Thank you all for your support 2019

As another year comes to an end and we reflect on the year gone by, I just want to thank you all for your support this in 2019. Without you, our work would not be possible so I just wanted to let you see what YOU made possible this year….

We provided free one to one/couples counselling to bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings, five times per day, three days per week, all year.

We provided telephone support and support meetings for bereaved parents.

We distributed over 200 memory boxes to hospitals and bereaved families.

We trained parents and families in Emergency Paediatric first aid.

We donated defibrillators to local communities.

We donated two cuddle cots to the RAH maternity unit to allow families to spend more time with their baby once they have passed away.

We donated one covercool system (adult cuddlecot) to the RAH and one to the Beatson Cancer Centre to allow families to spend more time with their toddler, teenager/adult child once they have passed away.

We provided the Glasgow Sick kids with iPads, covers and ipens for children to use when they are receiving treatment.

We provided families who were struggling financially after the loss of their child with school uniforms.

We also provided families who were struggling financially with school uniforms.

We provided 71 families with Christmas presents for their children that they would otherwise not have been able to afford.

We sent 50 families to visit Santa at Hamleys with a £20 to be buy a present from their brother or sister afterwards.

We sent 70 families see Jack and the Beanstalk Pantomine.

We provided the Glasgow Sick kids with 250 colouring in packs to occupy children during treatment.

We provided the Glasgow Sick kids with 80 Christmas parcels for staff working over the festive period.

Sadly, the reality is that children die every day and their families are often left with nowhere to go for emotional support. Like you, I never thought it would happen to me and that is the very reason that I started Brightest Star, I found myself in the club that no parent wants to join, desperate for help and unable to find any.

Families are often left to struggle financially due to time of work and funeral costs so in 2020, we are hoping to provide families with help towards funerals, days out, breaks away, school uniforms, and Christmas presents.

Like every charity, it is becoming more and more difficult to raise funds, there are so many worthy charities out there and everyone has a charity close to their hearts that they fundraise for. If possible, we are asking you to consider supporting Brightest Star in 2020.

To those that supported us in 2019, from the bottom of my heart thank you. I see and speak to the families that we support, I see the difference your donations make, I see what it means to those families, so on their behalf, thank you.

Special thanks to our amazing counsellor Yvonne, she is very much the hero at Brightest Star. The work she does with our families is literally life changing and I’m so incredibly proud to have her on your team. She has dedicated her life to helping bereaved families and if anyone deserves a thank you, it’s her.

Iain from IM training is the other asset in our team who deserves a thank you. The paediatric first aid courses that he provides are by far the best in the industry. His delivery, enthusiasm and empathy make everyone on his courses feel so at ease.

As one year ends, please take a moment to remember all those children’s who have gone before us.

Its true what they say, no parent should ever have to bury their own child.

Wishing you all health and peace in 2020.

Arlene xxx

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