Latest News

Schoolboy donates prize to his local hospice

01 August 2011

A 14-year-old schoolboy from Brentwood brought a selection of bereavement support books for his local hospice, when he won a book prize at school.

Sam Turnpenny, from Hutton, was given a £25 book voucher during the annual prize giving service at Brentwood School, recognising academic achievement and good behaviour.  He decided use the money to purchase books to help the Bereavement Support Team at Saint Francis Hospice, where his granddad received care six years ago.

Sam said: “I don’t read that much to be honest, so when I won the prize I thought I’d give it to someone who would actually read the books and benefit from them. I thought it would be best to donate the books to the hospice, because it’s a really good charity.”

The books, including ‘Helping Teens Work Through Grief’ and ‘Badgers Parting Gift’ will be available for staff to use as reference books, and for the Children and Family’s Social Worker, Dee Gardner, to use with young people.

All children and young people who have a family member cared for by the hospice have the opportunity to receive bereavement counselling, for free, at any stage during their grief.

“Books like this really open up communication, in a deep way,” said Dee. “Sometimes it’s hard for young people to put their feelings into words, so finding them in a book is a useful option.

Dee also uses books to help a child learn about what death means. “If a young child reads about a family of animals, for example foxes, and the daddy fox dies, it helps them understand the concept of death, and makes it acceptable because it’s animals.

“When we read a story like that to a child, we leave them to make sense of it, and interpret it in their own way – we don’t say, this is like what’s happened to your granddad, for example. As they grow up, they will realise it’s the same for people.”

Paul Sullivan, Family Support Service Manager at the hospice thanked Sam for thinking of the hospice when he won his prize. “There is an absence of books like this in our library, so now more people can have access to books that support children. Both staff and patients can benefit – for example, a nurse who works in the community will come into contact with children and grandchildren, so having a basic understanding of how to support them can be hugely beneficial.”

« News