Two of the UK’s largest child bereavement charities, Winston’s Wish and Child Bereavement UK, have announced that they have merged together, marking a significant step forward in supporting bereaved families nationwide. The newly merged charity aim to supporting 130,000 young people and parents within the first year.
Last May, Royal Patron of Child Bereavement UK Prince William announced the charities’ intention to merge after sharing his own personal experience of childhood bereavement.
Now, a year later, Winston’s Wish and Child Bereavement UK are pleased to share that they have officially merged to become one unified organisation with the aim of reaching 130,000 bereaved young people and parents.
From now, the merged organisation will retain the name Child Bereavement UK and will support grieving children and young people and parents bereaved of a child.
The newly combined organisation brings together decades of experience, expertise and compassion, enabling the newly formed charity to reach more bereaved people than ever before. The merger reflects the vision that no child, young person or parent has to face grief alone.
This sentiment was shared by Royal Patron HRH Prince William who commented when the intention to merge the charities was first announced last May, “Grief is the very worst pain any child or parent will ever endure, and while we cannot prevent these losses, we can ensure that every possible type of expert support and care is given, to help rebuild the lives of those affected. Because of this increasing demand, I am delighted that Child Bereavement UK and Winston’s Wish are joining forces to expand their impact.
“They have recognised that together they can do so much more, and I commend them both for taking this bold step to reach more people and help to reduce the long-term challenges that unresolved grief can cause.”
Historically, Winston’s Wish was the UK’s first children and young people’s bereavement charity, founded by Julie Stokes MBE in 1992, laying the foundation for bereavement services specifically designed for children and young people. Child Bereavement UK was founded in 1994 by psychotherapist Julia Samuel. Each charity has more than 30 years of experience in supporting bereaved families.
Now that the two charities have merged as one unified organisation under the name of Child Bereavement UK, the combined charity hopes to reach 130,000 bereaved children, young people and parents.
CEO of the newly formed Child Bereavement UK Fergus Crow, shares. “By bringing Winston’s Wish and Child Bereavement UK together, we are combining our strengths so we can reach more grieving families and help people find hope as they rebuild their lives.
“Now that Winston’s Wish and Child Bereavement UK have joined together, we can reach and be there for still more grieving families in the UK. We are excited for the future and our aim is to reach still more people who need support. It has always been our shared intention and responsibility to ensure that we can be there for as many grieving children and bereaved parents as possible.”
Child Bereavement UK helps families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies. We offer free, UK-wide, accessible online grief support to children and young people (up to 25) who are bereaved or facing the death of someone important, and the parents and carers of babies and children who are dying or have died.