Hey Guys,

Thank you so much for visiting my fundraising page!

When I decided to take a gap year before University I decided that I wanted to achieve something and help somebody, Therefore, I have decided to take on the challenge of a lifetime to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in March 2010!

I have chosen to raise money for WINSTON'S WISH, a child bereavement charity based in West Sussex.

Having lost my Dad at the age of 8 I have first hand experience of how hard it is when you lose a loved one at such a young age. My Dad had been ill for 18 months, but due to my age I was too young to understand just how severe his illness was and when he finally I died I remember being very shocked and didnt know how to react. As expected, it was very hard at home as my Mum and two older sisters came to deal with his death, however due to my age they tried to get me back to normality and quicklly as possible. It was only 6 years later when my Nan died, the one person who had held everything together, that I realised that I hadn't grieved for my Dad. This was mainly because I was unable to speak to anybody about my feelings. This wasnt due to my family as we have always been a very open family, however when I saw how upset everyone was I didnt want to add my feelings to them and cause them more upset. This is where the services of Winston's Wish comes into a family.

Winston's Wish is the leading childhood bereavement charity and the largest provider of services to bereaved children, young people and their families in the UK. It was set up in 1992.They are their to help children who have lost someone close to them to talk about and come to terms with their loss away from their family. They are their to provide professional assistance before, during and after bereavement they help them to better understand the nature of loss and offer the practical support and guidance that many need in order to cope throughout the grieving process.

One thing I always rememver was thinking that I was the odd one out as I knew no one else who had lost a parent. Winston's Wish helps children realise that they are not alone by getting the children to work with others who are going through a similar experience. They give children the chance to be open up about their feelings without being scared to upset anyone and make them realise that they are not alone, whilst also having fun on weekend trips away. These weekends away give children a chance to act like a normal child again without the cconstant loss on their mind.

Their Services include:

national helpline for anyone caring for a child coping with the serious illness or death of a family member 

group work with bereaved children and their families

individual work with bereaved children and their families

range of publications, resources and educational films

support programme for schools

tailor-made training and consultancy for professionals.

residential weekends.

 

A few numbers:

• Every 22 minutes a child in Britain is bereaved of a parent.
• Over 24,000 children are bereaved of a parent each year in Britain. 
• Over 500 children a year receive in-depth help from Winston's Wish, including family consultations, individual and group support, plus follow-up meetings. 
• Every year the Helpline supports around 3,500 families and professionals, benefiting an estimated 7,000 children.

 

Where your money can go:

£1,000 – covers comprehensive phone support from a professionally trained family practitioner for 15 families in the 6 months leading up to a residential weekend.

£2,000 – allows us to recruit and train 15 volunteers to support bereaved children and young people on our residential weekends.

£3,000 – funds 2 children to attend a residential weekend for children bereaved through suicide. The service provided includes face-to-face assessment time with the children and their families, before and after the weekend, from trained professionals.

£4,000 – covers the total cost of our work with bereaved pre-school children for an entire year.

£5,000 – helps us promote our services to schools for an entire year. This programme allows us to reach more children and helps teachers to better support bereaved pupils.

 

Basically, Winston's Wish is their for families before and after the loss of someone close to them sometimes when their other family are unable to be emotionally.They are their to listen, teach, communicate and care for each individual child. Winston's Wish are supporting around 25,000 bereaved children and young people, 67% of them having lost a parent.Winston's Wish is their for anyone who is unfortuanate enough to lose someone at a young age.

I really hope you will help me meet my target which I know will help children during a time of unimaginable pain when life feels like its crumbling around them. I have experienced the loss of a parent at a young age and Im sure that if I had Winston's Wish to turn to the days and months after Dad died would have been a lot easier.

Many Thanks,

Love x

 

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