Kayleigh's tea to help children's charity

Ms Grace, owner of Gracious Styling, was due to get married on Saturday, May 5 at Carlton Towers. Following the cancellation of her wedding, she decided to gift the venue to The Sick Children’s Trust. The charity will launch its Big Chocolate Tea campaign with an afternoon tea in honour of Kayleigh, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2010 and required specialist care at Leeds Children’s Hospital. For a year, Kayleigh was in and out of the hospital undergoing intense chemotherapy treatment and later a bone marrow transplant. Sadly, she passed away in November 2011. During her time in hospital, the trust supported Kayleigh’s parents Nicola and Paul, alongside sister Lorna, with free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation at its Eckersley House.

Mum Nicola, who stayed there for 164 days, said: “When Kayleigh was poorly, Eckersley House became such a huge part of our life. We only live in Castleford, about 15 miles from Leeds, but anything more than five minutes is too far when your child is critically ill in hospital. We all just wanted to be together and at Eckersley House we could be.

“When my friend told me that Kim had chosen to donate her wedding package to The Sick Children’s Trust because of Kayleigh’s story I was delighted.”

Money raised from the afternoon tea at Carlton Towers will go towards running Home From Home accommodation. The event will run at Carlton Towers on Saturday, May 5. Tickets cost £20 and include cakes, sandwiches and a glass of fizz. Visit bit.ly/2KpZXKc to book.