Lifelites has announced the seven winning projects which will each receive £25,000 worth of transformative assistive technology to mark the charity’s 25th anniversary.
The Lifelites 25 Community Programme was launched to extend the charity’s impact to organisations that have never previously worked with them.
Lifelites provides assistive and sensory technology to every children’s hospice in the UK and Ireland. It supports children and young people with life-limiting and life-changing conditions to help them experience joy, connection, and inclusion.
At the end of last year, it announced it was embarking on an ambitious three-year programme to deliver 21 new assistive technology packages and transformational grants to reach more children and families in a £1.6 million campaign.
After a rigorous application process, 10 inspiring finalists were shortlisted. From 10 March 2025, the public was invited to vote for their favourite projects, resulting in more than 4,500 verified votes. The three projects with the highest number of votes were selected for funding, while the remaining four winners were chosen by an independent panel.
Rob Lightfoot, CEO of Lifelites, said: “We are delighted to announce the first seven Lifelites 25 Community Projects. We are grateful for the engagement of all 10 shortlisted projects and humbled by the vital support they are delivering in the community for children and families.
“The public response to voting has been amazing, the depth of support for these important services is clear. We are very excited about delivering the next phase of the programme and bringing the incredible power of assistive technology to a new cohort of children and young people and their families, through these innovative new partnerships.”
The winning partnerships represent a diverse range of organisations dedicated to supporting children with complex needs. Each will receive cutting-edge technology designed to offer new opportunities for communication, play, and creative expression.
The public vote winners were St Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich for its Zest programme to help young people who are non-verbal to have a voice; Swings and Smiles in Berkshire, which provides play activities for children and young people and also supports the whole family; and Rainbow Hub in Lancashire, which provides therapeutic services for children and young people with physical disabilities.
Lyndsay Fahey, CEO of Rainbow Hub, commented: “We are all absolutely over the moon at Rainbow Hub, to be receiving £25,000 worth of inclusive technology for our children and young people with significant and additional needs.”
Those chosen by an independent panel were Ryegate House in Sheffield, which provides overnight short breaks for children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions; St Ann’s Foundation in London, which supports pupils with complex and special educational needs; Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust in Worcestershire; and OmniMusic in Greater Manchester, which provides accessible music lessons to disabled children and adults.
Lifelites Trustee Tracy Rennie said about the four projects chosen by the independent panel: “It wasn’t easy choosing from 10 great projects but we are delighted that the four chosen will help us to achieve our aspiration to reach more children wherever they may be – at home, school, hospital or short break settings as well as hospices.
“Children are children first and foremost and these innovative and exciting projects will enable even more children to play, connect and have joyful experiences with those special to them.”
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