Wear Wellies for Winston's Wish: the UK's first children and young people's bereavement charity

The ask is simple, donate to wear wellies for a day and take on puddle themed fundraising activities all to help local bereaved children and young people. Why not join in and make a splash this leap year?

As well as providing a fun initiative to get behind this Spring, wearing wellies is also a significant way of reminding people how grief is often presented in young children. ‘Puddle jumping’ is a term that is used by bereavement professionals to explain how children often seem to ‘puddle jump’ in and out of their grief, one minute presenting unfazed by their bereavement and the next struggling with their emotions.

Bereavement support worker Claire commented, “Sometimes adults can find children’s grief a little surprising. One moment the child can be crying and inconsolable, the next moment they can be asking ‘what’s for tea?’ or ‘can I go to my friend's house?’ They can appear quiet and withdrawn one day, but then noisy and full of fun the next.

“We call this ‘Puddle jumping’. It’s as if these bereaved children are jumping in and out of the puddles of their grief. Parents and teachers can be reassured that this is completely normal. It’s important to remember that we all grieve differently and there is no right or wrong way to grieve and with the right support at the right time, these children can go on to lead full lives.”

Estimates suggest that, devastatingly, each day, more than 100 children in the UK are bereaved of a parent and that figure doesn’t equate how many young people are coping with the death of a sibling, grandparent, friend, or another significant individual in their lives.

As the UK’s first children and young people’s bereavement charity, Winston’s Wish has been supporting grieving youngsters and their families in the local area and further across the UK for more than thirty years.

Winston’s Wish, which has been supporting grieving young people for more than thirty years, is inviting schools, nurseries, after-school clubs as well as local businesses and offices to wear their wellies on the 29th of February, or on any day that suits them in March, to raise cash for the charity and to spread awareness of the reality local bereaved children and their families are facing.

Wear Wellies has gained considerable traction in the last few years with schools, corporations, and youth groups from all over the UK donning their wellies and making a splash for charity.

Winston’s Wish Director of Fundraising, Paul Moore commented, “We often talk about how children ‘puddle jump’ in and out of their grief, that’s where the idea for Wear Wellies Day came from and it’s now a real highlight of our fundraising calendar. I’ve taken part in the event myself so I know how much fun it is however it’s also a day that is filled with hope, love and support for those coming to terms with life following bereavement. With more young people turning to us for support than ever before, we’d love you to join us in raising funds so that no child or young person has to face grief alone.”

If you would like to take part in this year’s Wear Wellies event, whether on the 29th of February or on another date in March, then don’t forget to visit the Wear Wellies webpage on the Winston’s Wish website and register to receive a special fundraising pack with lots of ideas for raising cash - whether that be through biscuit baking, quizzes and splat the headteacher or boss!

As well as providing direct support to young people and creating a range of digital resources, from podcasts to advice articles, the charity also provides free support to professionals working in education, healthcare, and community settings to assist bereaved children.

Winston’s Wish is keen to reassure bereaved young people and their families that they are welcome to chat online, email or call for free to speak to a bereavement support worker by calling 08088 020 021, emailing [email protected] or using the live chat at winstonswish.org.