Light Up A Life 2025
On the 7th of December, hundreds of people from the Halton community braved the wet and very windy weather to attend our annual Light Up A Life event.
With over 500 visitors, the event was a huge success. Not only raising vital funds for the Hospice, but also in bringing people together to remember and celebrate loved ones, getting into the festive spirit.
Light Up a Life couldn’t be possible without the incredible support of the Halton community. On the night we had 12 Christmas stalls, 25 volunteers, beautiful live music from The Good Biscuits, Frodsham Silver Band, and Murdishaw Primary School Choir, as well as support from local musician John Bostock.
Special guests like Cllr Martha Lloyd Jones, Mayor of Halton, also attended, but it was one of our patients who made the night extra special. Alina, aged 32, a patient at Halton Haven Hospice helped switch on our Christmas Tree lights during the event.
Picture from left to right: Interim CEO Karen Allen, Cllr Martha Lloyd Jones (Mayor of Halton), Alina, Peter (Mayor Consort)
Alina says “They told me about the Light Up A Life event on the 7th of December, at first I thought they were joking when they said ‘you’re turning on the lights’ and I was thinking why me? Then I noticed they weren’t joking and I said yes. First of all, if not now, when? I wanted to challenge myself, I wanted to try and then I slowly started to prepare my outfit and my makeup. Dorina my sister helped me a lot as I had been struggling with the dresses. I was a little bit anxious and overthinking but in the end, everything went nice and smooth. That evening was special for me because I have always wanted to go to Liverpool Christmas markets, but I am too sick, so instead we have a market here where you can shop. What I like is that all the money made at the event comes in as a donation, so you aren’t spending money for nothing, you are supporting the Hospice which is really important to me.”
At Light Up A Life, Alina was one of our very important guests, sitting right next to the Mayor of Halton. When speaking with her she laughs about how nervous she was about meeting the Mayor. “I didn’t know the Mayor would be there and we would be together pressing the button up on the stage. At first I was like ‘OMG I don’t even know who our mayor is. I need to google what she looks like.’ I was worried I was talking with her saying ‘I’m waiting for the mayor’ and her saying ‘I am the mayor.’
It was an honour for me to sit up on that stage. There was the Interim CEO, then me, then the Mayor, so it was like a royal family. It was an official event where I was involved like a super star. The hospice gave me this opportunity to forget I was a patient.
Dorina, Alinas’ sister, adds “– It was nice to see her dressed so well, smiling, sitting next to important people. It was very nice seeing her on a special stage, with special people and she was very special in that moment pressing the button. I was joking with her beforehand saying ‘don’t turn off all the lights for Runcorn when you press the button’, so I was making some jokes to help make her less anxious.”
It was amazing to see people from our community, of all ages, coming together to enjoy music, festive food and celebrate loved ones. From children getting their face painted to adults trying to win their favourite festive tipple on our bottle tombola, joy (and a little rain) was present in every moment of this year’s Light Up A Life.
Alina finishes by saying “What I like is that you feel that all the people, all guests, and residents who came to Light Up A Life came because they want to support. You feel that for other people this place is very important as well. You’re not just going to the city centre and doing shopping, you feel like this place – even for other people who are not patients- is unique, that’s what I really experienced. You don’t know these people, but they support you, you feel like you are part of the community. This was a community event.”
Thank you so much to everyone who came along on the night or made a donation this year, you helped to make this year’s Light Up A Life extra special. Together we raised over £20,000 for Halton Haven Hospice. We hope you can all join us again in 2026 and hopefully we can get some dry weather next year!
More pictures from Light Up A Life 2025
Photos taken by Moore Camera Club