£6000 Donation to Support the Bodie Hodges Foundation

The Access Foundation has approved the donation of £6,000 to fund the creation of 100 treasured memory bags which are given out to the bereaved siblings within a family to help them deal with the loss of their brother or sister.

The Bodie Hodges Foundation, based in Leicestershire was set up in 2013 by Nick and Donna Hodges after the death of their ten-month-old son Bodie. They wanted to offer support to other bereaved families as their experience highlighted how isolating losing a child can be.

The charity has now become well-regarded regionally for its sensitive, effective professional bereavement services and support groups to adults and children in their darkest hour of grief.

The charity’s vision is to give hope to families affected by the unexpected death of a child with therapeutic support and other professional bereavement services, which facilitate conversations around death, promote resilience and improve mental health within the whole family.

The donation by the Access Foundation will fund treasured memory bags which are filled with grief resources to help children grieve for their brother or sister and to help them understand and process their feelings. The memory bags support families to remember and grieve together.

One of the beneficiaries told us; “I just wanted to let you know that the treasured memory bags arrived today and I am lost for words. The contents of the bag are very generous, I love the idea of the ‘Worry Bear’.

The books are fantastic…. everything from the little cardboard treasure chest to the cards to write down their feelings of worry, or what they remember about their baby brother, and the workbook is absolutely amazing”.