Here at Quality Bearings Online (QBOL) we pledged to support Candlelighters, a Leeds based non-profit charity which supports families with children who are battling cancer. We chose Candlelighters as our charity of the year 2023 with the goal of raising £5,000. We surpassed our target and have raised over £8,000 so far.
Founded in 1976, Candlelighters was formed by a group of parents and medical staff who recognised a need for supporting families with children facing childhood cancer. Since then, the organisation has grown and has created its own family support centre just around the corner from Leeds Children’s Hospital.
Denny Maude, our CEO, said “Candlelighters has been our charity of choice for many years, and I have personally seen, first hand, the work they do with families of children with cancer. They give support to those going through the toughest times in their lives, and I am incredibly grateful to the whole QBOL team for their dedication to fundraising and supporting Candlelighters with the fantastic work they do."
We are dedicated to making a positive impact and supporting local charities. So, our team of 22 have taken part in a number of fundraising activities such as Tough Mudder’s, Abseils, Bake Sales, and completing the 150-mile challenge.
June 2023 saw five of our employees abseil 148ft down the Moda building in Leeds City Centre. The individuals knew the strength and determination of children and families who are affected by this devastating disease and wanted to take on a challenge to push themselves out their comfort zones. Our team managed to raise a whopping £2,580, with QBOL matching all the donations the team raised.
In support of Childhood Cancer Awareness month in September 2023, our employees took part on the 150 Mile Challenge, set by Candlelighters. The challenge consisted of completing 150 miles within the month by walking, cycling, running, or swimming. To generate some healthy competition, we decided to split our departments into teams. Competitive spirits were high, with all teams fighting for the spot at the top of the leaderboard each week. In the end, our directors team came out on top by achieving a huge 425.3 miles in total.
In conjunction with our fundraising activities, in 2022, we purchased a private suite at the First Direct Arena in Leeds. This incredible company perk allows our employees to invite partners and suppliers, as well as family and friends, to join us for events at the arena. We also used this as an opportunity to raise money for Candlelighters by covering all drinks and food tabs in exchange for donations from our guests. The team was also able to invite children and families from Leeds Children’s Hospital to the private box for children’s events such as Disney On Ice, Paw Patrol, and Blippi.
Iain Blackwood Hobbs, Partnerships Executive at Candlelighters, commented “We can’t thank QBOL enough for all the support they have given to Candlelighters over the last couple of years. As well as getting involved with different fundraising activities, signing up to challenge events and supporting our campaigns. They’ve provided some amazing experiences at Leeds First Direct Arena for our families and created lovely memories. We don’t receive any government funding and the current financial climate is more challenging than ever, so their fundraising has made a tremendous difference to the charity and the families we support. All of the money raised allows us to continue providing practical, emotional and financial support to families in Yorkshire affected by childhood cancer”.
To find out more about the work Candlelighters does to help
children with cancer and their families, please visit: https://www.candlelighters.org.uk/