A little lift when you need it most.

We’re on a mission to support every person affected by breast cancer in the UK.

Our mission

Little Lifts is a charity that provides the most thoughtfully handpicked gifts to support people with breast cancer.

We want to give every breast cancer patient in the UK a free Little Lifts gift Box when they start treatment.

Our Little Kindness Fund helps to make this happen.

Because a little kindness goes a long way.

Every year approximately 55,000 women and 400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK with 1 woman diagnosed every 10 minutes.

Source: Breast Cancer Now

Our NHS partners

In the East of England, our hospital partnerships help us to spread kindness. Dedicated Oncology, Radiotherapy and Breast Care Teams give Little Lifts gift Boxes directly to patients during treatment planning and review meetings.

If you’re receiving treatment at one of these hospitals, you will automatically receive a gift Box.

Click each hospital for more details.

Norfolk

• Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital

• James Paget University Hospital

• Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Suffolk

• Ipswich Hospital

• West Suffolk Hospital

Essex

• Colchester Hospital

• Broomfield Hospital

• Basildon Hospital

• Southend on Sea Hospital

Cambridgeshire

• Addenbrooke's Hospital

The Little Kindness Fund

The Little Kindness Fund is for people living in the UK who are receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment for primary or secondary breast cancer, but aren’t being treated at one of our NHS partners.

If that’s you, you can apply to receive a Little Lifts gift Box, free of charge, to support you through cancer treatment.

This is thanks to generous funding from Spacemasks and The Alborada Trust.

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Online shop

Only a person receiving treatment or their healthcare team can apply for a free Little Lifts gift Box.

If you’d like to surprise someone special with a Box, you can purchase one from our online shop, along with lots of other goodies.

All funds help to support more people with breast cancer in the UK.

Get involved

Become part of our Little Lifts community and help support people affected by breast cancer. There are a variety of ways you can get involved, from fundraising to volunteering.

Founder’s story

In 2014, at the age of 28, Little Lifts Founder, Oa, was diagnosed with primary breast cancer. What followed was a whirlwind of emotions and medical appointments. Six weeks after her diagnosis, she began six rounds of chemotherapy treatment. It was a scary time with lots of uncertainty and an overwhelming sense of the unknown.

Leading up to and during her treatment, Oa was fortunate to have a support network of family and friends to help her along the way. They lifted those down days with a few little treats to relieve some of the side effects she experienced – and so the concept of the Little Lifts gift Box was born.

The team

We call ourselves ‘small but mighty’ for a reason. Introducing the Little Lifts A-Team, working tirelessly to support people affected by breast cancer.

Oa Hackett

Founder

At the start of 2016, Oa googled ‘how to set up a charity’ and by the end of that year, Little Lifts was official. 12 months later, the first Little Lifts Box was gifted. Before starting Little Lifts, Oa had worked in a variety of roles within the Third Sector. In 2019 she was awarded a first in her CertHE in Charity and Enterprise Management. Oa is a fussy tea drinker, loves whales and recently joined the Pets as Therapy volunteer team with her pooch, Norma.

Kay Phoenix

Finance and Business Support Manager

Kay (aka Box Guru) coordinates lots of important bits behind the scenes at Little Lifts, including accounts, tech and office stuff. It’s no surprise that she LOVES a spreadsheet. Kay started working at Little Lifts in 2018, firstly as a volunteer. After attending a chemotherapy session with a family member and seeing firsthand its side effects, she was keen to support other people who are facing treatment for breast cancer.

Shopie Houghton-Hood

Events and Community Fundraising Manager

Shopie is our amazing events and fundraising guru, supporting and championing our community! In fact, in 2018 she was named South Norfolk Community Champion for her support of people affected by breast cancer. Shopie has volunteered with Little Lifts from the beginning. She was with Oa throughout her diagnosis and treatment, and was there when Little Lifts was born! She started her role with us in October 2019.

George Diggle

Admin and Support Coordinator

George joined us in September 2021 as part of the Government Kick Start Initiative. He is essentially Box Guru #2 and provides vital support to our operations so that our Boxes are carefully hand-packed and delivered on time. He also provides important administrative support and is Norma’s biggest fan! Following his 6-month placement, we are super proud of George for completing his apprenticeship with us. We have since welcomed him to the team permanently.

Frannie Neill

Operations and Support Executive

Frannie joined our Operations and Support team in May 2022, looking after all things Little Lifts Boxes, The Little Kindness Fund, and supporting our amazing volunteers and events. She has a 9-year-old and 7-year-old twins at home and is often heard singing to herself! She previously volunteered for Home-Start Norfolk, supporting a family with baby twins after experiencing their help with her own. She loves spending time with family and friends and has a (not so secret!) obsession with office stationery.

Anya-Lee Temple

Brand, Marketing and Community Executive

Anya-Lee started with us in August 2022, developing all things social media, website and marketing. As well as looking after our amazing online community and fundraisers. Her Art and English Literature background means she brings a creative eye to everything she does. Her obsession with visual arts peaks with anything Disney! With cancer touching her family on many occasions, she wanted to use her skills to positively impact others.

Lizzie Neale

Operations and Support Manager

Lizzie started with us in December 2022, having previously worked with members of the team. As Operations and Support Manager, Lizzie looks after our hospital partnerships, Boxes and volunteers. Lizzie also serves as Chair of our Little Seeds events committee, helping to raise awareness and funds for Little Lifts. In her free time, Lizzie enjoys being out in nature and singing with a local choir.

Hannah Hughes

Operations and Support Executive

Hannah was welcomed into the Operations Team in June 2023. Hannah has a personal connection to Little Lifts as her sister, Laura, is a Little Lifts Ambassador. Hannah has watched Little Lifts grow over the years and knows the importance of support during treatment. After studying Visual Studies at art school, she loves to be creative where she can! She also enjoys baking, jigsaw puzzles and long walks.

Norma

Office Pooch and Therapy Dog

The office certainly wouldn’t be the same without our four-legged friend (we wouldn’t miss her snoring though!). Norma’s such a big part of the family that every year you’ll find her on our Little Lifts Christmas cards!

The trustees

We have an excellent Board of Trustees – all highly experienced in their field and with a shared purpose to make Little Lifts the best it can be.

Together they guide, monitor, and govern the way Little Lifts operates.

Karyn Maier (Chair)

Strategy

Ella Wisbey

Marketing and Brand

Jill Ward

Legal (previous beneficiary)

Per Hall

Medical Consultant

Jon Hall (Treasurer)

Finance

Zoe Hill

Operations (previous beneficiary)

Belinda Gray

Founding Patron

Art for Cure raise vital funds to support breast cancer research, as well as wellbeing projects like ours. Art for Cure has been with us since the very beginning. Our initial meeting, with an empty box in hand, was where we shared our vision for the charity. Support and encouragement from Art for Cure provided us with vital funds between 2017-2020, enabling us to grow our NHS partnerships across Suffolk. Their support has directly benefited over 800 people affected by breast cancer.

Harriet Inglis

Patron

Since 2019, Harriet has wholeheartedly supported our work by donating Spacemasks to our Little Lifts gift Boxes, undertaking fundraising challenges, and encouraging her community to do the same (you’ll find her on Instagram)! In August 2020, she launched a new chamomile Spacemask in aid of Little Lifts, helping us to kick-start our Little Kindness Fund. She is always surprising our team with treats in the post, which brightens up our days!

Our impact

We know our work makes a big difference because so many people tell us so. Don’t just take our word for it.