Charity

Sandy Bear in 2025: The year Wales refused to let childhood grief win

Published

2 months ago

December 3, 2025

Tom Sinclair

CHARITY SPECIAL FEATURE OF THE MONTH

ON a grey morning in March 2025, Lee Barnett pressed send on the email no charity chief ever wants to write.

Sandy Bear Children’s Bereavement Charity – one of only two specialist services for grieving children in the whole of Wales – was just a few months from closing its doors for good.

“We were staring at the end,” Barnett says. “We knew families needed us more than ever. We also knew the money had simply run out.”

Across Britain, thousands of charities are limping through the same cost-of-living storm. For Sandy Bear the stakes were uniquely cruel: stop the service and hundreds of Welsh children bereaved by suicide, addiction or sudden death would be left with nothing.

This is the story of how Wales refused to let that happen.

Born from heartbreak

Sandy Bear began life inside the NHS. When health-board cuts killed the original service, a handful of staff and volunteers would not let it die. They rebuilt it, pound by pound, because they had seen what happens to children when no one catches them.

One parent later wrote: “Sandy Bear was the string that stitched our hearts back together and made it possible to smile again.”

For many families, that line is not poetry. It is survival.

A perfect storm

2025 hit the charity from every angle.

Referrals doubled post-pandemic to more than 100 a month. Over half the children had lost someone to suicide; another 20% to drugs or alcohol. The sharpest rise was among six- to fifteen-year-olds.

At the same time, grants dried up, inflation hammered running costs, and exhausted staff carried impossible caseloads. Waiting lists lengthened. The board took the agonising decision to lose a handful of posts.

“It felt like we were choosing which children we could help,” Barnett says.

**Martin Jones and First Minister Eluned Morga**n

Then Wales stepped up

What happened next stunned even the people inside the building.

Village halls filled with cake sales. Runners pounded pavements in Sandy Bear vests. Skydivers leapt for the cause. Town and community councils in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Swansea sent emergency cheques that – in the charity’s own words – “literally kept the lights on”.

Businesses followed: Valero, Ascona Group, Young Farmers Clubs, Haverfordwest County AFC. Footballer Joe Allen visited the centre and posed for photos with children who had lost parents.

Politicians of every stripe turned up too. Plaid Cymru’s Ben Lake, Labour’s Henry Tufnell and Eluned Morgan, Conservatives Sam Kurtz and Paul Davies – rivals who rarely agree – stood shoulder to shoulder in briefing rooms and on site visits, sounding the alarm in Westminster and the Senedd.

“It was the most united I’ve ever seen Welsh politics on anything,” says business development manager Martin Jones.

***Sandy Bear Haverfordwest County Partnership***

The hidden £20 million payback

Sandy Bear runs on roughly £500,000 a year – loose change in government terms.

Independent analysis values its work at more than £20 million annually in prevented costs: fewer family breakdowns, fewer addictions, fewer youth suicide attempts, fewer kids excluded from school, fewer A&E dashes and police call-outs.

Most of that saving never makes the headlines, because the crises never happen.

***Footballer Joe Allen Visiting Bereaved child, Connor Bishop***

From red to resilient

By autumn the haemorrhage had stopped. New funding streams opened. Staff rewrote support models. Waiting lists began, slowly, to shrink.

“We survived,” Barnett says, “because our communities refused to let us fall.”

***Henry Tufnell MP*** ***showing his support to Sandy Bear on a video call with*** ***Martin Jones***

But the crisis is not over

Demand is still climbing. The charity must raise half a million pounds every single year just to stand still. More than 80p in every pound donated reaches the frontline.

And childhood bereavement is not going away. If anything, the causes – suicide, overdose, sudden death – are rising.

The team at Sandy Bear want Wales to face a hard truth: grief itself is not the enemy. Unsupported grief is.

***Sandy Bear Senior Management Team – Martin Jones, Karen Codd and Lee Barnett, the CEO***

A quiet ask for 2026

As Christmas approaches, the charity’s final message of 2025 is deliberately low-key.

They thank every runner, every donor, every councillor, every MP, every child who sold cakes outside the school gate.

And then they ask – without drama – for the help to continue.

A tenner a month. A share on social media. A volunteer afternoon. A conversation with your MS or MP.

Because, as they gently remind us:

“Liking, sharing and commenting costs nothing, but it genuinely helps save lives.”

This Christmas, hold your loved ones close.

Somewhere in Wales tonight, a child who cannot do that is still hoping someone will help them find their way back to the light.

And in 2025, Wales proved it could be that someone.

**Ben Lake MP** ***on a video call with*** ***Martin Jones***

Charity

NSPCC Cymru launches Baby Steps scheme to support new parents across Wales

Published

1 day ago

January 28, 2026

Tom Sinclair

New perinatal service aims to help families cope with the pressures of early parenthood

NSPCC CYMRU has launched a new perinatal support programme aimed at helping expectant and new parents across Wales navigate the challenges of caring for a baby.

The Baby Steps service, a redeveloped early-intervention programme, is designed to give parents the tools, confidence and emotional support needed during pregnancy and in a child’s first months of life.

The service was officially launched this week at an event held at BT headquarters in London, attended by The Duchess of Edinburgh, who is a Patron of NSPCC, alongside childcare professionals and public figures.

Baby Steps will initially be piloted through three NSPCC hubs, including the Wales hub, placing Cymru at the forefront of the charity’s rollout of the service.

Carl Harris, Assistant Director for the NSPCC Wales hub, said the evidence-based programme could make a significant difference to families during a crucial stage of a child’s development.

He said: “The early stages of a baby’s life can feel daunting for parents, as they face new challenges every day while trying to give their child the best possible start.

“It is a critical time for a child’s development, and perinatal services like Baby Steps can offer enormous support to help parents through what is an exciting, but sometimes very difficult, period.

“NSPCC Cymru is proud to be leading the way in rolling out this service and supporting parents and children across Wales.”

Figures released alongside the launch highlight the scale of need. During 2024/25, the NSPCC Helpline referred more than 3,800 children under the age of two to external agencies across the UK, including police and social services. This represented almost one fifth (18%) of all referrals made by the Helpline on behalf of a child during the year.

One father who contacted the service described the pressures faced by new parents, saying: “We just can’t get our baby into a routine. It’s been eight weeks, we’re new to parenting and have different opinions, and then our friends all have different advice. It’s causing major arguments and nothing’s working.”

In addition to Baby Steps, the NSPCC website offers a wide range of guidance for parents and carers, including advice on bonding with babies and raising children safely.

Chris Sherwood, Chief Executive of the NSPCC, said the charity was pleased to mark the launch with a royal visit.

He said: “It’s always a privilege to be part of a Royal visit, and we were delighted that HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh was able to join us to celebrate our Baby Steps service.

“As our Helpline data shows, the first couple of years of a child’s life can be an extremely difficult time for parents. Our Helpline regularly hears from parents struggling with the pressures of a newborn, as well as from concerned members of the community.

“The Baby Steps service provides essential building blocks to help parents navigate the earliest stages of their child’s life and ensure they thrive. Any parent or carer who needs support or advice can always contact the NSPCC Helpline.”
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Charity

Milford Haven Round Table thanks town council for backing major community events

Published

3 days ago

January 26, 2026

Tom Sinclair

MILFORD HAVEN ROUND TABLE has formally thanked Milford Haven Town Council for its continued support, saying the council’s backing helps make some of the town’s biggest free events possible.

The group said the Town Council is a major supporter of its work in Milford Haven and plays a vital role in enabling community celebrations including the Milford Haven Carnival and the annual Fireworks Extravaganza, which draw thousands of people.

Representatives from the Round Table said it was “great to catch up” with the Mayor, Councillor William Elliott, at the Christmas Lights Switch On in December, where they presented a small token of thanks to mark another year of collaboration.

Milford Haven Round Table said it is proud to support the town through fundraising, volunteering and delivering events which create memories, raise money for local causes and strengthen community spirit.

The group added that none of its work would be possible without strong partnerships across Milford Haven, and thanked the Town Council for its “ongoing support, trust and commitment” to the town and its residents.

Charity

Local car enthusiast donates treasured classic to Paul Sartori Hospice at Home

Published

4 days ago

January 25, 2026

Tom Sinclair

THE PAUL SARTORI FOUNDATION is celebrating an act of generosity from local classic car enthusiast Roger Handcock, whose donation of a cherished Mazda MX5 has helped raise £5,500 plus Gift Aid for end-of-life care across Pembrokeshire.

Roger made the decision to donate his 1990 MX5 after a period of ill health over the summer meant the car was no longer being driven. He said he wanted it to be enjoyed — and properly cared for — by someone who would appreciate it as much as he had.

A long-standing member of the Pembrokeshire Classic Car Club, Roger said: “I was ill this summer and my 1990 MX5 was not getting any use, so I decided to part with it in the hope that it would bring some enjoyment and be maintained properly. However, I didn’t have the energy to try to sell it for the highest possible price.

“Being a member of Pembrokeshire Classic Car Club, I decided to donate the car to Paul Sartori Hospice at Home which is one of their favoured charities. In the end a great price was secured for the vehicle, and I am pleased to say that it will still be seen on Pembrokeshire’s roads.”

The Foundation said donations like Roger’s provide a vital source of income, helping to fund free hospice at home support for people nearing the end of life. The service enables patients to remain in the comfort of their own homes, supported by specialist equipment and professional care, while also offering help to families at an incredibly difficult time.

A spokesperson for the Paul Sartori Foundation said they were grateful for Roger’s kindness, adding that the impact of his gift would continue long after the MX5 begins its next chapter on Pembrokeshire’s roads.

Brave donation: Roger Handcock with Paul Sartori Events and Fundraising Officer Joanne Lutwyche (Pic: Paul Sartori Foundation).