New Trustee

Following on from Ann joining the trustee team in February, we’re delighted to welcome Jane to the team too.

Of joining the team, Jane shared:

“I am pleased to be joining Guys Gift as a trustee after volunteering and working as an administrator over the lock down period.

I have been volunteering with Guy’s Gift for nearly five years, and have enjoyed delivering support to children and their parents through the Group Bereavement Support sessions.

Guys Gift is a small charity but plays a huge role in supporting families who have been bereaved.

I welcome the challenge of becoming a trustee and helping to continue with the excellent work the team do.”

Steve's Ultra Event

Over the weekend, another fundraising superstar took part in an awesome fundraising challenge.

This time, it took the shape of a 100km walk from London to Brighton. It’s called an Ultra Challenge, and we can see why!

This is the second time Steve has undertaken this challenge, and sadly this time he had to retire at 75km. A briliant achievement to get that far through the challenge, and it comes with a HUGE thank you from all of us here at Guy’s Gift.

Through the challenge, Steve has rasied a wonderful £465 towards the work of Guy’s Gift - and what a difference a total like this makes. Thank you!

Welsh Three Peaks - Fundraising Challenge Success

As you’ll know from a previous news story, a fantastic team of fundraisers from The Midcounties Co-operative recently embarked on the Welsh Three Peaks challenge.

After completing the challenge last week, team member Laura Stewart-Hammond told us ‘the team did brilliantly, we are all so pleased that we completed the challenge, lots of aches in the team but a huge sense of pride too’.

We think the whole team did brilliantly, and we are thrilled with the brilliant fundraising achieved. At the time of writing, the team have raised £2,184.

Laura shared that they began the challenge by setting off on the Pyg track on Snowdon at 5:15am (!) and made it to the top in good time. They then returned using the Miners Track. The completed the summit and return in 5 hours and 15 minutes.

From here they made their way to Cadair Idris and completed this mountain in 5 hours and 30 minutes. This was the mountain the team were most concerned abou, with its reputaion for being a tougher trek than Snowdon.

Next, after a rest to refuel, was the journey on to Pen Y Fan. The team arrived here at dusk and completed this climb in the dark. Thet got back to the base of the mountain at 11:30pm.

What an incredible challenge. This is a fantasitc achievement, and we’re so pleased that you have supported Guy’s Gift in your endeavours.

WELL DONE and THANK YOU to you all!

Midcounties Co-operative Fundraising Events

We’re really enjoying seeing the training photos from a couple of fundraising teams at Coop MidCounties.

Both events are taking place in May, and if you feel able to donate to their Just Giving pages, I’m sure it will give them another boost to succeed in their challenges.

First up we have Laura and co who are completing a Welsh Three Peaks Challenge.

The team will start at Snowdon on 18 May, from there they will be up and down at lightening speed before travelling to Cadair Idris and then finish the challenge at Pen-y-Fan. Three mountains, walking a total of 17 miles with a view to completing the challenge in less than 24 hours.

We’ve been enjoying seeing the teams updates whilst they’ve been in training, and we’re equally really looking forward to hearing how the team get on. We know they will appreciate your donations to spur them on. If you would like to donate to this fundraising team, head over to their Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mccwelshthreepeaks

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Another Midcounties Co-operative team member is taking on the London2Brighton Ultra Challenge on 28/29 May.

Steve will be setting of from London on the morning of 28th May and walking all the way to the coast. The full 100 km route heads over the South Downs before the welcome sight of the Brighton coastline comes in to view.

Steve has shared on his Just Giving page that he has attempted this challenge once before, but had to pull out with an injury. We’re all behind you Steve, and hope this year is your year!

If you’d like to donate to Steve’s challenge, his fundraising page can be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stevengraham2022

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If you’re inspired by these fabulous fundraising adventurers and you think you’d like to fundraise for Guy’s Gift too then please check out our fundraising pack, which you can download here, or send Brian an email at fundraising@guysgift.co.uk

New Trustee

Welcome to the trustee team, Ann Jones.

Ann has been volunteering with us for many years, and is a familiar face at group sessions. Now, she begins a new chapter with Guy’s Gift as she joins the board of trustees.

Video Launch

Have you seen our video?

We are excited to share with you a short video explaining who we are, what we do and what to expect when you come to Guy’s Gift.

Watch above to hear what various members of the Guy’s Gift team, and those who have accessed support with us, have to tell you about Guy’s Gift.

We hope this will help to answer questions about what support with Guy’s Gift might look like, and how to access support should you know someone who would benefit.

To make a referral for support or to find out more about us, please give us a call on 0845 467 3035 or get in touch via our contact form.

Award from The National Lottery Community Fund

We are thrilled to share with you the news of a fabulous donation of £460,624 spread over three years, from The National Lottery Community Fund which enables us to continue our support of bereaved children and young people across Coventry and Warwickshire.

This fund also allows us to grow additional areas of support, and we'll be listening to the voices of those accessing Guy's Gift to know what our local community want from us.

Back in October 2021, a group of our volunteers joined us in celebrating this award, and we were able to start talking with our team about what happens next. Rest assured, all the things you love about Guy’s Gift will be continuing, but with a larger team and new projects on the way!

We look forward to sharing more updates on this project with you all over the coming months, so keep an eye on our website and social media platforms to see how you might be able to get involved too.

Bereavement Support Groups 2022

We are very much looking forward to meeting everyone joining our Bereavement Support Group this afternoon.

This is our first group sessions running in 2022, and we have returned online this time. We have in-person sessions planned for later in the year too.

Groups are a great way for children and young people to meet with others who have experienced a bereavement, in a safe and understanding environment. We know just how powerful it can be to recognise that you’re not the only person dealing with bereavement, and our group sessions are a great way to navigate this.

Sessions are run for younger children and teenagers separately, to ensure different age groups feel comfortable with activities and conversations that take place. Alongside this, some of our very experienced volunteers facilitate a space for parents/carers to come together too.

If joining our groups (virtual or in-person) sounds like something that would help you, then please get in touch with us (contact info available here) to find out more.

Lantern Event 2021

We are excited to let you know that we are holding our Lantern Event on 12th December 2021, which is just 5 1/2 weeks away! This is an in-person event.

The Lantern Event is an opportunity to come together in memory of someone special who has died. We spend time together doing an activity as a group before heading outside on a short walk with our lanterns.

Invitations to this event have been sent out this week, but if you would like to attend and haven’t yet received an invitation please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team and we can discuss this with you.

Lantern Event 2021

Last year, we moved our annual Lantern Walk to a virtual alternative. This year, we are planning to return to our in-person Lantern Event. This will be running mid-December, and more information will be shared in due course.

Running events like this, and providing support for bereaved children and young people comes at a cost. The last couple of years fundraising has been tougher than ever. With that in mind, we have opened a campaign on Just Giving, to help us raise much needed funds at this time of year.

If you feel able to support or share our campaign, follow the link to our campaign page.