If you would like some raffle tickets or think you will be able to sell some for us please email us with your details. The tickets come in books of 5 with each ticket costing £1 and the book being £5. You may find the poster helpful if you are able to sell some Anniversary Raffle Poster.

1st Prize – 7 Nights holiday in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt for a family of 5.

2nd Prize – 7 Nights holiday in Palya de Las Americas, Tenerife for 2 Adults.

3rd Prize – Gaming Chair.           5th Prize – Netbook Computer.

4th Prize – Magnum of Champagne.       6th Prize – £30 Resturant Voucher.

Plus many other prizes

I am delighted to write in support of the 25^th anniversary of the Northern Lights charity coming up on the 22^nd April and I can only hope that the charity exists for many many more years to come as its work is so brilliant and inspiring.  On two occasions in the past, I have been thrilled and delighted to have gone out to Lapland with a group of wonderful happy and courageous children, and to witness their gorgeous faces light up with pleasure as they have been whisked along on sleds pulled by huskies, driven around on snowmobiles, pulled in sleds by reindeer and presented with presents by the ‘real’ Santa, under the magnificent umbrella of the northern lights in the arctic sky.

These kids have often spent so long in hospital, with nothing to see but the four walls of their clinical environment, the drip stand, slowly pumping fluids into their veins and the medicines trolley as it arrives with their next batch of unpleasant medicine.  They have often endured discomfort, isolation and hair loss as a result of their treatments, and yet they come out to the Arctic Circle and really start to live.  The shackles of the hospital environment are for a brief time at least, thrown away, and they can enjoy a normal life as kids again.  It was great to witness their energy as they hurled themselves down the snowy slopes on their sleds, and pelted pretty neatly packed snowballs at me and my TV crew from GMTV.  The footage that we captured on film of their activities, and of them sitting mesmerised by Santa Claus surrounded by his elves in his very own house was both moving and astonishing.  By far the most emotional filming I have ever been involved in. 

As a doctor, we need moments like this to remind ourselves of why we do what we do, and to drive us to continue to strive to find the answers to the cruel diseases which can affect children and adults alike, and to make us all grateful for what we have, even if it is merely good health.  I thank the Northern Lights charity for having included me in the past on their trips and continuing to include me in their activities.  I wholeheartedly celebrate the last 25 years of success they have had, and of the wonderful work they do.  Long live the Northern Lights charity and here’s to the next 25 years.

Dr Hilary Jones

Please feel free to download the sponsor form if you feel you can show your support Chester half marathon sponsor form, you may also find the event poster useful Northern Lights Chester Half Marathon poster.

Whilst 2012 marks the 25 anniversary of the foundation of Northern Lights, it is also the 30^th Birthday of the Chester Half Marathon.

Chris Hulse, Race Co-Organiser, says “We are pleased to be supporting such a worthy local cause. Each year an amount from the race entry fees is donated to the official race charity. Our runners will also be invited to raise money and together we hope to raise in excess of £10,000 for Northern Lights”

The Chester Half Marathon  is being held on Sunday 13^th May, starting at the racecourse before heading out of the city past Mollington, through Saughall and Blacon before returning for a spectacular city centre finish in front of Chester Town Hall and Cathedral.

In addition to the half marathon there is the children’s fun run around the racecourse which is always popular and attracts up to 500 fun runners. This year there are a number of schools from within Cheshire West and Chester supporting Northern Lights. Many schools, lead by the Blacon primaries, are already committed and are actively encouraging children to take part in the fun run and fundraise.

The race is extremely popular and as in previous years is expected to fill quickly; so enter now at www.chesterhalfmarathon.co.uk to secure your place for the big day and then contact us for a fund raising pack.

If you would like to be part of the Northern Lights volunteer team on race day or to run and raise money for Northern Lights please register as a volunteer or enter the race online (see web link above) and contact info@northernlightscharity.org.uk for your Northern Lights fund raising pack and further details.

Company’s of all shapes and sizes will be greatly welcomed and supported by us in anyway that is needed. We can provide you with all the information you will require to help you in your fundraising work.

Please get in touch with us via email or by giving us a call on 0151 336 2515 for more information.

We thank the companies listed below for showing their support to us over the years. Please click on the logo’s to take you to the companies website. If you have done some fundraising for us in the past and would like your logo and link to appear please contact us.

Below are photos from supporters taking part in a fundraising event that they have organised. Once again thank you for your support over the years.

Alby Pritchard and a group of supporters during a sponsored walk which raised funds for us in 2011.

Aurora Newsletter 2012

Schools News Article

Half Marathon News Article

Every December we take 12 or more children, aged between 6 and 11, on a 5-day all inclusive holiday to a luxury resort above the Arctic Circle in Lapland.

Dog sled rides, reindeers, snow-mobiles, deep crisp snow. Not to mention seeing the great Northern Lights or the excitement of visiting Santa at his home in a forest by a frozen lake.

We enter our 25 year in 2012 and are looking forward to the celebrations that this will entail. We aim to raise even more awareness than ever before and even more money to continue with the work that we do, continuing to take more children with life threatening illnesses on holidays of a lifetime. We are hoping that there will be many events taking place during 2012 for our 25th Anniversary please visit our events calendar to see what is going on and when. We have so much going on this year please take a look at our newsletter to see some of our plans aurora newsletter 2012.

Please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and About My Area, follow the links below.

Please view our promotional DVD presented by GMTV’s Dr Hilary Jones, who came to Lapland with us on our trip in 2003 and again in 2007. The link will take you to our picasaweb gallery. The video can also be viewed on youtube and Facebook.

Lapland Video