Charitable Trust fund project that delivers a box of end-of-life support gifts for those coping with recent loss.
Hannah Jones, a Community Nurse at Care Plus Group, had noticed that bereavement boxes are given out routinely in child and baby loss and in hospice care. However, she had not seen anything locally for community nursing.
After doing some research, she found that some areas in the South of England had undertaken schemes that delivered these boxes within the community. From this, she was inspired to seek funding to start her own project, titled “The Little box of Love and Hugs”.
These boxes contain a mixture of community-sourced items that those coping with loss can use to commemorate their lost loved one.
Including:
A hand-knitted heart
“To know how loved you are and to remember love never fades.”
A fingerprint kit
“To remember fingerprints never fade from the lives we touch.”
Seeds
“To plant for your future days and to bring comfort and to remind you that you are always loved, and this love never stops growing.”
Soap
“To bathe and soothe and create an everlasting sensory memory.”
Candle
“To remember, those we love don’t go away; they walk beside us every day; burning eternally like a flame.”
Hannah shared her experience of taking her idea and making this project a reality. She said:
“I applied to the Care Plus Charitable Trust for a grant of £1,500 and was excited to learn that I was successful in securing the funding.
“I posted on my local Facebook village group to see if anyone was able to donate or supply the items I was looking for. The response was amazing!
“From this, a local sewing group donated the crochet and knitted hearts and a local soap maker designed an exclusive blend of soap for the boxes. Pennell’s kindly supplied the seeds at a discount, a local sign company made stickers using my design and Care Plus Group kindly donated the leaflets.
“The rest of the equipment was sourced from the internet; this included a small plant pot, ink pad and card for fingerprints within a small organza bag and a tealight. The boxes were put together at my work base, 50 in total.
“The idea is that they could be used in the last few days/weeks of life or after the person has passed away, whatever the choice of the patient/family.”
When asked about what she hoped to achieve with this project, Hannah said:
“I hope for these boxes to provide comfort at a time of sometimes great pain and distress and to provide an everlasting memory for the families left behind.
“Being involved in a patient’s end-of-life care is a very privileged one for a nurse or health care professional. It is sometimes the little things that help people and knowing that they are remembered. It is important to involve the family too, if they wish, as their needs are often as great as the patient.
“I hope they are well received. If the initial trial is successful, there is further funding left to create more and they can hopefully be rolled out to other community teams.”
If you want to find out more about this project, please contact Hannah on hannah.jones29@nhs.net