Lifelites
Lifelites is a UK charity founded in 1999 that donates and supports assistive and sensory technology packages for children with life-limiting conditions in hospices, hospitals, schools, and community organisations across Britain and Ireland.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Lifelites does
Lifelites is a UK-registered charitable incorporated organisation (Charity No. 1165791) founded in 1999 that provides assistive and sensory technology packages, specialist training, installation, and ongoing maintenance to children's palliative care services throughout Britain and Ireland. Its product portfolio comprises 14 devices spanning eye-tracking communication systems (Eyegaze, partnered with Smartbox), interactive projection (Magic Carpet, created by Lee Blemings), immersive sensory tents (PODs Sensory Tent from PODs Play), switch-adapted play (Cosmo, iClick, Oddball), touch-free music (Soundbeam), VR headsets (Oculus 3), tablets with communication software, the AV1 telepresence robot, and supporting hardware such as the Tilt and Touch Table, Tech Trunk, Entertainment Hub, and Wildlife Window. Each package is delivered to a hospice or community partner at no cost, accompanied by face-to-face and online training and four years of ongoing support.
Lifelites operates a donation-funded, non-commercial model with no government funding. Revenue is generated through individual donations (one-off and monthly), corporate partnerships (CIBC £65,000; Matchroom Foundation £35,000; Fundment £13,350; Boston Scientific Foundation Europe), Freemasonry networks (Jersey Freemasons £60,000 over four years; Widows Sons Masonic Bikers £28,035), legacies, in-memory giving, and community fundraising events. Distribution is direct: the charity ships curated technology bundles to children's hospices and, since 2025, to selected community organisations through the Lifelites 25 anniversary programme, which targets 25 organisations with packages worth up to £25,000 each over 2025-2027. Customer segments include children's hospices, hospitals (including a first cancer-service partnership with The Joshua Tree), special schools, neonatal units, and disability charities; the ultimate beneficiaries are children aged 0-18 (up to 25 in some services) with life-limiting conditions and their families.
The organisation runs a lean operation (1-10 employees) under CEO Rob Lightfoot, governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by Tony Harvey with Deputy Chair Kieran Stewart. Strategic priorities are anchored in the Lifelites 25 anniversary programme, geographic and vertical expansion into schools, neonatal units, and cancer services, and sustained Freemasonry and corporate partnership development.
Lifelites firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lifelites
- Legal name
- Lifelites
- Website
- https://lifelites.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Lifelites is a UK charity founded in 1999 that donates and supports assistive and sensory technology packages for children with life-limiting conditions in hospices, hospitals, schools, and community organisations across Britain and Ireland.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lifelites industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Children's Hospice Assistive Technology Services
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Individual and Family Services (6241), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Orthopedic, Prosthetic & Surgical Appliances & Supplies (3842)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Pediatric Hospice & Palliative Care (HLADAHAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Palliative Care, Hospice & Serious Illness Support (BPAGACAK), Pediatric Hospice & Palliative In-Home Care (HSABAFAE)
Keywords
Where Lifelites is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lifelites business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: One-time and monthly donations from individual supporters. Donors can give specific amounts (£10, £20, £35, or custom) or set up recurring monthly gifts. Includes Gift Aid option for UK taxpayers.
- Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with corporations providing significant funding. Includes employee fundraising, matched giving, event sponsorships, and cause marketing. Examples include CIBC (£65,000), Matchroom Foundation (£35,000), Fundment (£13,350).
- Freemasonry Partnerships: Long-standing partnership with Freemasons providing substantial and consistent funding. Includes Provincial Grand Lodge donations, Lodge collections, special interest groups (Widows Sons Masonic Bikers), and honorifics programmes. Examples include Jersey Freemasons (£60,000 over 4 years), Widows Sons (£28,035).
- Legacies and Wills: Gifts in Wills providing planned giving opportunities for supporters to leave lasting legacy.
- Community Projects: Lifelites 25 programme providing £25,000 packages of technology to selected community organisations over 3 years (2025-2027).
- Event Fundraising: Participation events including marathons, half-marathons, Tough Mudder, skydiving, gaming streams. Supporters raise money through personal challenges.
- In Memory Giving: Donations made in memory of loved ones, providing meaningful way to commemorate while supporting the charity.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels10 records
Lifelites product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lifelites curates and donates cutting-edge assistive and sensory technology packages to children's palliative care services throughout Britain and Ireland. Each package combines purpose-selected equipment (eye-tracking, interactive projection, sensory tents, VR, switches, tablets, and more) with specialist installation, face-to-face and online training, user guides, and up to four years of ongoing technical support, enabling children with life-limiting conditions to play, communicate, and connect with family.
Product overview
Lifelites provides cutting-edge assistive and sensory technology packages to children's palliative care services across Britain and Ireland. The organization offers a portfolio of 14 distinct assistive technology products including eye-tracking systems (Eyegaze), interactive projectors (Magic Carpet), switch-adapted devices (Cosmo, iClick Switches, Oddball), VR headsets, sensory tents (PODs), music technology (Soundbeam), tablets (iPads), telepresence robots (AV1), and specialized furniture (Tilt and Touch Table, Wildlife Window). These products work together to enable children with life-limiting conditions to play, communicate, learn, and connect with families. Lifelites provides not just the equipment but also specialist training, configuration, installation support, and ongoing maintenance services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Lifelites 25: A ground-breaking programme empowering children with life-limiting conditions through assistive technology, launched to celebrate the charity's 25th anniversary and support 25 organisations over three years with technology packages up to £25,000 each.
- Lifelites Learning Hub
Quantifiable outcome
- Supports every children's hospice across Britain and Ireland
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Lifelites
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Lifelites technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature14 records
Lifelites partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor, strategic expansion, major and key ambassador.
- Demelza (Children's Hospice)coreDemelza and Lifelites have partnered for 25 years to deliver life-changing technology, empowering children with life-limiting conditions to play, communicate, and create treasured memories.
- SmartboxcoreSmartbox's Eyegaze technology is a key component of Lifelites' assistive technology packages, empowering children with life-limiting conditions to communicate, play, and connect using eye-tracking.
- PODs PlaycoreAlex Ford of PODs Play creates the hugely popular immersive Sensory PODS tents included in Lifelites technology packages. PODs create calming, themed experiences for children.
- Lee Blemings (Magic Carpet Creator)coreLee Blemings created Magic Carpet, an inclusive technology loved in Lifelites' hospice packages, bringing joy and connection through interactive play projection systems.
- Aviation Heroes AwardsminorAviation Services UK chose Lifelites as charity partner for inaugural Aviation Heroes Awards 2025, raising £3,864 for the charity.
- The Joshua Tree Children's Cancer Centrestrategic expansionFirst children's cancer service to be supported by Lifelites through Boston Scientific Foundation Europe funding. Provides full technology suite for children with cancer in north west England and north Wales.
- Jersey FreemasonsmajorJersey Freemasons pledged £60,000 to fund Lifelites technology, training and support for two children's services (Oakwell Short Breaks Centre and Family Nursing and Home Care Children's Community Nursing Team) over four years. Prince of Wales and Duke of Normandy Lodges also pledged £5k through honorifics programme.
- Widows Sons Masonic Bikers AssociationcoreMasonic bikers association pledged £25,000 and raised £28,035 for Lifelites, smashing their target. They reaffirmed long-term commitment to fundraise for Lifelites and assistive technology over the next 12 months. Part of broader Freemasonry partnership.
- Helen & Douglas HousecoreHelen House, the world's first children's hospice, inspired the UK children's hospice movement and continues its legacy with support from Lifelites.
- Tŷ Hafan Children's HospicecoreTŷ Hafan staff and families share how Lifelites technology brings joy, connection, and meaningful moments to children with life-limiting conditions. Features Lifelites Champions Katie and Emma using technology daily.
- Sarah Ezekiel (Patron)key ambassadorSarah Ezekiel is a Lifelites patron and artist who lives with MND and creates powerful art using Eyegaze technology. She proves how assistive technology can transform lives and inspire hope.
- Alexander Devine Children's Hospice ServicecoreFounder Fiona Devine MBE is dedicated to providing care and support to the local community. Hospice has featured in ITV News showcasing technology including iClick switches for baking with Habibah.
- Haven House Children's HospicecoreSarah Ezekiel (Lifelites Patron) visited Haven House Children's Hospice to showcase Eyegaze technology.
- Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys (now Freemasonry)coreLifelites was conceived in 1999 as a Millennium Project within the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys. It rapidly gained prominence providing networked computers for every children's hospice in the UK. Lifelites has been separately registered since 2006 and remains a proud partner of Freemasons, working closely with Lodges, Provinces and Lodge Associations to raise funds.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Lifelites competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Together for Short Lives: UK umbrella charity for children's palliative care, representing children's hospice services across Britain. Directly comparable as the sector body that Lifelites' hospice partners belong to and fundraises within the same donor pool.
- Smartbox Assistive Technology: UK-based provider of Eyegaze and other AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) hardware and software. Direct technology partner of Lifelites and competes in the broader paediatric assistive-tech and AAC market that Lifelites' packages serve.
- Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly CLIC Sargent): Major UK charity supporting children and young people with cancer. Comparable scale charity in the adjacent childhood cancer segment that Lifelites is now expanding into via the Joshua Tree partnership.
- No Isolation: Norwegian/UK company behind the AV1 telepresence robot used in Lifelites packages. Directly comparable as the technology supplier whose AV1 product is a flagship component of Lifelites' offering — competes for the same use case (children missing school due to illness).
- Whizz-Kidz: UK charity providing mobility equipment and assistive technology to disabled children. Comparable donation-funded charity serving the same beneficiary population (disabled children) with a similar equipment-and-training service model.
- SpecialEffect: UK charity providing assistive gaming and inclusive technology to children and adults with disabilities. Closest peer — operates a similar donation-funded model curating third-party technology for severely disabled users.
Regional players
- Haven House Children's Hospice: Children's hospice in North and East London and West Essex, and a Lifelites partner. Comparable as a regional hospice peer within Lifelites' beneficiary ecosystem; complementary service model.
- Demelza Hospice Care for Children: Children's hospice in Kent and South East London, and a 25-year Lifelites partner. Compares as both a customer and a sector peer — same beneficiary population, complementary (rather than competing) service model focused on care delivery rather than technology.
Broad incumbents
- Make-A-Wish UK: Large UK charity granting wishes to children with critical illnesses. Comparable scale and donation-driven model serving critically ill children; overlaps with Lifelites' beneficiary population but operates a fundamentally different service (wish granting vs. technology provision).
- RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People): UK charity providing assistive technology and services to people with sight loss — a much larger, established organisation. Overlaps with Lifelites on Eyegaze technology provision but serves a far broader and different beneficiary base.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lifelites social profiles
Digital presenceLifelites financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lifelites leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Lifelites funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lifelites M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lifelites
What does Lifelites do?
Lifelites curates and donates cutting-edge assistive and sensory technology packages to children's palliative care services throughout Britain and Ireland. Each package combines purpose-selected equipment (eye-tracking, interactive projection, sensory tents, VR, switches, tablets, and more) with specialist installation, face-to-face and online training, user guides, and up to four years of ongoing technical support, enabling children with life-limiting conditions to play, communicate, and connect with family.
Is Lifelites a public or private company?
Lifelites is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Lifelites founded?
Lifelites was founded in 1999. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Lifelites based?
Lifelites is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Lifelites make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are corporate Partnerships, freemasonry Partnerships, legacies and Wills, community Projects, event Fundraising and in Memory Giving.
Who are Lifelites's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Together for Short Lives, Smartbox Assistive Technology, Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly CLIC Sargent), No Isolation, Whizz-Kidz and SpecialEffect. Regional players are Haven House Children's Hospice and Demelza Hospice Care for Children. Broad incumbents are Make-A-Wish UK and RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People).
Does Lifelites have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lifelites.
What industry is Lifelites in?
Lifelites's product category is Children's Hospice Assistive Technology Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLADAHAI, Pediatric Hospice & Palliative Care, with a secondary code of BPAGACAK, Palliative Care, Hospice & Serious Illness Support. Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 8300.