Hazelwell House, Cheltenham College share why they took on a series of to raise funds for Child Bereavement UK.

Every year we try to choose a house charity that means something to members of the house. We are a boarding house of around 70 teenagers aged between 13 and 18 and a few members of our house have sadly experienced parental bereavement, both in the past and in more recent times. 

Some of the families in our community have used Child Bereavement UK’s services  and found them invaluable, so it felt like the perfect fit for our fundraising efforts this year. 

Over the space of a month, we set the goal of covering 127 km a day as a house by running, rowing or cycling. We did this to represent the 127 UK children who lose a parent every day. We then finished the challenge with a few members of the house running the Gloucester 10 km. 

We try to have a whole house initiative every year and we have refined the challenge aims over the past few years. The boys are on the whole quite active and sporty so it was  nice to have a goal that everyone could contribute to in some way, no matter their ability level. 

As a result of taking part of the challenge, we were able to raise awareness around grief and bereavement, learning more about the work of Child Bereavement UK and seeing the statistics around bereavement has really been an eye-opener for our boys. It has helped them understand their peers who have experienced loss better too. 

A challenge like this with a communal goal is incredible for team building and helping build relationships across year groups. They have all gained so much and are really proud of what they achieved and what they have raised. 

The fundraising team at Child Bereavement UK gave us so much support.  We wrote asking for a few T shirts to represent the house at the 10 km and they sent so much more including banners, thunder sticks and T shirts. It really made it feel more of an event, and we got lots of attention - the boys were getting shoutouts along the route and as they crossed the finish line. All the emails we received from the team  were so warm and friendly and reading them out to the boys really made such a difference. 

Our advice to anyone else thinking of taking on a challenge is to remind yourself who you are doing it for and why. Everyone can make a difference and if you can get your community behind it even better. 

Support Hazelwell House’s fundraising.