Distanced Activity Support Programme Update

“Such lovely, thoughtful and genuinely helpful activities! My daughter has been talking to her pet already”

In October we launched a new programme which has provided bereaved children with an activity pack each month, which would typically be a craft activity they would have created at our face to face Rainbow Groups. The programme was set up to run for 6 months by which point we had hoped to offer our monthly Rainbow groups again.

One parent said “My children get very happy when the pack comes!”

The activities are designed to provide an outlet for children for their feelings and to create a opportunity to explore them with a parent, carer or sibling. So far the bereaved children taking part have created positivity boxes, a photo or positive quote calendar and more recently worry pets.

With the lifting on restrictions still looking very uncertain, which is likely to delay our return to face to face groups we are considering extending the programme. Once the last activity has been sent in March and feed back has been collected by all those taking part, the children will receive a certificate of completion and a treat.

Marcela

I first connected with Harry’s Rainbow during my university years, when the charity was in its infancy. My journey began as a volunteer, actively participating in the monthly group activities. Over time, I continued my involvement by contributing to various events, and donating gifts and funds, driven by a passion for the organisation’s mission and impact.
 
Two years ago, I made a conscious decision to transition into facilitating and coordinating groups. This allowed me to further engage with the community and make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve.
 
Recently, I was extended the opportunity to expand my role and support the Family Liaison Officers to help with the increasing demand, and I am thrilled to embrace this new chapter. Being part of this remarkable charity fills me with happiness and pride, and I am eager to contribute to its ongoing success and positive impact.
 
I am grateful for the journey that has led me here and am looking forward to continuing my dedicated involvement supporting bereaved children and their families.
 

Michelle Wade

I have over 20 years’ experience as an Internal Communications and Events professional and am a Certified Member of the Institute of Internal Communication. My current role is as an Internal Communications Director at Capgemini, a global leader in consulting, technology services and digital transformation. I started my volunteering journey a few years back, working at a local children’s charity, supporting children with autism and communication difficulties. This fuelled my passion for children’s charities, and following this experience, I made a promise to myself and my two children that one day I would work with another local children’s charity. I am delighted and honoured to be a Trustee for Harry’s Rainbow and to be able to offer my skills and experience to the charity as it progresses on its journey. The work that this charity does to support bereaved children and young people is phenomenal and I am thrilled to be part of the Harry’s Rainbow Board and Harry’s legacy.

Jane Leggatt

After working for over 35 years I decided to take some time out and recharge my batteries. I wanted my next endeavour to make a difference and to put something back. My sister and I lost our Dad when we were 14 & 21 respectively. There was no support network available to us and I feel what Harrys Rainbow Trust is aiming to achieve is very much needed. Bereavement at any time is traumatic and having a support network in place or somewhere you can go to get advice is key. My background is in HR and I hope to use my HR skills and some previous charitable fund trustee experience to help sustain the charity and be a part of its growth in the future.

Jodie Pritchard

I have worked in an operations role for 10 years. Operations is a very versatile role which has given me great insight into all elements of how businesses run and what it takes to keep the company moving forward and growing. I also co-own a freelance marketing business, founded in 2016 which works with small businesses and start up’s. I am excited to be working with the Harrys Rainbow Trust team as this is an excellent charity. I have unfortunately seen a very close friend of mine lose her son and seeing the impact on the family unit was devastating. If this opportunity allows me to offer support to any bereaved families, I will be very humbled

Paula McGrath

Following an early career as a newspaper journalist, I moved into the health charity sector around 15 years ago. Since then I’ve held a number of senior roles in charity communications teams and more recently organisational development. I currently work for a national sight loss organisation based in Buckinghamshire. I’m passionate about the vital role charities play in connecting people with others who have had similar experiences, and providing high quality information and support. A mum of two, I feel honoured to join the Harry’s Rainbow team as a trustee and hope that my enthusiasm for the charity’s fantastic work, combined with my professional skills and experience, will enable me to help make a difference for families who experience bereavement.

Ewa Golabek

I am a Chartered Management Accountant with over 8 years of experience helping large organisations in various industries make better business decisions, improve profitability and cash flow. I’m currently running my own financial consulting business, helping start-ups and SMEs achieve profitable and sustainable growth. I am passionate about making a difference, solving problems, and helping people see their challenges as opportunities to grow. Over the past few years, I supported various charities through fundraising and volunteering and it’s always been a rewarding experience. I am excited and privileged to serve Harry’s Rainbow as a Trustee and be able to use my skills and experience to support its great mission.

Vanessa Holmes

I’ve worked in the charity sector for more than 20 years, mainly in fundraising but with a growing focus on organisational management and governance. I started my career fundraising for a small family support charity in South London and at once fell in love with the charity sector and the incredible impact it has on individuals, families and wider communities. I’m now head of charity for a local hospital. To be a Trustee of a local charity like Harry’s Rainbow – which is making a real, tangible difference to bereaved children and young people – is an absolute privilege. I’m pleased to be sharing my skills and experience with such a brilliant team.

Paul Swales

I’m really pleased to be a Trustee of this wonderful local charity, Harry’s Rainbow. The work they do is brilliant, making a real, tangible difference to bereaved children and young people. I myself have been affected by a family bereavement, losing my brother back in 2002. We were very close and even though I was 30 at the time, it hit me hard, and I understand the benefit that the charity brings to children and families that suffer loss at a young age.

As a family man myself, with a 3 children, to have that support infrastructure there if it was ever needed, would make such a difference. With this in mind, I am grateful for the opportunity to support the team and bring my knowledge and experience from 30 years in the corporate and financial world with me.

Richard Naylor

I have spent many years working with charities, both as an advisor and as a volunteer. For the last 10 years I have worked with youth organisations, including being the chairman of a local youth football club for 6 years and local scout groups. I am a level 1 football coach, a qualified mindfulness teacher and am working towards my personal trainer qualifications.

As the owner of an international consultancy and law firm, I work with entrepreneurs, start-ups and growing businesses to build commercial solutions and opportunities through mentoring and strategic advice. I work with UK and overseas entrepreneurs, investors and high net worth individuals focussing on strategy, global commercial solutions, immigration, business mentoring and commercial management.

Lee Mould

Your child dying is the worst thing that can happen to any family. Harry was a special, bright, clever and loving son. He never leaves my thoughts for a second and that’s why starting Harrys Rainbow to help others gives me a way to honour his memory. I achieved a goal I never thought I could by running the London Marathon in 2011 to raise funds for Child Bereavement UK. Harry and my family were with me all the way and kept me going to the finishing line. I went on to run 2 further marathons and half marathons and organised our very first running team to fundraise for Harrys Rainbow, which raised £15,000. I will always play a large part in supporting our objectives to help bereaved children and their families, knowing that the support is offered from a family who know first hand the devastation of losing a child.

Raj Bariah

I am extremely pleased and excited to join the Trustees of Harry’s Rainbow to help propel this fantastic local charity forward. The work being done here makes such a difference to so many families lives and to be a part of that is beyond an honour.

I myself am a software developer with a massive interest in technology; having organised multiple Technical conferences both locally and internationally. I’m keen to lend my experience and skills to this already incredible team.

Odette Mould MBE - CEO

I am very passionate about helping and supporting children after the death of a significant family member. I was full of such mixed emotions about what I should do for my daughter Jessica after my son and her twin brother Harry died and had no idea where to turn to for help. She is his twin and because of their unique relationship, the closest that anyone would ever get to him. She knew him longer than any of us. The grief of losing a child is so overwhelming that I could have given up, but no matter how strong these feelings were, I just could not let my daughter down. After experiencing such devastation at such an early age I needed to keep focused on her and as such I researched every support and advice service available. This is what led me to begin Harry’s Rainbow. My son Harry was a blessing to me and always will be. I like to talk about him like I do about all my children and I think about him always. He will never be far from me and the love I have for him is what continues to spur me on to help others.

Lindsey Anderson

I very recently joined Harry’s rainbow because I wanted to be a part of this special team that supports bereaved children and their families by helping to make a difference in their lives. 
 
I have seen first hand through two of my closest friends the effect it has on a child and family to lose a parent and a sibling at a young age. This is where Harry’s offers such fantastic help and support to those going through this difficult time in their lives. 
 
I have lots of events and fundraising experience including working within a charity and supporting several different charities personally and I am excited to use my skills and knowledge to help grow this such worthwhile cause. I am very passionate about planning and delivering lots of fantastic fundraising events going forward in order to raise awareness and funds for the charity so they can continue to deliver its amazing work.
 

Rachel Salmon

As a widow with a child who has experienced the death of a loved one first hand, Harry’s Rainbow have offered so much support to us both that I needed to give something back to them. I started off by volunteering with bag packing or events and that has lead to me becoming a volunteer at the monthly groups and more recently, a buddy to several families to support them through the pandemic.

When I saw the post of Family Liaison Officer advertised, I had to apply. I have personal experience of bereavement as well as being very interested in children and young people’s mental health. What better way to marry the two than this? I am currently studying at a master’s level at the University of Northampton and intend to base my dissertation on bereaved teenagers. I have a real passion for ensuring these young people have a voice and can use it to influence, impact and inform ongoing support for all bereaved children.

This bereavement journey does not end, and I hope to offer support, encouragement, and guidance to the families that Harry’s Rainbow do so much for. I am thrilled and proud to be part of such a caring and passionate team.

Marie-Claire

I was 15 when my father died of cancer, a vulnerable time in anyone’s life, and at the time there was no support on offer. This experience led me to my life’s purpose, to provide holistic support for children and young people, which is why I became a teacher and spent the next 25 years in education as a teacher, SENDCo, Deputy head, mental health lead and lastly as Executive Head of 6 schools in Milton Keynes. In 2021 I changed career, I became a coach and offered support to people in a different way. But you can never take the teacher out of the teacher, and in January 2023 I was delighted to join the Harry’s Rainbow team as an education support volunteer offering training to schools on how to best support pupils/students who have been bereaved. I was even more delighted in April of the same year to be appointed as a Family Liaison Officer, adding to the already amazing team, and expanding the support for young people further and I’m privileged to be part of giving these young people who have been bereaved a brighter tomorrow.

Jade Crawley

I became involved with Harry’s Rainbow for the first time at Jessica’s Rainbow Run in June 2019 as a volunteer face painter. I then went on to support Odette, Emma and Harry’s Rainbow during Rainbow Week. I really got to see just a small percentage of the sheer amount of work they do to support young people and their families which encouraged me to get more involved. When I saw there was a volunteer position as admin support I immediately got in touch. The timing for me is perfect as my youngest child is due to start school. As well as experience with office duties, I also have experience of working with special needs children so can bring varied expertise to the team.

Jane Leggatt

HR

After working for over 35 years I decided to take some time out and recharge my batteries. I wanted my next endeavour to make a difference and to put something back. My sister and I lost our Dad when we were 14 & 21 respectively. There was no support network available to us and I feel what Harrys Rainbow Trust is aiming to achieve is very much needed. Bereavement at any time is traumatic and having a support network in place or somewhere you can go to get advice is key. My background is in HR and I hope to use my HR skills and some previous charitable fund trustee experience to help sustain the charity and be a part of its growth in the future.