A star-studded Ladies Lunch has raised more than £25,000 for Martin House Children’s Hospice. Around 200 guests gathered for the event at Hazlewood Castle, near Tadcaster, hosted by the charity’s ambassador – TV presenter and journalist, Christine Talbot.
Gogglebox star Lara Fawcett was among those in attendance.
Alongside a drinks reception, two-course lunch, and fundraising games, guests heard from Martin House mum Mehreen Rehman, whose two-year-old daughter Ava receives care from the hospice. Mehreen spoke about the support Martin House provides for her whole family, including Ava’s older sisters, Maya and Maysa.
Clair Holdsworth, chief executive at Martin House, said: “We are truly grateful to the inspiring women who joined us, and to our sponsors who helped make the event possible. The Ladies Lunch not only raised vital funds for our hospice, but also showed the incredible impact we can have when our community comes together.”
Throughout the day, attendees bid in a silent auction, with prizes ranging from weekend hotel breaks to a signed Leeds United shirt, helping to raise an additional £4,605. In total, the event raised a fantastic £25,446.
The money raised could help fund one of Martin House’s specialty doctors for more than two months, enabling families to receive advice and care from a specialist in paediatric palliative medicine.
As a thank you for their support, guests enjoyed complimentary pampering sessions from the Clarins team at John Lewis, Leeds, and Cloud Nine hair care.
The day concluded with an inspirational talk by Helen Butters, who as part of ‘Yorkshire Rows – Four Mums in a Boat’, rowed across the Atlantic in 2016, beating experienced sailors in the process, and raising thousands of pounds for charity.
Clair added: “Every year, we care for more than 500 children and young people with serious and complex health needs. Our services are available to families completely free of charge, 24/7, 365 days a year. It costs around £12 million a year to provide this specialist care, and the majority is funded by voluntary donations and fundraising.”
To find out more about Martin House and how to support the hospice, visit www.martinhouse.org.uk.
Pictures (all L-R):
Martin House director of income generation Robyn Mountain Wade, deputy director of clinical services Charlotte Walker, and chief executive Clair Holdsworth.
Atlantic rower Helen Butters with host and Martin House ambassador Christine Talbot.
Gogglebox star Lara Fawcett with guest Yvette Langton.
Ladies Lunch guests Rachel Akhtar, Amna Chaudhary, Laura Greenwood, Mehreen Rehman, Saleha Shah, Laura Chaudary, and Monica Saikia.
A full gallery of images from the event is available here: Ladies Lunch 2026 – Martin House
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Martin House has been providing family-led specialist palliative care and support for children and young people with life-shortening conditions since 1987 (life-shortening means the child or young person is not expected to live beyond young adulthood). We provide 24/7 care and support 365 days a year.
Every year we support over 500 children and young people, and their families plus around 200 bereaved family members across West, North and East Yorkshire, at our hospice, in hospitals and in families’ own homes.
The hospice, based in Boston Spa, has nine bedrooms in our children’s wing, and six in our teenage wing, which cares for teenagers and young people. Our services include specialist planned short breaks, symptom management, emergency care, community care and end of life care. Our facilities include a hydrotherapy pool, wellbeing centre and an education centre, providing children’s palliative care training to healthcare professionals.
Bereavement support is offered to families who have used Martin House, as well as to families whose child had a life-shortening condition but did not have the opportunity to use the hospice, or following a sudden death.
Martin House’s medical team includes three consultants in paediatric palliative medicine and also hosts two places to train future consultants, one of only around seven training centres in the UK.
There is no cost to any of the families using our services. It costs around £12 million a year to provide this care, the majority of which comes from voluntary donations and fundraising.
Registered Charity Number 517919
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