happy times and through the toughest challenges too.

Thanks to you, the Play Team runs seven days a week across Leeds Children’s Hospital.

Your donations can help us continue to make every child’s hospital stay brighter — because of play https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/Appeal/play

10/03/2026

🌼 Win up to £4,000 in our Super Spring Raffle! 🌼

Enter our Super Spring Raffle for your chance to win one of 40 cash prizes, all while helping to support projects that make a real difference to patients, families and staff across Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust!

Your tickets don’t just give you more chances to win, they help fund vital support across Leeds hospitals:

✨ 10 tickets = 10 chances to win
… and could help provide free drinks and snacks from our volunteer trolleys for patients and families.
✨ 20 tickets = 20 chances to win
… and could help fund new technology that reduces anxiety for cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.
✨ 50 tickets = 50 chances to win
… and could help fund a Play Specialist at Leeds Children’s Hospital for a morning.

Play today and help brighten someone’s hospital experience. 💜

🎟 Enter by 7 April 2026
👉 Link in the comments

09/03/2026

On Saturday, the Row4MND Team set off on the second leg of their incredible four-year challenge. Departing from Dale, Pembrokeshire, they headed into open water once again.

This incredible team are taking on four world class rowing challenges over four years, rowing thousands of miles across brutal waters to help raise £57 million in the fight against Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

In July 2025, the Row4MND Team completed leg one, the first half of the circumnavigation of the UK. Now the team are on day three of the second leg, completing the second half and making strong progress, just off the coast of Ireland.

Their endurance challenge shines a spotlight on MND, raising vital awareness and funds to help research, care and support for people living with MND.

Find out more and support Row4MND here: www.row4mnd.com

08/03/2026

This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the women who care, who comfort, who uplift and who make moments of joy possible, even in the darkest of times.✨

Sam Oakes, MND Family Support Worker at the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease is one of those remarkable women, supporting people living with motor neurone disease and their loved ones.

Thanks to your donations, we can fund resources to help Sam create special moments, from memory boxes, to keepsakes and shared moments. 💜

Read more about Sam 👇
https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/News/rob-burrow-centre-for-mnd-blog-making-memories-that-matter

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

08/03/2026

This International Women's Day we're putting the spotlight on Jacqui Drake, inspirational cancer patient and fundraising extraordinaire!

Despite living with terminal cancer, Jacqui continues to shine with hope, determination and unstoppable passion in her mission to raise one million pounds for Leeds Cancer Centre through her Jacqui's Million fundraising appeal.

We are so proud to celebrate Jacqui, who reached the phenomenal milestone of half a million pounds raised through her appeal in the summer.

Jacqui continues to fundraise tirelessly and spread positivity to everyone she meets, bringing hope to other at difficult times. fundraises tirelessly, all while lifting others with her positivity.

From hospital stalls, to fabulous events and her very own podcast, Jacqui has already changed countless lives… and she’s not stopping until she hits that million! 💪💜

Read Jacqui's story and donate to her fundraising appeal here https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/Appeal/jacquis-million

08/03/2026

Today is International Women's Day, an opportunity for us to celebrate the women across Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust leading the way in research, care, and compassion.

Today, we're putting the spotlight on Melanie McGinlay, a Heart Failure Nurse and NIHR Predoctoral Fellow, a woman whose dedication is changing the future of heart failure care. 💜

Every day, Melanie supports patients by reviewing medications, developing treatment plans, and helping people live better with heart failure. But she’s also driving vital research funded by Leeds Hospitals Charity, exploring the link between infections and heart failure, a growing and urgent issue for patients and their families.

Heart failure can mask infection, infection can trigger heart failure, and many people receive their diagnosis far too late. Melanie is working to change that by helping identify who’s most at risk and how hospital admissions can be prevented.

Her work is fuelled by one aim, “It is crucial that we have as many answers for patients as we can clinically.”

Read Melanie’s story:

Melanie reviews medications and develops treatment plans for patients with heart failure, to help improve symptoms and overall prognosis.

08/03/2026

On International Women's Day, we're celebrating hospital staff, volunteers and inspirational female fundraisers 🤩

Meet Lindsey, one of our Welcome Volunteers. 👋

Her role is to help people who arrive at Leeds Children's Hospital find where they need to go for their appointments.

For a long time, Lindsey was a primary school teacher, before deciding that she wanted a change of career and is currently studying at university, but she was missing the human interaction that came with being a teacher, so decided to volunteer.

Lindsey loves chatting to patients and visitors as she accompanies them to the right place, she said:

“It’s really nice if you see the same people again coming in for follow up appointments, and you become more than someone who can help them get to where they want to go, you’re a friendly face who’s happy to have a chat. People appreciate a smile, and if you smile at someone, more often than not, chances are they will smile back!

“We all have busy lives but even if you can only spare a couple of hours a week, volunteering is so worthwhile – it just makes you feel good!"

Thank you Lindsey and all of the incredible women that volunteer with us💜

07/03/2026

🌼You could win big in our Super Spring Raffle🌼

Enter our Super Spring Raffle for your chance to win our £4,000 top cash prize, all while supporting projects that make a real difference to patients, families and staff across Leeds Hospitals.

🎟 Enter by 7 April 2026
👉 www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/raffle

Your tickets don’t just give you more chances to win — they help fund vital support across Leeds hospitals:
✨ 10 tickets = 10 chances to win
… and could help provide free drinks and snacks from our volunteer trolleys for patients and families.
✨ 20 tickets = 20 chances to win
… and could help fund new technology that reduces anxiety for cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.
✨ 50 tickets = 50 chances to win
… and could help fund a Play Specialist at Leeds Children’s Hospital for a morning.

Play today and help brighten someone’s hospital experience. 💜

05/03/2026

Yesterday we welcomed rowers Mike Bates & Gareth Timmins from the Row4MND team to the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

The team are setting off on the second leg of their endurance rowing challenge this weekend, raising funds for Leeds Hospitals Charity My Name'5 Doddie Foundation and MND Association by rowing from Dale in Wales, around the coast to Scotland.

You can find out more and support the team here - www.row4mnd.com

05/03/2026

A big thanks to our supporter David who sent us this great photo of his son Bobby for World Book Day.

Bobby has been so inspired by his hero Kevin Sinfield and all the fundraising he’s done for charity that he wanted to dress up as him today! 💜 📖

04/03/2026

Because of you, we've been able to provide £3,500 in funding to the Leeds Children's Hospital Diabetes Team, supporting their ongoing work to enhance the experience of children and young people living with diabetes.

This charity funding is helping the team deliver peer‑support activities and targeted education programmes—creating safe spaces where young people can connect, learn, gain confidence, and feel empowered in managing their condition. Diabetes can be a challenging and isolating experience, especially for children, so initiatives like these make a real and lasting difference.

It’s thanks to our generous donors that our NHS colleagues can continue providing this additional, much‑needed support to young people and their families. 💜

04/03/2026

Walk. Celebrate. Remember.

On 14 March, Nicola will be taking on our 10-mile Memorial Walk to celebrate the life of her sister Marella — and there's still time for you to sign up to join her.

After being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, Marella called her last two years her “Live Forever Tour” — years made possible by the extraordinary teams at Leeds Cancer Centre.
“Because of the care she received, we got nearly two extra years with her. Taking part in the Memorial Walk is our way of saying thank you.”

Join Nicola and walk in memory of someone special 💜

👉 Sign up today: leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/canal-walk