Bereavement Support Packs delivered to UHCW

Last week, we delivered another set of Bereavement Support Packs. This time they have been donated to the palliative care ward and children's ward at UHCW.

Lisbeth Bakewell (Operations Manager) delivers Bereavement Support Packs to UHCW staff

We have three different packs available, tailored for pre-school children, primary school children, and teenagers.

Example Bereavement Support Pack

Our packs include a HappySelf Journal for writing/drawing their thoughts and feelings, an age appropriate bereavement-themed book, activity sheets and colouring pencils, a fidget toy and Buddy Bear himself. We have also provided information and guidance to parents and the hospital staff as we know how tricky conversations around death and dying can be.

We would like to thank Intercity Technology for their generous donation for this project, and we are really looking forward to hearing about the difference the packs will make to our local community .

The team at Codemasters who volunteered their time to put together 60 Bereavement Support Packs

Thanks also to the team at Codemasters who kindly volutneered their time to put the packs together for us in December.

Each pack is donated for free, and this is made possible by the fabulous donations from the likes of Leamington Spa Rotary, Intercity Technology, and from you.

If you would like to make sure that there’s a Bereavement Support Pack in your local hospital, ready for a child or young perosn to use when the time arises, you can make a donation here.

Each pack costs around £35 to produce, and has been carefully curated to make sure it includes everything a family experiencing the death of a loved one may need in that moment.

Lantern Walk 2024

After having to cancel the Lantern Walk last weekend, we were so pleased to be able to offer a stripped back Lantern Walk yesterday (15th December) and it was lovely to see so many families still able to attend.

We met at 3:30 at Ryton Pools, and took a short walk with our lanterns to a meeting point.

At the meeting point, Rebecca shared a few words with the group about the importance of hold moments for those we love who are no longer with us. Libby shared a poem which Sophie had written for the group, and several within our group shared about who they were remembering and what the walk meant to them.

It’s always a special afternoon, and to know we were able to hold some time together despite the storm last week, was really important.

Thanks to all who joined us yesterday, and we look forward to seeing many of you join us again next year too.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2024: Moving more for our mental health

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and the team have been out and about sharing information about Guy’s Gift across several Warwickshire College sites.

Did you manage to catch up with one of the team and find out more about bereavement support?

The theme of the week, this year, is ‘Movement: moving more for your mental health’.   It’s shown that moving more is good for your mental health, so we have been asking the team and some of the children and young people we work with what they find helpful.

We’ve heard from some children and young people that sport helps them to manage some of their feelings and emotions, particularly being active outdoors with friends. Others have told us that looking after their horse and being active when riding helps them feel more comfortable with some of their feelings after someone important has died.

One of our counsellors, Libby Frost, shared that she sometimes provides space to walk and talk during support sessions, and being able to do this has helped some children and young people enormously.

Sophie Peel, Delivery Team Leader (groups and support to support) shared that dance is a great outlet for emotions, and remembers this helping her when she was younger.  On the theme of dancing, Rebecca Hepburn talked about learning TikTok dances which are great for being active (and my goodness are some of them active!) and also often end up being lots of fun too.

The Mental Health Foundation share their tips for moving more for your mental health: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week/boost-your-mental-health-moving-more  

Here at Guy’s Gift we’d love to hear from you too, about where you find your moments for movement, and how it works for you.

Whatever you do, we know the positive difference it can have. It sometimes feels hard to start with, but once you get going often it’s a lot of fun - and that simple act of movement is helping you too.

Did you know that volunteering with a charity can reduce your risk of developing age related diseases, keep your brain active, help to reduce blood pressure and even improve your mental health? 

If you would like to find out more about volunteering with Guy's Gift, please email volunteering@guysgift.co.uk.

Fundraising Superstars!

This weekend, a team of fabulous fundraisers hit the streets in Coventry, running the half marathon and raising donations for Guy’s Gift.

A huge THANK YOU and congratulations to the team involved, at the time of writing they have raised almost £1000.

This is an incredible total, and we’re so appreciative of the team out there running and raising donations and awareness of Guy’s Gift. This support means many more families will be able to access support when faced with a bereavement.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/lauras-half-marathon-2024

Volunteer Ann Jones collects volunteering award

We were delighted that one of our wonderful volunteers (and trustee) Ann Jones was presented with a Community Spirit Award for volunteering in the Warwickshire area.

We are immensely proud of Ann and the commitment she knows not just to Guy’s Gift, but to the whole community. Ann is passionate about bereavement support, and we know what a huge impact she makes with families attending our bereavement group sessions.

Thank you for all you do with Guy’s Gift, Ann. A true superstar!

Bereavement support packs for local hospital

We’re always looking at how we can reach more bereaved children and young people across Coventry and Warwickshire. We know that whilst some children and young people benefit from direct support with us, many more benefit from having access to self support/support to support initiatives. In 2019 we began a project to provide bereavement resource packs into local school, with the first packs heading out at the start of the pandemic (good timing?). We’ve been working on a project to provide similar resources into local hospitals, with the key difference being that the pack would remain with the child or young person, rather than being a shared resource.

Back in May 2023, the wonderful people at Leamington Spa Rotary did a fundraiser, which has provided the cash for our pilot project. Now, some of our fabulous volunteers at EA Games in Southam are preparing the packs, ready to deliver to Warwick Hospital later this month. We’re hopeful that we can extend this project to other local hospitals later in 2024.

We take this opportunity to do a shout out to those brilliant members of our community who put time, energy and cash into supporting this project. This really is a great demonstration of how our local community pull together to ‘do good’ for those who need it. Thank you to each and every one of you!