£1,000 grant for bereaved children charity

Sunbeams Children Bereavement Support Group, based at Rotherham Hospice, was given £1,000 from Persimmon Homes as part of the firm’s Community Champion scheme.

The charity helps young people cope with loss and grief with diversional activities and helps them create memories of their loved ones.  

Fundraising director Peter Bradley said: “Persimmon’s kind donation will enable us to continue our services.

“The support group relies on fundraising — last year our costs were around £35,000 so donations like such as Persimmon’s are vital to us.”

He added: “We provide an after-school supportive group offering a comprehensive programme of activities to help the children express their feelings and learn to cope with and manage their grief.”

Simon Whalley, Persimmon Homes West Yorkshire’s sales director, said: “Bereavement is hard at any time in our lives, so for children and young people to have to experience this must be very difficult.

“It is reassuring to know there are charities like Sunbeams out there dedicated to helping children come to terms with their loss.”

He added: “As we are currently building in the Rotherham area we were honoured to support such a worthy cause.”

Persimmon Community Champions is a national programme, to which charities can apply for match funding of £1,000.

Simon said: “If people were unsuccessful last month, we urge them to visit the Persimmon Homes website and to try again — hopefully they will become our next community champion.”

To nominate and to find out about the terms and conditions people can visit www.persimmonhomes.com/charity.