My sister Jennie died of cancer aged 25, 6 months after giving birth to her 3rd child. From my own experience I found it difficult to get support for my sisters eldest who was 5 at the time. I had no experience of dealing with bereavement, especially in young children and I didn’t feel strong enough to carry another grief on top of my own. The stress and strain of relentless searching was draining and it became apparent that help for bereaved children was limited in the area. I felt utterly hopeless and decided that I wanted to make sure no other family went through the same. I wanted to ensure that there would always be a special place in Scunthorpe for children to go to, where they would feel supported in their grief and feel less alone.

We set up Jen's Special Place (an unregistered charity) in December 2014 and have supported 17 children so far. Every month Jen’s Special Place holds a social evening at Ashby Children’s Centre where we have craft activities, free play and also some group time which our child counsellor runs. On top of this we run special events, such as picnic and games at the park or bowling to further encourage socialisation and enhance well-being. During events, such as Father’s Day the children are encouraged to write messages to their loved ones and let them off with their balloons. We also have a teddy bear called Charlie; the children take him on adventures and cuddle him whenever they need, acting as a reminder that they are never alone in their grief even when they are not physically in our company.

The support you give is invaluable; without donations we simply wouldn't be able to keep running. No donation is too small.

£40 would provide craft materials for 1 child for a whole year or therapeutic support for 2 months.
£1 would give a child a balloon to let go of in memory of their loved one.

A huge THANK YOU for your support!

FB: https://www.facebook.com/jensspecialP/
WEBSITE: http://jenssplace.wix.com/jensspecialplace