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.

I became involved with Harry’s Rainbow in March 2012, after a successful start Odette and Lee were looking for a Treasurer, having had experience with this in the past I offered to help. Never at this point did I think I would come so far and be so emotionally attached to this wonderful charity, that I am now.

At the outset I arranged for the charity to become fully registered with the Charity Commission and have managed this side of the charity ever since.

Although my official title was Treasurer, I found over the years I was volunteering more and more for the charity as it was growing so fast, so when the opportunity arose to become the Fundraising and Events Manager I jumped at the chance. This role involves me generating the income needed for the charity to continue providing the support that it offers. This can be from managing the Events Team, to coordinating grant applications and establishing partnerships within the local community. No two days are the same this is why I absolutely love my job and I am able to witness first-hand the change that Harry’s Rainbow make to the bereaved children.

I first became involved with Harry’s Rainbow as a fundraiser back in 2013, Lee had convinced me to participate in their annual festival of running event. I was immediately drawn into not only the running community, but was also overwhelmed by the support that this small charity had... This was the start of my Harry's Rainbow Journey. Firstly, it led me to start the Harry Rainbow Running club, an idea that came about for my desire to see people succeed while also raising much needed funds and awareness for this fantastic local charity.

The more I became aware of the support and good Harry's Rainbow had done for the community, the more I wanted to offer my time and skills to help them, so when approached, I agreed to becoming a Trustee. The 3 years as a Trustee taught me a lot about the running mechanisms of charities and also allowed me to see the foundations and hard work that goes into it.

As a bereaved child myself I was able to understand the aims of the charity and how it is so important to support children and families at their most vulnerable. This support was not available when I was a child and it wasn’t as easy to talk or acknowledge death and Bereavement.

Over time, as the charity grew, it became apparent that in order to grow and develop Harry’s Rainbow any further there were some fundamental changes required at the core. While the bereaved children and families were being supported very well, there was a knowledge gap and structure to enable the growth from a small family run charity to a one that is more structured like a business.

Even though I enjoyed my time as a trustee I wanted to help more, so made a decision to step down in order to assist the core working team. By volunteering my time and business experience, to support the charity, while also building solid foundations for the future growth.

Knowing that Harry’s Rainbow offered numerous support mechanisms, whilst also raising awareness led me to reflect upon my own experiences as a child. I suppose this is where my growing passion has come from to help, as the more I can do to help the charity, the more children we can ensure are supported, building them the best of futures.

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.