In 2018 my husband Paul died after suffering a traumatic brain injury from a road traffic accident. We have two children who were aged 5 and 2 years old at the time. Sadly afterwards we found out that there was not much support out there for children like Archie and Emilia who lose a parent suddenly.

About a year after Paul died some of his amazing friends and I did some fundraising to raise money to be able to provide memory boxes for those children who unfortunately loose a parent.

The boxes provide somewhere for the children to be able to keep items of their parent safe. We have included some things we think will help, for example a book called The Invisible String, a worry monster, a note book to record memories, a memory stick to collect photos of their parent on among other things that we thought would be useful and comforting.

I found the chest of Paul's things we put together has really helped over the years, not just for the children but me as well. It helps with sharing and remembering our memories and the items in it keep alive all the little things that make us smile - memories we may have forgotten about over time otherwise. I hope these boxes will help other children & parents dropped into this awful situation as my box has helped me and mine.

Since the initial fundraising in 2019 we have been very fortunate to have someone raise money for us by doing an Ironman and also two amazing families who donated money from the funerals of their loved one after receiving the memory boxes. Our eldest son Archie has just turned 10 and has taken it upon himself to do a sponsored cycle ride, 14 miles from Selby to York.

To date we have managed to put together and deliver 300 memory boxes to hospitals. I know it isn't always easy but if you are able to donate I would be extremely grateful! It would mean we will be able to provide more boxes for those children who sadly lose a parent unexpectedly, giving them some comfort in such a scary and sad t