Why not take the family?

Great friend of the blog and top bloke Steve Lightfoot (among others) has drawn my attention to the above fun day taking place at Lupin Farm, Orgereave, just north of Lichfield this Sunday, 7th June 2015 – it’s for a brilliant cause, the Violets in Bloom Charity.

Entry is free, there’s soft play, inflatables, Elsa and Anna from Frozen, craft stalls, face painting and fun for all the family. The weather looks great and it’s set to be a fantastic day in a lovely location.

Some time ago, Natalie Cox sent me the following information about this wonderful project – you can also check out their website, twitter feed and Facebook group.

The Fun day event page can be found here.

Hiya Bob,

Here’s a little about Violets in Bloom’s history.

This is a project that has been born out of the loss of a child. Kerry and Ivan Mornington lost their little girl, Violet in July 2013 unexpectedly from a short illness. She was just 5 years old when she contracted a rare a fatal blood disorder that took her life just 7 weeks after becoming ill. For Kerry and Ivan it was truly and utterly devastating to lose their precious daughter, but through their loss they wanted to do something good to help other bereaved parents. Whilst the support they received during Violets hospital stay was second to none, after Violet died they found they were very much alone at a time when they needed the most support ever.

Losing a child is a very isolating and lonely experience and Kerry remember only too well desperately needing someone to talk to, who truly understood her despair. From experience they both understood how the experience can affect the mental health of the family, especially the parents and if not looked after properly this can lead to all sorted of problems and in some extreme cases, suicide as parents struggle to try to survive without their children.

Kerry and Ivan started their charity called ‘Violets in Bloom’ in April 2014 and their first mission is to build a Children’s Memorial Garden within the grounds of Fradley and District Crematorium. They felt this was needed alongside the need for support as there was nowhere they felt appropriate in the area that bereaved parents and their families could visit to seek solace and peace as connect with the children they have lost. The target for this has now been reached and the charity is now able to start looking at the second project which is to open a Child Bereavement Centre in Lichfield City. The Centre which will be called ‘Violet House’ will service Staffordshire and the surrounding areas, will provide a haven for anyone who has lost a child (including siblings). The services it will provide will be professional counsellors (specialising in bereavement), alternative therapies, group therapy sessions including creative art, music and writing sessions, weekend breaks for groups of families, support groups, a quite room for reflection and peace, the list is endless.

The Charity will need to rent a building large enough to accommodate all the services and will need to hire in specialist staff until it’s own staff can be trained. It will also need to employ Staff to help run the centre and of course there are the normal day to day running costs. In staffs alone there are more than 70 child deaths every year so many families are facing this heart breaking journey without simple but adequate support. The charity aims to bridge the gap and help these families. Violet House will also open it’s doors to children who are bereaved of a parent and offer the same level of support.

Obviously anything that you can do that promotes the charity and it’s fundraising efforts and events we hold is hugely appreciated.

Since we began just 12 months ago our support network and those wanting to host charity events and volunteer their skills and expertise to us has continued to grow. Anything that can be added to this is wonderful. As you can see the charity has a wonderful goal and we are all so incredibly passionate about achieving this.

Thanks once again
Natalie Cox