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Memorable Moments…
Heather Spalding: Fundraising for Child Bereavement UK
Nerys Hughes and attended by
over 180 guests, who joined
forces to remember Harry and
support the charity. The
success of the event meant
that almost £10,000 was
raised for Child Bereavement
UK which was spent buying
books to help children cope
with the death of a brother or
sister. It was people power at
its finest. And it was, without a
doubt, Heather’s most
memorable moment.
It was, and continues to be,
events like these which enable
Child Bereavement UK to offer
their assistance to families at
the time of their greatest need.
In addition to its counselling
services, every year the charity
trains more than 9,000
professionals helping them to
better understand and meet
the needs of grieving families.
This essential work is
supported by fundraising
activities, as it has been for
decades.
Now, as a result of public
fundraising and support, Child
Bereavement UK is able to
offer a range of bereavement
services, including individual,
couple and family support
sessions, parents’ support
groups for baby and child
death, family Support Groups
for children aged 4-12 to
attend with adult carers and a
Young People’s Advisory Group
(YPAG) for bereaved young
people up to the age of 25.
hen Heather Spalding
and her family
tragically lost their baby,
Harry, it was Child
Bereavement UK (then
called The Child
Bereavement Trust) who
they turned to. This charity
supports families and
educates professionals
when a baby or child of any
age dies, or is dying, or
when a child is facing
bereavement. experience she explained that
Jenni “feels for us and will
always be there, either in
person or on the other end of a
phone.” ever catered for and he wasn’t
alone in this. In fact, no one
on the committee had ever
organised an event on such a
scale.
It was this invaluable support
that inspired Heather and her
family and friends to create a
fundraising event to thank Child
Bereavement UK for all that
they had done, and will do, for
those who struggle with the
devastating loss of a child. Despite their relative
inexperience, the committee
managed to pull off a show-
stopper. Held at Fawley Court
in Henley on Thames, on the
16th November 1996, the
night was hosted by actress
Jenni Thomas OBE had
founded the charity only the
year before in 1994. As a
trained counsellor, she stepped
into the family’s lives and into
their home. In the book
Heather wrote about her Heather gathered a committee
of people to organise the event
and enlisted the help of her
friend Peter Kerwood, fresh
from catering college, to cater
for the occasion. It was, at the
time, the biggest event he’d Jenni Thomas OBE, founder of Child Bereavement UK, worked with
the charity for its first 15 years. The work of the charity was
launched and established with Julia Samuel MBE as Founder
Patron at the Royal College of Nursing, and in the presence of
Diana, Princess of Wales.
W
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THE LONDON & UK DATEBOOK
www.childbereavementuk.org