The Play Well Trust was founded in 2019 by mum of three, Sarah Vaughan, after a friend of her daughter's was diagnosed with a Brain tumour when she was just 3 years old.

Wanting to help the family, Sarah, a qualified early year's teacher, created a Feel Better Box full of creative play activities to support the little girl and her family as she recovered from Proton Therapy and was too unwell to attend school.

The Feel Better Box was so successful, that Sarah felt that other families in a similar situation would also benefit from creative play activities and so she launched The Play Well Trust.

Since this time The Play Well Trust has flourished and they have fundraised to send over 50 boxes to families across the UK. 50% of those families were affected by childhood cancer.

In 2020 74% of the Feel Better Boxes were for children under 5 years old and 31% of boxes sent were for babies and toddlers.

Play is especially important for children who are experiencing long term illness, trauma, loss or life changes. Play between family members, whether it be a parent and child, siblings, grand parents and children, or others, helps to build stronger relationships and offers the opportunity for better communication and understanding.

Play enables a child who is unwell to be free of their worries and illness for a time, it removes the medical aspect of the relationship between them and whoever they are playing with, and it gives them back a little bit of their childhood.

Play can:

Boost communication and understanding

Allow space for laughter and fun

Allow space for tears and frustrations

Strengthen relationships

Lower stress levels and blood pressure

Boost the immune system

Remind us all of who we really are

Therefore play is the very essence of all of the work we do here at The Play Well Trust.