'It was amazing' Half million pound milestone for families of poorly children at Leeds Children's Hospital
For families of children with cancer like little Noah Butterfield, Eckersley House at Leeds Children’s Hospital provides a lifeline during a dark time in their lives.
Now Yorkshire childhood cancer charity Candlelighters has reached a remarkable milestone, having donated more than £500,000 since 1994 to support the running costs of this ‘Home from Home’ provided by The Sick Children’s Trust for families with a seriously ill child being treated at Leeds Children’s Hospital.
One of the families helped by the two charities was three-year-old Noah Butterfield’s from Bradford, who in 2025 was diagnosed with cancer, throwing the family’s life into turmoil.
With Noah requiring long stays in hospital for treatment, the family faced time apart at a time they most needed to be together. Through the support of Candlelighters and The Sick Children’s Trust, parents Amy and James were able stay in a room at Eckersley House.
“Eckersley House was a massive help to us”, said Noah’s mum Amy. “Having a bed to sleep in over the road from Noah was such a help. James and I would swap doing the nights so one of us had a good night’s sleep while the other stayed with Noah. We had cooking facilities and washing facilities for our clothes; it was just a massive help.
“It gave us time and space to zone out for a little bit, a chance to breathe for five minutes. We stayed there for six months, from the first week Noah was admitted to hospital to the day we went home. It was amazing.”
For more than three decades, the two charities have worked side by side to ensure families can stay close to their child during some of the most challenging periods of their lives.
Over that time, Eckersley House has supported thousands of families, many of whom have children undergoing treatment on the hospital’s renowned children’s cancer ward. Candlelighters’ long-standing commitment has played a vital role in keeping the doors of Eckersley House open to those families when they need it most.
Leeds Children’s Hospital is nationally recognised for the specialist care provided by its children’s cancer services, where many young patients require lengthy, complex treatment. For families who may have travelled long distances, being close to their child can otherwise mean facing unaffordable hotel bills or trying to sleep in hospital chairs on busy wards.
Eckersley House offers families a welcoming place to stay just minutes from the hospital, providing 23 comfortable bedrooms, shared kitchen and living spaces, and the reassurance of being nearby if their child needs them. By removing practical and financial pressures, families can focus on what matters most – supporting their child through treatment.
Alongside the Candlelighters Cottage, which opened in 2018 and provides emergency accommodation for up to four families with a child receiving inpatient treatment on the Haematology & Oncology wards, Eckersley House is a port in a storm for families going through the unimaginable.
To mark the milestone, members of the Candlelighters team visited Eckersley House in December, sharing a cup of tea and a slice of cake with Jane McHale, the long‑serving House Manager, and her team. Present for the occasion were Natalie Kisby (Head of Family Support), Lawrence Pomeroy (Chief Financial Officer), Jess Burton (Family Support Coordinator) and Caroline Gill (Head of Engagement).
The partnership is also reflected in a personal connection: Jane McHale’s husband Paul works for Candlelighters, highlighting just how closely the two organisations are linked in their shared mission to support families.
Speaking about the incredible support provided by Candlelighters over the years, Jane McHale, House Manager at Eckersley House, said: “We simply couldn’t do what we do without Candlelighters’ incredible generosity and loyalty over more than 30 years. Their support has helped thousands of families stay together during some of the hardest moments imaginable. For parents facing long hospital stays, often far from home, Eckersley House really is a lifeline, and Candlelighters has played a huge part in making it possible for us to be there with them.”
Emily Wragg, CEO of Candlelighters, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have worked with The Sick Children’s Trust for over 30 years to ensure that when a family whose child has cancer needs somewhere to stay, there’s a room for them close to the hospital. When a child has cancer, the emotional and financial costs for a family are high, so having somewhere to stay close to their child is vital. Alongside our own home-from-home accommodation at the Candlelighters Cottage, the rooms at Eckersley House mean there is always somewhere for families to stay.”
For further information about Candlelighters and The Sick Children’s Trust, please visit candlelighters.org.uk/ sickchildrenstrust.org.