Sheffield couple Lucy and Arron Mellon-Jameson have given the gift of reading to our new Child Bereavement Service.
Lucy and Arron’s son Jude was diagnosed with cancer High Risk Neuroblastoma the day before his third birthday.
Jude died, aged five, in 2023 but his special legacy lives on with Jude and the Book Factory, the organisation that was inspired by Jude’s own passion for reading.
His idea was simply to get books to children and began with Jude hiding his own books for other youngsters to find.
That simple plan has grown and now gets packages of books for children into hospitals and hospices.
The books donated to St Luke’s will be offered to children who are attending our Child Bereavement Service and will also be freely available on our In Patient Centre for use as a support mechanism during a difficult time when children are visiting relatives.
“We were delighted when Lucy and Arron reached out to us and offered this very special gift,” said our Head of Fundraising Joasia Lesniak.
“The books come at the ideal time as we have only recently launched our new Child Bereavement Service.”
The bereavement support for children aged five to 16 is tailored to individual needs and is being offered by our counsellors and art therapist.
For children aged five to 11, weekly 90-minute group sessions held over an eight-week period, will offer an opportunity for children to meet peers in similar circumstances to them and engage in creative activities to explore their emotions and feelings around the loss of their loved one at the hospice.
“The donation of books from Jude and the Book Factory is a valuable addition to our new service,” said Joasia.
“This is just the start of the partnership, though, and we are so pleased that Lucy and Arron have offered to continue their support by obtaining further books for our young visitors.”