Cambridge CHildren's Hospital Archives - Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust

Leading hospital charity thanks supporters for ending another year of giving with more festive spirit than ever before

Posted on 19 December 202522 December 2025 by Danni Smith

A leading hospital charity has marked the end of another year of extraordinary giving by bringing in more festive spirit than ever before.

Every year, supporters of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) donate millions of pounds to help make Addenbrooke’s even better, with Christmas the chance to shine a light for patients and staff during what can be a very difficult time of year for many.

With another special event being added to the charity’s annual festive activities, the charity has thanked its supporters for ‘remembering there are people in hospital who need a little love.”

Each year, ACT supporters help fund Christmas events and activities designed to bring a smile to both patients and staff, with the charity funding a Christmas hamper for staff on the wards at Christmas.

The hospital charity also funds the staff Winter Festival through its Stronger Together grant as a way of thanking hardworking staff who give so much to patients throughout the year.

In addition to this, ACT works closely with its corporate partners throughout the year looking at ways in which they can give back to both Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, including Christmas time.

Cambridge Commodities, based in Ely, is one of those – and each year, staff at the firm hold an annual ball to fundraise to buy every patient in hospital on Christmas Day a present, as well as chocolates for staff working over the Christmas holidays. Staff from the firm also volunteer their time to sit down and personally handwrite a card to go with every present. (Pictured below are Chris Dakin and his son Matt, from Cambridge Commodities)

This year sees another special Christmas activity added to the charity’s growing list of festive treats with presents for the children’s wards, allowing young patients the chance to choose, and wrap, a present for their parent or carer. Presents were bought using a donation from Marsh Industries’ Sooey Campaign, the company’s fundraising initiative for children’s hospitals across the UK.

Cheffins CEO Bill King with Emma Meade and Kat Collen from the Play Team at Addenbrooke’s

Cheffins – who this year partnered with ACT during its 200-year anniversary and pledged to raise funds to help build a playroom at the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital – have also donated 200 comforters to babies receiving care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Addenbrooke’s this Christmas.

Reflecting on all the Christmas spirit the charity has been able to provide for patients and staff, with the help of its supporters, Paul White, Director of Communications and Impact at ACT, said: “Whether you are a patient that wants to be home with their loved ones, or a member of staff caring for people who you know should be with their families, this time of year can be especially challenging to be in hospital. However, never is there a better example of the unwavering kindness and support of the local community than at Christmas.”

“This year our supporters have donated both money and time, meaning ACT has been able to do even more for patients and staff at Addenbrooke’s than ever before. From the unstoppable Cambridge Commodities who are wrapping thousands of presents so that every patient in hospital on Christmas Day gets a special gift, to the hampers for staff bought using kind donations from the public to remind them how grateful we all are, countless people are stepping up, remembering there are people in hospital who need a little love, and doing their bit to make Addenbrooke’s even better.”

“Every act of kindness makes a difference, and we couldn’t do any of what we do to change and save lives without the public’s wonderful donations.”

James Stevens, CEO of Cambridge Commodities, said it was his company’s 7^th year of partnership with ACT, but their 6^th year of buying Christmas presents for every patient in hospital on Christmas Day.

He said memories from the past six years were ‘indescribable” and added: “We raise the money at our annual charity ball, we wrap the presents in our office, where our incredible staff stay late for a couple of evenings in December and wrap thousands of gifts and hand write every single card. We are then given the amazing opportunity of taking the gifts to the hospital which is pretty special and something you never forget. This year we have been given an even greater opportunity where we will hand deliver the presents directly to the wards, which we are all excited about.”

“The memories that this brings to the team are indescribable and we have had some magical moments where people we have known have woken up on Christmas day in the hospital and received a gift from Cambridge Commodities. Something that can bring a smile in a moment when life might be quite hard. Closer to home, one of our wrapping staff ended up giving birth over the festive period and was given a gift and card that she might have wrapped herself.”

Natasha Robertson (left), Corporate Partnerships Manager at ACT, described the event as “one of the most special moments in our annual calendar.”

“Knowing that every patient waking up in hospital on Christmas Day will have a gift to open is incredibly moving, and it reflects the true spirit of thinking of others at this time of year. We’re immensely grateful to Cambridge Commodities, whose long-standing support makes this possible. They don’t just fund the presents – they wrap them and personally deliver them to the wards, always adding those extra thoughtful touches that mean so much to our patients and staff. Their generosity helps bring a sense of warmth and celebration into the hospital when it’s needed most.”

Molly Youngs (below), ACT’s Corporate Partnerships Executive, said she was really excited to see the latest activity added to the charity’s list of festive events – with children in hospital able to choose a special present for their parent or carer at Christmas – after inspiration from her children’s school.

“The idea first came to me when I was part of my boys’ school PTA. We had an Elf Shop where parents donated gifts, and the children got to enjoy their own little shopping experience—choosing something special for their loved ones in secret. My two boys absolutely loved it, and the joy on their faces when they handed us their chosen presents on Christmas morning was magical. That memory is what inspired me to bring the same experience into the hospital.”

“With the amazing help of Ann from the Play Team, we’ve been able to make it happen. Now, children who can’t leave the hospital over Christmas can still pick out a present, wrap it up, and surprise their family on Christmas morning.”

“It means a lot to us to think about every family’s circumstances—some parents may not otherwise receive a gift—and this gives children the chance to give something back, no matter what.”

“Seeing this introduced for the very first time is incredibly exciting, and I truly hope we can continue it next year. For children who may be quite unwell, I hope this little moment of joy brings comfort at a time when being in hospital can feel especially hard. Christmas is about love and togetherness, and this is one way of bringing that spirit to the wards.”

R G Carter Construction in Cambridge also donated 50 presents for patients on the elderly ward at Addenbrooke’s this Christmas.

Delivering a tinsel-wrapped trolley full of presents for children on the wards to choose and wrap for their mums, dads, and carers on Christmas day brought a lot of happiness to the ACT team, and all the members of the hospital’s play team.

ACT's Molly Youngs and Danni Smith, with Play Team Manager Ann in the middle

Ann, the Play Team manager from Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, thanked ACT for making this special event possible, saying: “I think this is a wonderful way of making sure all the parents are thought about this Christmas even if the children remain in hospital over the Christmas period.”

Patients included five-year-old Harry, from St Neot’s, who underwent a liver and bowel transplant using 1.2 metres of bowel and a third of his dad’s liver in an operation in January. Harry helped pick a special present for his mum and dad, Annie and Gary, with mum Annie saying: “He’s doing good but there’s been a lot of bumps.”

Baby Teddy was asleep in bed when ACT helped deliver a present for his mum Claire, who has four boys including Teddy. Claire said: “It’s a wonderful idea, so kind. It’s a little pick me up. It means a lot for someone to be thinking of the parents when you are going through this.”

Baby Teddy with his present delivered pillow side! (2) (mum Claire is quoted)

As the official hospital charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), which is celebrating its 30^th anniversary this year, funds cutting-edge equipment, specialist staff, extra comforts and vital research to fund potential cures and help save lives, above and beyond what the NHS can provide.

ACT is also fundraising to help build two new pioneering hospitals on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus which will benefit patients not just in the East of England, but nationally and globally too – the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital and the Cambridge Children’s Hospital.

Each year, the charity donates millions to Addenbrooke’s to help make it even better – and in the past 30 years alone, has invested more than £150 million in the hospitals.

To find out more about what ACT does and how you can help make Addenbrooke’s even better, please donate here.

To find out about volunteer opportunities at ACT, click here.

Corporates who would like to support ACT as Charity of the Year can also get in touch by emailing: corporatepartnerships@act4addenbrookes.org.uk.

The heartbroken parents of a special little boy who ‘touched so many people’s lives’ have pledged to raise over £100,000 in his memory for the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital

Posted on 12 August 20252 December 2025 by Danni Smith

The mum and stepdad of a special little boy who ‘touched so many people’s lives’ have pledged to raise over £100,000 in his memory after he died from a rare incurable disease, aged 11, in September last year.

Elliott-James Heslop, or Elliott as he was known to family and friends, was diagnosed with a rare, incurable disease called TTC7A deficiency when he was just three months old; a condition that causes diarrhoea, inflammation of the intestines, bowel obstructions, immune dysfunction, and an inability to absorb nutrients.

He had his first surgery at just a few hours old and underwent multiple surgeries to try and fix strictures in his bowel. Unfortunately, these were unsuccessful, and Elliott had to have an Ileostomy. Unable to absorb nutrients in the usual way, Elliott was TPN-dependent from birth, meaning artificial nutrients were given to him via a central line called a Hickman Line.

Elliott spent the first eleven months of his life in hospital and at just eight months old underwent a bone marrow transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

His condition meant that when he was at his worst, he couldn’t walk very far as it affected his bone density and muscle mass. It also prevented him from joining a football team or going on school residentials. It also restricted what Elliott was able to do in a day as he would need to be home at certain times for his TPN treatment, which also meant the family were not able to go abroad. However, mum Kayleigh Eley and husband, Ross, Elliott’s stepdad, from Cambourne in Cambridgeshire, said Elliott loved trips to caravan parks – and said he went swimming for the first time last year after finding out about a special wetsuit he could wear in the water.

Despite the impact of his condition, Kayleigh and Ross said Elliott never moaned.

“He would have his moments like with football, where he would say I wish I could play football, but it would only be the odd comment now and then. He never moaned, he just got on with it,” Kayleigh said.

Although they always knew Elliott’s condition was incurable, Kayleigh said it was still a shock when he died.

“Even though you know it’s not curable you just kind of live every day and go with it. But we didn’t expect him to go downhill as quickly as he did.”

It was in December 2023, that Elliott caught the flu, which impacted his liver and meant he needed to be assessed for transplant again. Kayleigh and Ross were told Elliott would be listed for a multi-visceral transplant, but ten days later after Elliott’s condition worsened, he was rushed back into hospital with painful pancreatitis and in July last year, the family were given the devastating news that Elliott’s condition could no longer be treated. Sadly, Elliott passed away in September.

Kayleigh and Ross, who have three-year-old daughter, Maddison, together, and Scarlett, 15, and Florence, 7, both from previous relationships, set about fundraising to create some special memories with Elliott before his death as well as raise money for the Cambridge Children’s Hospital (CCH), through Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT).

The Cambridge Children’s Hospital is set to be built by 2030 and will be the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England; the only region in the UK without one. Bringing together clinical excellence from two NHS Trusts with pioneering research from the University of Cambridge, the new five-storey 35,000sqm hospital will be based at the heart of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Europe’s largest biomedical campus.

After writing to Elliott’s favourite football team, West Ham, every day for three months, Ross finally got lucky and both he, Elliott and Scarlett were invited down to West Ham for a training session with the players, where Elliott got to meet one of his favourites, James Ward-Prowse, and walk onto the field as a team mascot.

Ross – who came into Elliott’s life at six years old – describes himself as a ‘bonus dad’ rather than stepdad and said: “I feel really privileged to have had Elliott in my life. He’s like the son I never had.”

Kayleigh describes her son as “cheeky, funny, very caring and very sensitive” adding, “So many people have said to me how he really touched their lives. I know he’s amazing because he’s my child and I know how great he is, but he did, he really touched other people’s lives.”

As for how they are, Ross says: “I don’t think I have accepted it yet because I don’t want to. The worst thing about it is, is that life just keeps on going on around you. It’s the worst pain ever. I’d rather someone chopped off my legs than this. Elliott was my bonus child and the way I feel is the worst feeling ever.”

Mum Kayleigh said: “People think you are ok but we have to be because we have our other kids. But I still expect to see him sometimes. Sometimes you look and think he is going to be there.”

Ross said he came off Facebook for six months after Elliott’s death because he found all the memories too painful and says: “Every day is different. Every hour is different.”

The couple say they remember Elliott as the cheeky little boy who would play pranks on his family, including the time he hid inside Scarlett’s wardrobe and started playing with the LED lights on her ceiling before jumping out to scare her.

Kayleigh also speaks movingly about Elliott’s best friend who keeps a picture of Elliott in his bedroom and a candle to remember him by and when he has had a bad day, will still call Elliott’s phone to leave a message.

Ross and Kayleigh say the number eleven has come up a lot in their lives – both before, and since, Elliott’s death aged eleven. When Ross completed a charity walk from his home in Cambourne to the West Ham grounds they arrived at 11am. West Ham also honoured Elliott’s memory by clapping him during a game at the eleventh minute and after moving house recently, they moved to number eleven, with Ross saying – “Elliott will never leave us. Not in a million years.”

The couple have pledged to raise £100,000 for the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital, through Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) as a way of thanking Addenbrooke’s for the amazing care Elliott received since birth – describing his consultant, Dr Camilla Salvestrini, as “amazing”.

Although their target is £100,000, Kayleigh and Ross are hoping to boost their target to £125,000 so that they can fully equip one of the rooms within the Cambridge Children’s Hospital and have it named after Elliott.

“We’d love to have something named after Elliott in his memory,” said Kayleigh, “and know that we helped fund something that would be for the whole community. It’s raising money for the next generation of children and supporting all the families that will be going there.”

Fundraising efforts so far have included the walk from their home in Cambourne to the West Ham football grounds; a children’s sponsored swim; a 30^th tea party in July to celebrate ACT’s 30^th and a72-hole golf challenge at Cambridge Country Club earlier this month, with a 9-hole lesson donated by PGA Professional Joel Rickard.

Ross’ next challenge will be this September, when he and his boss will complete the walk along Hadrian’s Wall over three days, setting out on the 11^th.

Click here to donate to Elliott’s page.

Bestselling author and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here finalist Rev. Richard Coles backs public appeal to see brand new children’s hospital built in Cambridge

Posted on 19 December 202419 March 2025 by Danni Smith

Bestselling author, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here finalist, and one-half of the chart-topping 1980s band the Communards, Rev. Richard Coles has backed the public appeal to raise money for the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital – describing the need for one as ‘urgent.’

Speaking at a special literary lunch to promote the latest book in his number one bestselling crime series, The Canon Clement Mysteries, just days after his release from the jungle, Richard praised Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust’s public appeal for the children’s hospital which will be the first of its kind in the East of England.

Cambridge Children’s Hospital (CCH) will be unique in treating mental and physical health together under one roof, alongside world-leading research delivered in the Cambridge Children’s Research Institute (CCRI).

Richard praised the appeal, saying: “It really surprises me to hear that there hasn’t been a children’s hospital here in the East of England until now, because the need is so urgent, and so anything you can do to get some energy and commitment into that would be fantastic.”

“I’m specially delighted to hear that it’s something that provides for both mental health needs and physical health needs, because it’s a scandal the state of provision, or lack of provision, for children and young people with severe mental health problem. I’m delighted that is going to be worked into it from the beginning and I hope that people give generously because you will never get better value for money than a pound spent on this.”

“I think one of my great discoveries as a vicar was that you don’t have to whip people up into a frenzy, because actually there’s loads of goodwill already there. It just takes, I think, a few people with a plan and a bit of energy, and you’ll be amazed what you can do.”

“A huge thank you from me for everyone who has supported the campaign and continues to do so.”

Rev. Coles was guest speaker at the lunch organised by Peterborough Mayor, Cllr Marco Cereste, to raise money for three of his charities over the coming year, including the Salvation Army, Anna’s Hope, and the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital.

Booking Richard for the literary lunch in Peterborough was a coup for the Cambridge Children’s Hospital Fundraising Group who booked him months before he was even asked to be a contestant on I’m A Celebrity.

Speaking to a packed venue of 150 guests, there to listen to him talk about his latest book Murder Under The Mistletoe, Richard said: “I had no idea when I agreed to the lunch that I might also appear in the jungle. It certainly never crossed my mind that I would get so far, but it was never really a question of not attending this lunch. Peterborough is relatively local to where I grew up, it was the diocese under which I served, and so the area is a bit like home to me. And the charities this helps are so important.”

Richard’s stories had guests in stitches one minute and in tears the next as he recounted his extraordinary anecdotes and talked about his career as a vicar, his time in the Communards, the jungle, and his good fortune at finding yet another career as a successful writer and soon to be executive producer after retiring from the church now that his Canon Clement murder mystery series is being brought to TV screens in 2025.

When asked what his worst experience in the jungle was, without hesitation he replied – “the pickled herrings”, with the smell being so bad that the crew would leave the area, leaving him almost alone to deal with the stench.

As for his worst task – “It was the one where I had a glass bowl placed over my head, which was filled with creatures including cockroaches, which had a surprisingly bad smell. Despite wearing goggles, the cockroaches managed to get into my eyes, into my ears and up my nose!”

Speaking about his bestselling crime series, The Canon Clement Mysteries, Richard said: “Do you know how many vicar detectives there are in literature? Over 200! And only two of them are actually written by people who were or are vicars, and I’m one of them.”

Asked how much of his books are based on his real-life experiences as a vicar, Richard, who was a Church of England priest in Northamptonshire until his retirement in 2022, winked before replying: “Any likeness to people or places in my books is purely coincidental.”

“When I moved from being a curate in a busy West London parish, to the village of Finedon, colleagues joked that it would be all village fetes and judging vegetable competitions, but within my first week there was a murder so that showed them.”

“Being a vicar means you meet a huge range of interesting people, people open up to you about all sorts of things, and being a vicar isn’t so different to being a detective at times.”

He also revealed the decision to set his series, which features his latest mystery Murder Under The Mistletoe, in the 80s was a way to make his life easier as a writer.

“To be honest I was being lazy. Setting a story in the 80s means I didn’t need to work out how to incorporate things like social media and the internet, but also I didn’t want my detectives wings to be clipped because the killer was caught on someone’s Ring doorbell or they were let down by their own social media accounts. It made the story much more interesting, and also much easier to write.”

Richard said he hadn’t expected to remain in the jungle for as long as he did, as one of the final three – “how that happened I’ve no idea, I don’t even remember bribing anyone. I thought ‘keep going, keep going and try not to complain.’”

“I’ve only just returned from the jungle, so I’ve yet to experience too much attention as a result. I’ve been incredibly fortunate in my career – a successful musician, vicar, broadcaster, I’ve written more than seven books, and now my murder mystery books are being turned into a TV series and so I find, in my retirement, now being an executive producer.”

“I’m fortunate enough to wake each day and wonder where the rainbow arc of life will take me that day. But I know from being a vicar that this isn’t the case for everyone. My parish was a deprived one, and many people had no choice – there were children who would wake up not knowing who the adults were that would be looking after them that day were. I helped to set up a charitable pre-school, through selling some land the church held, so that we could support young children with things like reading and writing.”

Of his varied career, Richard said: “I’d love to say it was a masterplan, but it really was one thing after another, I’m 62 and never had a proper job, so I’m probably a career adviser’s worst example. They haven’t all been successful either. The ones people know about are the ones that succeeded, but I’ve had my fair share of failures.”

*** Photos courtesy of David Lowndes

Cambridge Children’s Hospital fundraising team delighted at securing author and ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ contestant Rev. Richard Coles for literary lunch

Posted on 18 November 202419 March 2025 by sarah.rastrick@act4addenbrookes.org.uk

BEST-SELLING author and ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ contestant, the Rev. Richard Coles, is guest speaker at a literary luncheon hosted by the Mayor of Peterborough in aid of the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital (CCH), the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England.

Social media and news agencies were recently alight with gossip that he was one of the two celebrities joining the show at a later date. Along with the Communards musician, vicar and author, the other ‘late entry’ celebrity to join the show was Love Island’s Maura Higgins.

The official celebrity line-up for this year’s hotly-anticipated 2024 show has been confirmed as: Tulisa Contostavlos from N-Dubz, Coleen Rooney, Oti Mabuse from Strictly Come Dancing and Barry McGuigan, Danny Jones, Melvin O’Doom, Alan Halsall, Jane Moore, GK Barry and Dean McCullough.

While a lot of people will be delighted to see the lovely Rev. Coles appear in this year’s ‘I’m A Celebrity’ someone else who is delighted is the fundraising team at Peterborough City Council, where mayor Cllr Marco Cereste has adopted CCH as one of his three charities for the year.

The Cambridge Children’s Hospital Peterborough Fundraising Group who booked Rev. Coles for his literary luncheon said they asked the well-known media personality to host the lunch as a fundraiser for CCH before the news was announced that he is featuring in this year’s popular ITV show.

Chairman John Holdich said: “Given his busy diary we were thrilled Richard agreed to join us to support the Children’s Hospital appeal. It was doubly exciting to discover he was likely to appear in I’m a Celebrity, and we shall be watching and wishing him well. No doubt he will have even more stories to share when he comes to us.”

Rev Coles will be the special guest at a festive luncheon hosted by Mayor of Peterborough, Cllr Marco Cereste on Saturday 14 December 2024 at the Holiday Inn West (11am to 2.30pm) to mark the launch of his latest book ‘Murder Under the Mistletoe’.

The novella (available as hardback RRP £12.99) is the latest eagerly awaited instalment of the mysteries of Canon Daniel Clement, the sleuthing cleric created by Richard since giving up his Northamptonshire parish in 2022.

Cllr Cereste said: “We are absolutely delighted Richard has agreed to support us, making time to fit us into his very busy schedule. Waterstones has kindly agreed to supply his new book for our guests to purchase (and be signed) and will make a small donation to the Mayor’s Charities for every copy sold… an ideal Christmas gift perhaps?”

“It promises to be a thrilling afternoon while supporting these important charities at the same time.”

Three charities will ultimately benefit from this event: Cambridge Children’s Hospital (CCH) Peterborough Fundraising Group, Salvation Army and Anna’s Hope.

This is the first event of its kind held on behalf of the Mayor of Peterborough’s Charities. Tickets are £40 per person. To find out more and to book your place please email mayor@peterborough.gov.uk