Strabane children raise funds in memory of their grandfather

TWO inspirational Strabane children have raised over £5,000 in memory of their grandfather, Uel Blair who passed away last year.

Brother and sister, Finn (12) and Maya (10) Vaughan managed to raise the incredible amount of £5,600 for Healing Hearts Service, which they both attend at Foyle Hospice.

The thoughtful youngsters held a raffle on the first anniversary of their grandfather’s death (May 28) for an overnight’s stay voucher in the Galgorm Hotel, which they purchased themselves out of their own savings.

The children said, “We wanted to raise money for charity in memory of Granda.

“We chose Healing Hearts because now we know what other kids are going through and we really wanted to help them through the hard time.

“We know that Foyle Hospice will use the money to do something good to help the other kids.

“Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket and supported us.”

Healing Hearts provide specialist bereavement support for any child or young person, aged 4-18 years, who have experienced a loved one receiving the diagnosis of a life-limiting illness or death of someone close to them regardless of the cause.

Following the loss of their grandfather last year, Finn and Maya were absolutely devastated, and so needed a helping hand in managing the grieving process.

Uel’s daughter, Jennifer, recalled the overwhelming impact which her father’s death had on the family.

Jennifer said, “One of the nurses put me in touch with the Healing Hearts Children and Young Person’s facilitator, Michelle Kosky while daddy was dying because we didn’t know the best way to handle it, or how to tell the children.

“My mum and dad lived with us, so my kids were used to seeing him every day.

“He would have left them to school in the morning and picked them up – they were so close to him.”

Jennifer admits the family could not have coped without Michelle who has given ‘incredible support’ to her children following the loss of their much-loved grandfather.

“We were so thankful to be introduced to Michelle, who made it very clear that our children would never be turned away if they felt they needed her,” said Jennifer.

“She is very good at catering to the needs of the child. For example, Finn was visibly grieving, and wanted me to sit in with him for a few of his sessions, and she always accommodated us.

“Maya was different, and didn’t want to talk with me about it as I think she wanted to protect my feelings, but she had full trust in Michelle, and could tell her what she didn’t want to tell me.”

Since using the Healing Hearts service at Foyle Hospice, Jennifer believes she can really notice a positive difference in her children.

She said, “It’s helping them without a doubt – you could see it in Finn that he was ready to finish up when he did and Maya just needs a wee bit more time.

“It’s a fantastic service, and we are so glad our children raised this amount of money for them.”