Since launching in 2017, we have expanded our reach through partnerships with 10 NHS hospitals across the East of England, and through our national Little Kindness Fund, which enables people outside our hospital partnership areas to apply for our support.
Volunteers Maria and Leon delivered the milestone Box to our hospital partners in Basildon and Southend-on-Sea. Our Founder, Oa, says: “Delivering our 40,000th Box is a reminder of the strength of a community built on kindness and generosity. Every Box represents someone facing breast cancer treatment who deserves to feel supported, cared for and not alone. I cannot thank our Little Lifts community enough for believing in our vision.”
Little Lifts Boxes are carefully curated by people with lived experience of breast cancer treatment and include practical items to help manage treatment side effects, along with small comforts designed to support emotional wellbeing. Each Box is hand-packed by a volunteer, many of whom have previously received a Box themselves.
In 2025 alone, we distributed 12,672 Boxes through our NHS hospital partnerships and nationally via the Little Kindness Fund (LKF). Volunteers contributed more than 3,000 hours and supported 21 trips in its van, ‘Hope’, delivering 4132 Boxes across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire, while assessors processed over 8,000 LKF applications for support. We also hosted 8 Community Clubs, including its first-ever in-person Focus Group for breast cancer patients in London who received a Box through the Little Kindness Fund.
Treatment pathways for breast cancer vary, but around 81% of patients undergo surgery, 61% receive radiotherapy, and 34% receive chemotherapy* as part of their primary or palliative treatment. Little Lifts currently offers three tailored Boxes – Surgery, Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy – to ensure patients receive support that reflects their individual treatment journey.
Feedback from clinicians and recipients consistently highlights the impact of the Boxes, particularly at a time when many people report the emotional effects of cancer as more challenging than the physical side effects.
Looking ahead, we plan to distribute more than 14,000 Boxes in 2026 and to begin preparations for its ten-year anniversary in 2027.
Oa added: “This milestone isn’t about numbers; it’s about the people we support. It shows what’s possible when compassion, generosity and community come together to support those facing one of the hardest moments of their lives.”
We cannot thank you all enough for helping us in our mission to spread support, love and kindness. Special thanks to Cards n Things for supplying our brilliant balloons.
If you would like to help us on our mission of supporting every person in the UK receiving treatment for breast cancer check out our get involved page and help make a difference.
*Source: https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/data/data-outputs/cancer-data-hub/cancer-treatments