The UK’s first children and young people’s bereavement charity, WINSTON’S WISH, is hosting a special Christmas party for bereaved children and their families in Cardiff. This free party is open to bereaved local children up to the age of 12 and will feature a silent disco, arts and crafts, a games station, party food and a gift from Santa.
The idea of the party is to bring together children and their families who are united by their shared experiences of grief and bereavement because for them, Christmas can be an emotional time of year. The parties are free for eligible children and are funded by the kind support of donors.
Estimates suggest that, devastatingly, each day, more than 100 children in the UK are bereaved of a parent and that figure doesn’t equate how many young people are coping with the death of a sibling, grandparent, friend, or another significant individual in their lives.
Nicole Gerrard, Fundraising Events and Campaigns Manger told us more….
“We know that Christmas can be a really difficult time of year for grieving children and their families. What is traditionally a time to celebrate family and good times together can actually serve to be a devastating reminder of their bereavement. For some, this Christmas will be their first festivity without their special person, for others this Xmas period is another reminder that their loved one is no longer with them.
For these bereaved children and their families, it can be an incredibly isolating experience because it can cause a mixture of emotions from guilt over trying to have an enjoyable time to overwhelming sadness. This is why we hope to be able to unite local bereaved families to be able to come together and enjoy some nice memories with catering, festive activities, silent discos, arts and crafts and so on, all with expert bereavement support worker on hand.”
The special party also carries the thought of the charity’s Christmas Appeal – Colour their Christmas – which will serve to raise awareness of the situation countless bereaved young people, and their families will be facing this festive season. Crucially, the appeal is also designed to raise vital funds so that Winston’s Wish can continue to open its services to grieving children locally and further afield throughout the UK.
During a time of year that is renowned for its sparkle and shine, many grieving children and young adults can feel like the colour and vibrancy has been drained from their day to day, not to mention the festive season. As the UK’s first children and young people’s bereavement charity, Winston’s Wish offers expert on-demand support and advice to grieving young people themselves as well as the adults around them such as parents or teachers.
As a national charity, Winston’s Wish is hosting parties in various locations across the UK in order to introduce its services to those in need of support.
Nicole Gerrard continues…..
“We are so thankful to be able to offer this party to local children who are navigating their bereavement and feelings of grief, and we’re reminded just how indebted we are to the kind and generous donations from incredible supporters.
Many of our donors were themselves bereaved as young people and know what it was like to grow up with grief, often without the expert support they needed. Without these kind donations we simply could not open our on-demand services and fund expert bereavement support workers to be on-hand to help the grieving young people and their families who come to us for support, advice and comfort. We hope that as many people as possible share and engage with our Colour Their Christmas fundraising campaign so that we can be there for the grieving young people who need us the most.”
The free party will be hosted at local school Fitzalan High Schoolin Cardiff on the 14th of December. Parents can register up to three children per family aged 12 and younger via the link HERE
Winston’s Wish is keen to reassure bereaved young people and their families that they are welcome to chat online, email or call for free to speak to a bereavement support worker by calling 08088 020 021, emailing [email protected] or using the live chat HERE.
