Hello! We are Olivia, Joe and Hannah and we are all Rays of Sunshine Wish Ambassadors; meaning we have all had a wish granted by Rays of Sunshine. Rays is a small charity, run by an amazing group of people totally dedicated to brightening the lives of seriously ill children. By granting wishes and providing support in hospital, Rays of Sunshine helps children and their family to forget their illness, giving them memories, they will never forget. 

The three of us met and have become friends through Rays of Sunshine and have experienced first-hand, the incredible work it does. The charity has positively impacted on our recovery when we’ve been ill and the team just seem to know when our health takes a turn for the worst, showing up to bring a smile to our face, just when we have needed it most.  

Between the 3 of us, we’ve spent countless amounts of time in hospital, endured numerous surgeries (heart surgeries, a liver transplant and chemotherapy) and as a result, we regularly have had to miss out on the normal fun things in life that most children take for granted; spending time with our siblings and often not see our parents at the same time because one is with us in hospital and the other is at work or having to look after other members of the family. Serious illness splits up the family unit and makes planning ahead so difficult because things can suddenly go wrong.  It’s our hospital experiences and our life journey so far, that has brought us together as friends and led to us having our greatest wishes granted. You can read more about our personal stories a little further on

Due to Covid 19, the world has had to change. Mass participation events have been cancelled and this has had a huge impact on fundraising opportunities for Rays of Sunshine. It has had to change the way it grants wishes and keeps children smiling in hospital and has also had to get creative with raising money. When Rays of Sunshine announced their virtual challenge’ Rays and Shine’, we knew we wanted to team up and do something epic!

One of our joint goals was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro – sadly due to coronavirus we cannot quite do that, BUT, we can bring the mountain to us!! Yes, you read that right. We are going to trek the distance of the Mount Kilimanjaro climb (the distance from the gate of Kilimanjaro park, to the top of the mountain) on treadmills in the gym, in one day. That’s 37 miles between us, and just to make it as realistic as possible, the treadmills will be set on an incline.

The three of us know the true value of a wish and our focus during this huge but exciting challenge, will be to raise as much money as we can so that other wish children can experience the same happiness & special memories that Rays has given us. We would be so grateful if you could sponsor us to help keep other seriously ill children smiling through all the tough times they have and help them to continue having fun and enjoying life through the incredible work that Rays of Sunshine does.

Watch our pledge video Click here!

Olivia:

Hiya,

My name is Olivia and I was born with a rare liver disease called Biliary Atresia and had a liver transplant when I was 7 months old. My Dad donated part of his liver to me. Since then, I’ve undergone a few major surgeries, still have many health complications and have to make regular trips to the hospital.

In 2014, Rays of Sunshine granted my wish to meet Winter the Dolphin from Dolphin Tale, in Florida. This was the most incredible and memorable experience I’ve ever had and the fact that my family was there with me, made it all the more special. Rays of Sunshine always seem to know when I’m going through a bad time and have not only positively impacted on my recovery from illness, but have brought a smile to my face on so many occasions. That in itself makes my entire family feel more uplifted. My Mum calls this the Rays effect and having experienced the amazing work that Rays of Sunshine does, I am so excited to do this challenge and continue to give back and raise awareness for them. 

This October also marks my 15-year transplant anniversary, making this challenge even more of a celebration. The happiness Rays of Sunshine bring and the experiences they give to children and their families are beyond imaginable. They truly are the most thoughtful, caring and kind team of people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and being involved with. 

Joe: 

Hello there!