In May this year, my best friend received the most devastating news. Her husband had taken his own life, leaving her and her 2 year old daughter to find a way to come to terms with such a traumatic and life changing tragedy.

Through the extremely complex emotions, Winston’s wish has been there to not only make sure that she is having the right conversations on how to help her daughter process the situation in the best way a 2 year old can, but also as she grows up and starts to comprehend the information differently throughout her formative years and beyond.

Winston's wish provides a call centre between 8am and 8pm weekdays to support those who need advice and support in talking to their children about the loss of a parent. They also provide a live chat and and email service in which they will get back to you within 2 working days or an urgent text service.

5,583 people died by suicide in England and Wales in 2021, many of which will be parents or siblings leaving behind children and young people to grieve and adjust to life without them. The death of someone important can be the most traumatic experience a child or young person will ever face.

I will be running the London Marathon on 21st April 2024 to raise money for Winston’s Wish for the 127 children a day that lose a parent in the UK, whether by suicide or not.

This is my first ever marathon and not to ever do things by half, I am aiming to not only complete it but do it in under 4 hours! I aim to raise £2000 for Winston’s Wish, so would really appreciate any donation you can spare, big or small!

I will be updating this page regularly with all my training milestones, small successes and massive fails so please feel free to follow me on Strava and see how I'm getting on:

https://www.strava.com/athletes/7731614

Love, Louisa xx

Read on to hear a bit more about Winston's wish and the fantastic support they do. https://www.winstonswish.org/about-us/

Winston’s Wish relies on voluntary charitable donations to support children and their families following the death of a parent, sibling or important person. Since 1992, they have helped tens of thousands of bereaved children and young people and, with your help, can help tens of thousands more during the most difficult time of their lives.

£8.50 could enable us to provide one child with a memory box that can be used to store treasured objects, helping them to remember their loved one in a way that is personal to them.

£20 could cover the cost of operating our website for a day, including Help2MakeSense – a support forum for bereaved young people.

£35 could fund one call to our National Helpline which is the gateway to our services offering parents, professionals and children, therapeutic advice when they need it most.