Adelle Brenner

[p]Thank you for taking the time to visit this page. I am truly touched and deeply grateful for your love and support.[/p][p]You may be wondering why I have set myself this challenge of running 26.2 miles through the streets of London in April. It's clear to those who know me that I am not a natural athlete. I was one of the last to be picked for sports teams at school and I certainly have no natural sporting talent. However, what I lack in ability I hope to make up for in sheer grit and determination,- qualities I have had to develop since our beloved daughter Celia died in 2011 and which I believe I share with all other parents who have live with the pain of loosing a child.[/p][p]Celia died aged three and a half when she fell from a high rise building where we were living in Singapore and where my husband was working. [/p][p]I found The Compassionate Friends within a week of returning to the UK after I put a desperate plea for help on the online forum Mumsnet. They put me in touch with their local contact near where I was staying with my parents in law. This lady had lost her young daughter too, five years earlier. She invited me over to her house and we talked, cried and drank lots of tea. I could talk to her freely and meeting her and her family gave me hope for the first time that I could survive this enormous tragedy.[/p][p]I joined The Compassionate Friends and they were a lifeline to me over the coming months and years. In my darkest hours I called their helpline and spoke to other bereaved parents knowing they understood how I was feeling. Often I had nothing specific to say, just an unbearable sadness which somehow became more bearable by being shared. At other times I may have been upset by something hurtful that a someone had unwittingly said or done or by the approach of Christmas or a birthday. Talking to others who truly understand cannot solve these things but does make the burden less heavy. [/p][p]The Compassionate Friends also run online forums and groups and provide invaluable leaflets and factsheets to bereaved parents, their friends and families, co-workers, teachers and health professionals. This practical help is invaluable for traumatised parents planning a funeral for their child, facing an inquest or simply trying to work out what they can do with their child's Facebook page. As well as supporting grieving families they educate others who come into contact with them personally and professionally such as funeral directors and emergency services.[/p][p]I am happy to say that I am now the local Compassionate Friends contact for the Bath area. Where I have been helped I am now able to help others. I run a monthly support group at my home where we meet to talk, support one another and share our experience. There are tears but also laughter and the bond we share is an enormous source of strength and comfort for all of us.[/p][p]Grieving the loss of a child is a very isolating experience. However well intentioned, our friends and family cannot fully understand how we feel and nor would we want them to. The motto of The Compassionate Friends is "We need not walk alone." [/p][p]The Compassionate Friends is not a charity with a grand office or highly paid executives. It is run from a space above a school in Kilburn, London with a small staff, most of whom are bereaved parents themselves. All the money you donate will go directly to helping those who need it. It will pay for the running of the telephone helpline, for training the volunteers who answer the calls and run groups, for leaflets and literature and for groups, meetings and retreats for bereaved parents and for the charity's work to further improve the quality of support and care offered to bereaved families in the UK after the death of a child. 9000 children under the age of 30 die every year in the UK leaving 18,000 parents mourning the loss of a precious son or daughter. While the Compassionate Friends cannot change these figures it can make an enormous difference to these bereaved parents and families, just as it has done for me.[/p][p]Donating through Virgin Money Giving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity. Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit organisation and will claim gift aid on a charity's behalf where the donor is eligible for this.[/p]