Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

25 years ago my family were struck by a terrible tragedy, my dad and grandad were both killed in a light aircraft accident. There were 4 passengers on board collectively, my dad was the pilot when catastrophe struck that was not his making or in his control and all lives were lost. He was taking my grandad on a trip for his birthday.

I was 10 years old at the time, my brothers were 12 & 14. My mum was faced with losing the love of her life and trying to support 3 deeply traumatized grieving children.

We were all so lost, our world had crumbled. It was like we had been placed in a dark forest, no trail, no map. Lost and alone.

Then we met our counsellor from Cruse Bereavement Care. I honestly think she was an angel sent by my dad.

They had faced bereavement themselves, they supported us to understand what grief is, they validated our feelings. They gave us space to say the unspeakable. She found me in those dark woods and was a guiding light on the start of my long journey with grief.

We were able to be counselled as a family but also as individuals. This was so important.

I was so deeply traumatized by this loss, but I can't imagine how it would have been if I had no support at all. No child or young person should be facing the death of a loved one and expected to walk that path alone. Sadly, this is often the case with many of them unable to access services they need. This is often a postcode lottery, with the services available underfunded and over stretched.

So, to not only raise money for this wonderful charity I also want to bring about awareness for those children and young people. They deserve to have someone holding that guiding lantern of light.

I will be facing my biggest fear of getting in a light aircraft. I haven't done this since flying with my dad and I can assure you jumping out of it will be a relief. I've never been a good flyer, and I never ever thought I would step back on a small plane again. I am genuinely terrified.

Please, give what you can, even the price of a coffee or £1 because it all makes a difference. But please also talk about this issue, make it known that our bereaved children need and are deserving of this support. The situation is truly critical and has been for a long time.

Thank you, truly thank you for even just reading this or sharing the link. We can all be apart of this collective change.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.