350 wishes in one year: Rays of Sunshine Interim CEO Cheryl Tissot reflects on a magical 2022

The new year is in full swing and Rays of Sunshine has a calendar full of exciting wishes and events scheduled for 2023.

But we can’t let 2022 go without celebrating and recognising all that was achieved by our wish families, staff, supporters and fundraisers.

Our Wish Granters delivered around 350 wishes for seriously ill children across the UK in 2022 – including our 8,000th?wish (see full news story here ).

We asked Rays of Sunshine Interim CEO Cheryl Tissot to share her thoughts looking back on 2022:

On the wishes granted in 2022…

“All the wishes we granted in 2022 were so unique and special. It felt brilliant to deliver so many in-person and experiential wishes again and see just how far and wide Rays of Sunshine’s magic and hard work can spread.”

The impact of our fundraisers…

“None of the work our wonderful wish granters do for seriously ill children in the UK could happen without our supporters, donors and fundraisers.

“2022 was a great year for fundraising. Team Sunshine raised a record-breaking ￡142,000 in the London Marathon 2022. We were also very excited to be one of the chosen charities for the Sidemen charity football match, which raised a whopping ￡1 million in aid of great causes including Rays of Sunshine.”

Live events came back with a bang…

“After a tough time during the pandemic, our live events also came back with a bang in 2022. Rays of Sunshine’s annual gala dinner was a hit with attendees, raising around ￡400,000 in a single night – with a little help from Michael McIntyre and Vernon Kay.

“We well and truly went for gold when it came to our 12 Days of Christmas event line-up, too. Rays of Sunshine offered a host of amazing events for hundreds of children during the festive period, all across the country, and it was incredibly heart-warming to see every member of our staff get involved in the fun.

“The team behind all of these live events is already working hard to ensure 2023 reaches the same high bar set by its predecessor.”

My highlight of 2022 was…

“I have so many highlights from the year, but one of the most special was seeing Cissy Adamou speak at our annual dinner. Rays of Sunshine granted Cissy a wish as a child – now she’s in her early twenties and an incredibly powerful public speaker.

“I sat with her family while she delivered her address to our guests and was struck by how far she has come since first joining the Rays of Sunshine family.

“Our hope is always that our relationship with our children and their families extends far beyond their initial wish, and so having Cissy there that night was very special.”

Coming back from pandemic disruption and looking to the future…

“Like so many charities, we had a challenging journey through the pandemic period – it did dramatically impact what we could offer. But thanks to our supporters who stuck with us during these times, we are now back stronger than ever for the year ahead.”

To apply for a wish go to: https://raysofsunshine.org.uk/apply/

To find out how you could support Rays of Sunshine in 2023 go to: https://raysofsunshine.org.uk/support-us/