The team at Tong Garden Centre has announced that it has raised £10,000 for Leeds based children's cancer charity, Candlelighters in 2018.

The team at Tong raised funds for the charity that supports Yorkshire families facing children's cancer through a series of events and collection boxes at the tills.

Staff at Tong voted unanimously to support Candlelighters during 2018 and a charity committee was set up to organise fund-raising initiatives including the Maserati Tour De Yorkshire Ride that was led by Tong's MD, Mark Farnsworth; a sponsored walk; staff raffles; donkey rides and letters to Santa.

Tong's charity committee chairman, Dennis Keen, is delighted with the amount raised and said: "We all know someone whose lives have been affected by childhood cancers, so we're very pleased to help Candlelighters to fight children's cancer in our local community."

Amy Harrison, corporate fundraiser for Candlelighters is thrilled with the donation, she said: "We are absolutely delighted to have worked with Tong Garden Centre in 2018, and so appreciate their huge efforts in raising £10,000 for our charity. Money such as this could do so much, from funding sibling groups and trips for a year, sending 10 families on a much needed holiday or funding talking therapies for our families for four months! Candlelighters supports children and their families affected by a childhood cancer diagnosis. Our support lasts as long as families need it, and we couldn't offer it without the support of fundraisers like Tong Garden Centre."

Candlelighters supports families facing children's cancer in Yorkshire. The charity gets involved in many different projects to help ordinary families who are facing extraordinary circumstances and provides support on the wards, at its family support centre and in the community.

Tong's fund raising team has said it will be announcing its 2019 charity of the year shortly.