Kettering hospice's memory box project needs your help for parents and grieving children

Memory boxes that have been helping to ease the grief of bereaved families of Cynthia Spencer Hospice patients are to be introduced in the north of the county.

Children can fill the boxes with the most treasured objects to make lasting memories and preserve moments, helping them to cope with their grief on their bereavement journey.

The memory boxes have been developed and formulated by Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT)'s palliative care patient and family liaison worker Claire Mould, who has been providing boxes to the families of Cynthia Spencer Hospice patients since 2012.

Now the scheme will be introduced for families at Cransley Hospice in Kettering for bereaved children and families before and after a family member passes away.

Claire said: “I am immensely proud of the child bereavement resources we offer and so grateful for the donations that have enabled us to do this. I have worked with many families in Northamptonshire where they have made a huge difference, providing ongoing comfort for a child, and the adults supporting them, after someone special has died.

"They help children to preserve special memories or help to open family conversations around a child’s questions and their feelings.

"The boxes are an incredible resource for the palliative teams to have access to and without the generous support of the two charities and their supporters, this resource wouldn’t be possible.”

Each memory box contains a selection of carefully considered materials and pieces, lovingly brought together to help a child and a parent or grandparent.

Rachel Herrick, director of income generation and communications for Cransley Hospice Trust, said “Working with Cynthia Spencer Hospice and NHFT to support end of life care for everyone we recognise what an important resource the memory boxes can be for the palliative care and family liaison teams in Northamptonshire, and we want to thank the incredible support of our local community who have enabled Cynthia Spencer Hospice to provide support for this incredibly worthwhile project.

"Each box costs over £35 to produce, but the value that it brings to those families, parents, grandparents and children that need it is immeasurable.”

Last year Claire introduced comfort pebbles to the boxes which fit perfectly in the palm of a child or adult hand and have a space on the back for a special message to be written.

Cransley Hospice Trust were without a source of natural pebbles but local potter Louise Crookenden-Johnson stepped forward and generously donated 100 handcrafted and beautifully painted pebbles for the boxes.

She said: “I was delighted to be able to offer my support to such a worthwhile and important project.

"It’s been a lot of fun developing the pebbles especially for the boxes and I hope that they are able to give a little reassurance and comfort to families and loved ones.”

Each year in Northamptonshire, around 260 parents with children between the age of 0 to 17 sadly die, leaving children to cope with their loss and grief.

Last year 208 memory boxes were supplied by Cynthia Spencer Hospice Charity to families in Northamptonshire and this number has quadrupled in eight years.

One of the specialist care team, Sue, shared a story of how the small gift had helped a family in her care: “During my next visit the daughter showed me what she had started to do with the memory box and related that she had helped to complete the booklet about her mum’s life. She also said how she had cuddled her mum with the cuddle blanket every day.

"Sadly, her mum passed away shortly after my visit, but several months along I saw the patient’s sister and she told me how the memory box and cuddle blanket have brought so much comfort and that the daughter cuddles the blanket every night”.

Paula Barwell from The Leon Barwell Foundation, who are partnered with Cynthia Spencer Hospice Trust to support the provision of boxes, said: “The Leon Barwell Foundation proudly supports Cynthia Spencer Hospice's Memory Box project, this project provides the children of patients of the hospice with tools to support them when dealing with the loss of a relative.

"This aligns with the values of our foundation in not only helping to create those all important memories but to ensure they are captured in a format that children and families can reflect on and continue to use through their lives.

"We are very proud to be associated with such a wonderful project and know from the feedback how important and special the memory boxes are to those that receive them."

Individuals, businesses and organisations can get involved with the memory box project in many different ways and Cransley Hospice Trust are currently looking to partner with an organisation to help fund the provision of memory boxes for North Northamptonshire.

If you, your organisation or business would like to find out more about the memory boxes and how you can get involved in supporting this incredibly worthwhile project and the specialist end-of-life care services in Northamptonshire, contact Cransley Hospice Trust by emailing [email protected] or call 01536 452423 or Cynthia Spencer Hospice at [email protected] or 01604 973340.