Spotlight on local charity: Live Luke’s Dreams
As you probably know, Spread a Smile are our charity partner and we think that they are just brilliant. What you may not know, is that we originally heard about Spread a Smile because they supported a little friend of ours, Luke, whilst he was undergoing treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia at Great Ormond Street Hospital, after being diagnosed at just 22 months old.
Luke was a super special little boy with a big personality. Full of energy, very cheeky and genuinely loved by all that knew him. Devastatingly, he lost his battle with cancer in 2019, aged 5 years and 5 months old. Today we’d like to shine a little spotlight onto Live Luke’s Dreams, a north London based charity (charity no. 1184605) created in 2020, in honour of Luke, to keep his memory alive and support children diagnosed with cancer, receiving treatment under Barnet Hospital's Paediatric Oncology Shared Care.
Live Luke’s Dreams raise funds through donations and through Luke’s ‘footprint stones’ - small palm-size stones, which have Luke’s footprint on one side, and a rainbow that he painted during treatment printed on the other. Stones are available for a small voluntary donation. They ask people to take a stone with them, to think of Luke at their destination, include him in their new memory, then to leave the stone behind – taking a photo of where it has been placed. This photo will then be pinned to their online map so they can watch Luke’s footsteps and dreams spread around the world. Luke’s stones have been photographed as far as Alaska, and Australia! You can see the map here - https://livelukesdreams.com/lukes-footprint-map
Funds raised are used to support the families of children who have been diagnosed with a childhood cancer, who are receiving treatment under Barnet Hospital's Paediatric Oncology Shared Care.
In an update earlier this year, some of the wonderful things they have achieved with their fundraising include:
Arranging a 4-day break at Disneyland Paris for an incredible family. Staying in a Disney hotel, this was a special trip to celebrate the end of the many years of cancer treatment that their little superstar has heroically faced.
Purchasing a giant sensory bubble tube for the paediatric blood clinic at Chase Farm hospital, to help distract and relax little ones during medical procedures.
Supplying the Barnet hospital paediatric oncology team with stacks of various age-ranged bedside activity packs containing arts, crafts, as well as Lego, character balloons and treasure chest reward items galore.
Putting together Easter packs filled with themed arts & crafts for the oncology team, along with little bags of Easter chocolate treats. Sending a bundle of Easter crafts to the Barnet play-team too.
Supplying Costa vouchers for parents on the ward to use in the hospital outlet, as well as helping families with transport & food costs during the challenging hospital days they face.
Buying new gardening tools and compost for the Galaxy ward patio area.
Amazing achievements, making a real difference to local families dealing with the trauma of having a child diagnosed with cancer.
If you’d like to find out more about the little legend that was Luke, and the wonderful Live Luke’s Dreams charity, visit livelukesdreams.com.