Charities giving smiles to bereaved young people

Saturday 28 September 2019

A group of bereaved young people have been invited to take part in a series of activities this weekend, run by a local charity supporting those who have lost a loved one.

They’re all aged between 8 and 16 and have all experienced the death of someone close to them.

This weekend’s activities will take place today and tomorrow, and have been organized by the Youth Commission's Sunflower Project, with the support of the Smile for Georgie Foundation.

The Smile for Georgie Foundation was set up by the family of young Guernseywoman Georgie Le Prevost who died in a car accident in July 2017.

Pictured: Georgie Le Prevost. 

The two charities have planned this weekend, to help the group of bereaved young people feel less isolated and build resilience in a relaxed and safe environment in which everyone understands what it is like to lose someone special. The idea is they support and give advice to each other to help them through their tough times. 

Last year’s participants said they benefited from the outings.

One said, “just come along don’t be scared because you make so many new friends and it’s good fun" while another added, “definitely come, because you’ve got the big fun activities but time to do some of the other stuff too.”

One of the youngest participants said, “I was scared and thought it was going to be hard but it was good.” 

Sunflower Project Lead Worker Denise has helped to organise the activities the young people will do this weekend. She said last year's residential weekend was a big success and she hopes this year's will be too. 

“What a privilege it was to work with such an amazing group of children and young people and to be let into their world for a short time," she said. "It was a weekend of caring and thoughtfulness, fun and silliness, reflection and hope. We are really excited to be working this year with Smile for Georgie and thank them for their financial support which will allow us to plan another special weekend for children and young people."

Founder Trustee of the Smile for Georgie Foundation, Jenny Le Prevost said, “We welcome the opportunity to help young people to understand an come to terms with a very sad event in their lives. The need to process and come to terms with the loss of someone close to you whilst having fun and making new friends cannot be underestimated and we are very happy to support the Sunflower Project on such an important project.”