Today, we have something very special to share.
Amelia’s Light has helped its first family.
It’s difficult to put into words what this moment means to us. Amelia’s Light was created with a simple purpose: to support families when a child is in hospital and everyday life suddenly becomes much harder.
Now, for the first time, the money raised by our supporters has gone directly towards helping a family who needed it.
And it meant that a mum could be with her daughter when she needed her.
A Family 78 Miles Apart
The family we supported is a single mum with two daughters, aged 16 and 20.
Both daughters live with PKAN (pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration), a rare inherited neurological condition. PKAN is a form of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) and can cause progressive difficulties with movement and other neurological symptoms.
The family’s 16-year-old daughter is currently receiving care in a high dependency unit.
The hospital is 78 miles away from the family’s home.
For most of us, 78 miles might simply mean getting into the car and driving.
But Mum doesn’t drive.
With the family already experiencing financial pressures, travelling such a long distance became a major practical obstacle. Public transport was also difficult for her older daughter.
The result was heartbreaking: being there for their daughter and sister in hospital wasn’t simply a matter of deciding to visit.
They needed help getting there.
Sometimes the Simplest Things Become the Hardest
When a child is seriously unwell in hospital, families shouldn’t also have to worry about whether they can afford the journey to see them or how they’re going to buy food while they’re there.
Yet these are exactly the kinds of pressures families can face.
Hospital stays can bring unexpected costs alongside all the emotional strain. Travel, food and disrupted working arrangements can quickly add up.
For this family, the difficulties were practical as well as financial.
They needed help with transport.
They needed help with food.
Most importantly, they needed the opportunity to be together.
And this is exactly why Amelia’s Light exists.
How Amelia’s Light Helped
Through Amelia’s Light, we were able to provide the family with £150 of support, helping towards the things they needed during an incredibly difficult time.
Part of that support included an Aldi food voucher, helping Mum buy food while dealing with the realities of having her daughter in hospital.
We were also able to provide financial support towards transport between the family’s home and the hospital.
On paper, those things might sound simple.
A food shop.
A journey.
But when you’re 78 miles away from your child and don’t have the means to simply get into a car and drive to them, that journey means something much bigger.
It means being able to see your daughter.
It means being beside her.
It means a family being able to spend precious time together when they need each other most.
That is what our supporters helped make possible.
In the Family’s Own Words
We want the voices of the families we support to remain at the heart of Amelia’s Light.
Without the help of Amelia’s Light, I would not have been able to put money towards travelling to and from the hospital. Everyday living still continues, and I am struggling. The little help provided has lifted a weight off of my shoulder.
— Mum, supported by Amelia’s Light
We are keeping the family’s identity private, but we are incredibly grateful that they allowed us to share part of their story.
Your Boozy Bingo Support Did This
If you came to our Boozy Bingo fundraiser, bought a ticket, donated, helped organise the event, shared our posts or supported us in any way:
This is what you helped achieve.
Fundraising can sometimes feel removed from the eventual outcome.
You buy a ticket. You make a donation. You share a post.
Then life carries on.
But those contributions became something real.
They became food for a mum staying close to her child.
They became miles travelled.
They became a family being reunited at a hospital bedside.
They became £150 of practical support at a time when a family needed someone in their corner.
Thank you.
Why This Moment Means So Much to Us
For me personally, helping our first family feels amazing.
When I started Amelia’s Light, I set out to do one thing: support families with children in hospital.
We’ve now done that.
We’ve made our first professional connection, reached a family who needed help and been able to provide practical support that made a genuine difference to their lives.
But rather than feeling like we’ve reached the finish line, it feels like we’ve just left the starting line.
This first family has given me even more determination to fundraise, support the charity and grow Amelia’s Light so that we can reach more and more families.
Because there are other parents sitting beside hospital beds.
There are other families counting the cost of travelling backwards and forwards.
There are other siblings waiting at home.
There are other mums and dads wondering how they’re going to afford food, transport and all the ordinary things that don’t stop simply because their child is in hospital.
We want to be there for them too.
Help Us Reach the Next Family
This was our first family.
We don’t want them to be our last.
Every donation to Amelia’s Light helps us build our ability to provide practical support to families when a child is in hospital.
You can help us continue in three important ways.
Donate. Your contribution can help us provide practical financial support to another family facing the realities of a hospital stay.
Fundraise. From events like Boozy Bingo to your own fundraising ideas, every pound raised gives Amelia’s Light greater capacity to help families when they need it.
Share our story. Tell people about Amelia’s Light. Share this article. Follow and share our social media posts. The more people who know we exist, the greater the chance that families who need us—and people who want to help them—will find us.
Our first £150 of family support has already made a difference.
Now we want to help the next family.
And the next.
And the next.
This is Amelia’s Light. And this is just the beginning.