Turn Points Into Wishes: Supporting #Tickets2Wishes at Funstation

At Funstation we are proud to be supporters of #Tickets2Wishes, providing children and families battling serious, life-threatening conditions, with special days out and new experiences.

What is #Tickets2Wishes?

#Tickets2Wishes is a national Charity fund in the UK, run by Bacta, which is the trade association for the gaming machine and amusement industry. It enables members of the public to donate their leftover or unused redemption points from arcades and family entertainment centers to charity. These donated points are then converted into monetary funds, which are then used to grant wishes such as days out or experiences to families and children with serious conditions. #Tickets2Wishes work closely with the charity Rays of Sunshine to grant these wishes.

Who Are Rays of Sunshine?

Rays of Sunshine is a UK registered children’s charity that works to grant wishes and provide support for children aged 3-18 living with serious or life limiting illnesses. They aim to transform difficult times into something positive and memorable for the whole family by organising hospital ward visits, new experiences and fulfilling specific dreams for children such as meeting celebrities or ticking off bucket list wishes.

Our Partnership with Rays of Sunshine

We take great pride in our long-standing partnership with Rays of Sunshine. Rays of Sunshine are a charity that we hold close to our hearts and continue to host events with time after time. We believe that the impact the charity has on children and families is truly outstanding and is something that will never be underappreciated.

How We've Worked Together

At Funstation, we have held VIP family experience days across various locations including Edinburgh, Braehead, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Belfast, Dudley and Nottingham to support fundraising and provide local Wish families with a fun, stress free day out. Rays of Sunshine works to turn pain into joy for seriously ill children across the UK by granting specific wishes, while Funstation provides fun, safe and family-friendly entertainment environments.

Charity Events & Fundraising

Rays of Sunshine have been with us through many grand opening events, including Leeds, High Wycombe and our most recent addition, Merry Hill! To mark each opening event, we proudly provide a donation to support the granting of even more wishes to children in the areas we serve. We also invite families into the venue for an exclusive preview, and in Merry Hill we were lucky enough to enjoy the evening with Sonny, the charity’s mascot!

Our employees at Funstation also directly support Rays of Sunshine, with our Head of Marketing and Customer Experience, Chris Alexander, running the London Half Marathon in aid of the charity raising an honourable £3,265.

Chris proudly stated “I wanted to take on this challenge for lots of reasons but at the forefront of everything is the amazing Children associated with Rays and all the work that Rays of sunshine do! All that we raised before the race was matched by our fantastic company Funstation UK and I can't thank you all enough!”.

Back in November of 2023, we introduced a new Eco Plush Toy into our claw machines in partnership with Rays of Sunshine. The Plush were made from 100% recycled materials and 50p from each toy won was donated to the children's charity. Supporting the charity further, the families across the UK were brought joy and our shared mission to enrich children’s lives and make a positive environmental impact was able to flourish!

Our Commitment to Supporting Local Comunities

At Funstation, we don’t see ourselves as only an entertainment venue—we’re part of the communities we operate in and support these means a lot to us. We recognise that it is important to pour into the people around us, to provide safe and inclusive entertainment spaces for families. We believe in fostering joy and giving back to the local community.

That’s why supporting initiatives like Tickets2Wishes is so important to us. It allows us to give something back, not only nationally through our partnership with Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity, but also locally through the people who visit us every day.

How You Can Get Involved

Getting involved couldn't be easier! Next time you visit Funstation:

1. Head to our Prize Station at your local Funstation

2. Let a team member know you’d like to donate your points

3. Choose the amount you’d like to give

4. Our team will take care of the rest!

There is no minimum amount, every point donated helps support Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity and brings us one step closer to granting another wish.

Why it Matters

For many families supported by Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity, these wishes provide a moment of light during incredibly challenging times. They create memories, bring families together and offer something to look forward to.

Every donation matters and is valued in the hopes to support local families and provide a safe and extraordinary trip out to bring light and joy in a time of darkness.

Find out more about Rays of Sunshine here https://raysofsunshine.org.uk/