Store: Peacehaven

Drop-in sessions to support those affected by suicide

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Our local bereavement support team is hosting free virtual drop-in sessions to provide a safe space for individuals impacted by suicide.

With World Suicide Prevention Day being marked on Sunday, Bereavement Care is hosting two sessions on Monday 11 September at 12pm and 6pm, each lasting one hour.

Bereavement Care team can provide free ongoing support for anyone who has experienced loss, regardless of whether they have used services offered by Southern Co-op and its Co-operative Funeralcare branches.

To read more, visit https://bereavementcare.uk/virtual-drop-in-sessions-to-support-those-affected-by-suicide/

National bereaved parents day honoured with memorial services and a charitable donation

Posted on by ashleymarsh

To mark the significance of a national day to support grieving parents, Southern Co-op is holding four separate memorial services as well as donating 100 support boxes for newly bereaved parents.

In conjunction with National Bereaved Parents Day, Southern Co-op will be hosting memorial services on Monday 3 July at 6.30pm to provide support for anyone who has suffered the loss of a child.

These services will be held at The Oaks Havant Crematorium, East Devon Crematorium, Hinton Park Woodland Burial Ground and Funeral Directors, and Mayfields Woodland Burial Ground. The services will be followed by light refreshments.

For those unable to attend in person, the memorial services will also be live-streamed to ensure that individuals across the region can participate and find comfort in the shared experience of remembrance and support.

Holly Bramble​, Southern Co-op’s Community Lead, said: “National Bereaved Parents Day was set up in 2020 by a small charity called A Child of Mine as the founders wanted to bring together anyone affected by the loss of a child to show them that they are not alone.

“It is the charity’s 10th anniversary this year so we wanted to mark this special occasion by supporting their work with an £8,000 donation which will pay for 100 Butterfly Boxes.

“The Butterfly Boxes are a small gesture, but we are certain they will have a positive impact on bereaved parents.”

The Butterfly Boxes offer practical support and solace to newly bereaved parents, and include items such as a teddy bear, calming candle, tissues, healing crystals, mindfulness book, journal and pen, bereavement book tailored to the family’s loss, a pink/blue heart, and a bereaved parent’s pin badge.

National Bereaved Parents Day will take place on Monday 3rd July to raise awareness for all parents who have lost a child of any age, and from any circumstance. This year’s theme is ‘you are not alone’.

Gayle Routledge, Founder and Chief Executive of A Child of Mine, said: “What can I say. We are absolutely delighted that Southern Co-op is supporting our Butterfly boxes. This donation will make a huge difference to our families in their time of need and will give them some practical resources to help them through their grief. We are so grateful to Southern Co-op for supporting A Child of Mine; as a tiny charity we rely totally on the generosity of the community and this donation really will make a huge impact. Thank you so much!”

As part of Bereaved Parents Day, the charity is encouraging people to light a candle at 7pm which Southern Co-op’s branches of The Co-operative Funeralcare will be joining in with by having candles (battery operated) shining in their windows throughout July.

For more information on the memorial services or book your place, contact the individual venue which can be found at https://southern.coop/store-locator. Or for more information contact Southern Co-op’s free Bereavement Care team on 08081 691922 or via https://bereavementcare.uk/.

More than 14,000 donations made in memory of loved ones

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Just under £700,000 was donated to more than 450 charities in 2022 thanks to people donating in memory of their loved ones.

The donations were made via a free online memorials feature offered by more than 60 Southern Co-op funeral care homes.

In the top ten charities which received the largest overall donation last year, three of them were local including Rowans Hospice in Hampshire which had 961 donations totalling £50,853.

Claire McGinty, Client Experience and Aftercare Manager at Southern Co-op, said: “Each and every one of these donations is thanks to an individual who is grieving for a loved one. This is an incredibly generous thing to do and will clearly make a significant difference to all the causes who have benefitted.

“This is possibly even more touching at the moment when a lot of charities are struggling and need all the support they can get. Thank you to all those who donated.”

Over the last three years, a total of £2,082,095 was donated by families across the south of England via the free online tribute service offered by Southern Co-op.

Michelle Merrison, Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity’s In Memory Giving Manager, said: “We would like to thank everyone who has donated in memory of someone special in 2022. We are always deeply touched when people choose to remember us as they remember and celebrate the life and memories of a loved one and it is an honour to be able to continue to provide our vital services to more families in their names.

“The total received will have covered the equivalent of a month of Day Hospice sessions, providing specialist and individual support to help our patients maintain independence, improve their quality of life and manage their symptoms.”

The platform, supplied by MuchLoved, enables donations to any UK registered charity with no subscription fee which means many small charities can receive vital funding thanks to the generosity of your communities choosing to donate in memory of their loved ones.

Ruth Brady, Fundraising Manager for the Andrew Simpson Foundation, said: “The Andrew Simpson Foundation (ASF) was inspired by Olympic Gold and Silver medallist Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson MBE. Our mission is to transform lives through sailing. Absolutely everything we do is driven by our belief that all young people can excel and succeed in life and work.

“Thank you to all the incredible people who chose to support our work through MuchLoved. The funds raised through MuchLoved enabled the ASF to support over 5,000 young people in 2022.”

Alice Garratt, In Memory & Legacy Fundraiser at Thames Hospice, said: “A dedicated online tribute page can offer great comfort for friends and families to remember and honour a loved one, and fundraising in their memory makes such a difference to support our work.

“We are incredibly grateful to all the families who chose to set up an online tribute page in aid of Thames Hospice last year and a special thanks to Southern Co-op who facilitated tributes which have raised £11,400. This could pay for 253 hours of counselling time, which is six 1 hour sessions for 42 people.”

James Young, Individual Giving Fundraiser at St. Michael’s Hospice, said: “We want to say thank you to everyone who donated in memory of a loved one and helped raise an incredible £16,764.34 for St. Michael’s Hospice.

“These funds will help us provide free compassionate care to our patients and their families across North Hampshire. Thank you so much, we simply can’t do what we do without the kindness and generosity of our supporters.“

Lara Battersby, Communications Officer for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, said: “We would like to express our sincere thanks to those who have generously donated in memory of their loved ones to Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance during 2022, raising a total of £604.58 in aid of our life-saving service.

“The charity receives no direct funding from the Government or the National Lottery and relies on the generosity of the public to help raise our operational costs of over £5 million per year, so we are incredibly grateful to receive this heartfelt support.”

Alison Taylor, Corporate Fundraising Manager at Chestnut Tree House and St Barnabas Hospices, said: “Thank you so much to all the staff and customers at Southern Co-op who have supported Chestnut Tree House and St Barnabas House throughout 2022. We wouldn’t be able to carry on providing the care we do without the support from our community.”

Free online support for National Bereaved Parents Month

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Two online support groups are being held in July – National Bereaved Parents Month – to give extra help to those affected by the loss of a child.

Being held by Bereavement Care, in association with Southern Co-op and its local funeralcare branches, the support groups are for anyone who has experienced the loss of a child, regardless of age or circumstance.

National Bereaved Parents Day was set up in 2020 by the charity A Child of Mine as it wanted to bring together anyone affected by the loss of a child to show them that they are not alone.

As well as the support groups, Southern Co-op will be donating £1,000 to the charity to make sure bereaved parents and families get access to invaluable emotional and practical support.

Ali Davison, Bereavement Coordinator at Bereavement Care, said: “Our team works with people everyday to help them through some of the darkest days of their lives. So we know how incredibly important it is to have a safe, confidential environment, with others that may understand what they are going through, coupled with the support from our Bereavement Coordinators.

“We are mindful that the awareness month is likely to evoke a lot of emotions and we want to make sure we have resource in place to support these parents.”

The free Bereavement Care service is offered by Southern Co-op to everyone in its local communities – regardless of whether they have used its services. To find your nearest Southern Co-op funeral branch, visit www.funeralcare.co.uk/our-funeral-directors/location-map/.

The free service is designed to help and support people struggling to deal with bereavement.

The two online support groups will take place on Wednesday 13 July from 3pm to 4pm and Wednesday 20 July from 10am to 11am.

Links can be found via Bereavement Care’s Facebook page or by emailing info@bereavementcare.uk.

For more information on Bereavement Care and the help available, visit https://bereavementcare.uk/ or call 08081 691922.

Memories to be placed on trees of remembrance this Christmas

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Residents are being asked to decorate a Christmas tree with memories this year with the iconic firs being placed in more than 60 locations across the south of England.

Southern Co-op is sending special greetings cards to families they have looked after who have lost a loved one this year. The cards include a pop-out star to let their memories shine bright this Christmas.

They are then being invited to place their stars on the memory trees being put up in Southern Co-op branches of The Co-operative Funeralcare throughout December.

These are based in Alton, Andover, Ash Vale, Aylesbury, Basingstoke, Bishops Waltham, Bognor Regis, Bracknell, Brighton, Camberley, Chichester, Cosham, East Cowes, Emsworth, Fareham, Farnborough, Felpham, Fleet, Freshwater, Frome, Gillingham, Gosport, Havant, Hayling Island, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, Hove, Liss, Newport, Peacehaven, Portsmouth, Ryde, Sandown, Shaftesbury, Shanklin, Shoreham by Sea, Sturminster Newton, Uckfield, Warminster, Waterlooville, Wendover, Whitchurch, and Worthing.

Trees will also be located at The Oaks Crematorium in Havant and East Devon Crematorium in Whimple.

The trees are open to everyone in order to give them the opportunity to write a personal message to someone who is no longer with them this Christmas.

Lesley Hadley, Bereavement Coordinator from Southern Co-op’s free Bereavement Care service, said: “This is a meaningful way to acknowledge the absence of our loved ones, and make a start on creating new rituals and traditions that will include them.

“If you are finding this time of year hard, remember to be kind to yourself. It’s okay to spend time in quiet contemplation if you would prefer that to being ‘jollied along’ by well-meaning friends and family.

“Give yourself the opportunity to do what makes you feel most comfortable, rather than what others think you should be doing.”

Information on free bereavement support is available on www.bereavementcare.uk.

Remembrance windows honouring our fallen servicemen

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The Co-operative Funeralcare – Cowplain

The importance of Remembrance Day is being brandished in the windows of funeral homes across the south of England thanks to help from children, communities and colleagues.

To mark 100 years of the Royal British Legion, Southern Co-op is making a donation of £5,000 and is encouraging its funeral colleagues to mark the anniversary with bold window displays.

At The Co-operative Funeralcare – Cowplain, children from St Peter’s Catholic School in Waterlooville have painstakingly painted 930 memory stones to remember the 930 people killed in Portsmouth during the Blitz. A further 2,837 were injured and more than 6,000 properties were destroyed.

The Co-operative Funeralcare – Widley

Jackie Duthie, Cowplain Funeral Co-ordinator, said: “The children from Year Six have created the beautiful poppies that we have cascading down on the outside of the window. Out of lots of small crosses the children have also created this wonderful large cross, which looks so poignant and so effective.

“They will be coming along to the branch on Wednesday at 11am to hand out their memory stones to the community in Cowplain. Remembrance Day gives people the chance to remember those who fought and lost their lives during the war and to honour their memory.

“With fewer and fewer living survivors, it’s even more important than ever to remember the sacrifice’s these people made for our country. Teaching our children about the importance of Remembrance Day will keep the memories of these soldiers and brave individuals alive now and in the future.”

At The Co-operative Funeralcare – Widley, Mayor of Havant Councillor Rosy Raines helped to judge the poppy pictures created by children at Purbrook Junior School aged seven to 11 years. All of the children received a certificate for their efforts.

The Co-operative Funeralcare – Peacehaven

Linda Docherty, Widley Funeral Co-ordinator, said: “I am truly blessed to have such wonderful children help me in my display. I have also had a lady knit a poppy wreath for me and another lady made a cross with a poppy helmet which is absolutely amazing.”

At The Co-operative Funeralcare with Caring Lady – Peacehaven, Funeral Co-ordinator Kerry Tester incorporated the original helmet of her grandfather.

Kerry said: “The tin hat is original and was my Grandad’s from the Second World War. I am very proud to be able to display my late grandfather Harold Roberts’ hat in our window as my earliest memories of him were when he would get us to ‘build’ the poppies that he brought home from The Royal British Legion in September ready to sell in time for Remembrance Day.”

At The Co-operative Funeralcare – Farnborough, they have been overwhelmed by the artwork they have had in from the local infant, junior and nursery schools

Anne Whitehouse, Farnborough Funeral Co-ordinator, said: “We designed various simple poppy posters and sent out emails to local infant, junior and nursery schools asking if they would like to colour, paint or collage them for us to display in our window.

The Co-operative Funeralcare – Farnborough

“We had no idea what a fantastic response we would get! The window shows all the amazing posters that have come back to us, so many that they had to be displayed back to back, which just means we get a fabulous wall of poppies to look at on the inside too.”

Southern Co-op’s colleagues will be marking the important day with a minute’s silence including at its local retail stores.

To find your nearest Southern Co-op funeral branch, visit www.funeralcare.co.uk/our-funeral-directors/location-map/.

 

UK’s first fully electric Tesla based hearse lands in the south of England

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Funerals are about to get greener in the south of England as the UK’s first fully electric Tesla based hearse is delivered to a regional, co-operative funeral services provider.

Southern Co-op, which operates just under 60 funeral branches across Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire, has taken delivery of the new, ground-breaking Wisper based on the Tesla Model S.

The hearse will be available at all of The Co-operative Funeralcare branches run by Southern Co-op and will enable families to say goodbye to their loved ones in a more environmentally responsible way.

With state-of-the-art technology and equipment, the entirely silent hearse is zero-emission with full electric operation, measuring around 5.8m in length and has a 220-mile single-charge range capability powered at Southern Co-op sites using electricity from renewable sources.

Steve Pearce, Southern Co-op’s Chief Operating Officer for End of Life Services, said: “This day has been a long time coming with delays caused by the pandemic and waiting for it to be approved for use on the UK’s roads. So this is definitely a time to celebrate and we won’t waste any time in getting it on the road.

“There is only one other existing electric hearse in the UK which is much more compact so we hope this will offer people an elegant alternative which echoes a more traditional appearance. It will also compliment an existing range of other eco-friendly products we offer as we all work together to tackle climate change and make a difference to our environment.”

As well as the hearse, delivered through funeral vehicle provider Coleman Milne, Southern Co-op is also the first funeral business in the UK to take delivery of two new hybrid Mercedes E-Class Limousines and two new converted E class Mercedes hybrid hearses.

These six-door models offer style and comfort with high tech accessories and an electric vehicle powertrain with the ability to run the vehicles in full electric mode for an entirely silent funeral procession.

Mark Smith, Chief Executive at Southern Co-op, said: “It’s important that we all work together to tackle climate change, so we are delighted to now be able to offer our customers the choice of a more environmentally favourable funeral fleet and to take the next step on our sustainability journey together.

“The appetite for change is there within our communities so, by making it easier for loved ones to make more informed choices, people can play their part in making a positive difference to our environment and our communities.”

Southern Co-op is currently working towards its ambitious science based targets to cut direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from its business by 2030, supported by a climate action pathway of planned activity and an initial investment of £5.8m.

To view Southern Co-op’s long term strategy including its commitment to climate change and responsible business, visit www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk/our-plan/.

Help for the homeless this winter

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Goods that many people take for granted have started the New Year with a smile as they were bundled up ready for Christmas and gifted to residents at a Brighton homeless hostel.

Currently housing 48 men, Glenwood Lodge was given £500 worth of donations from local funeralcare colleagues to give to its residents to open on the special day.

With 2020 proving a difficult year for many charities and local causes, colleagues at Glenwood Lodge appealed for help from The Co-operative Funeralcare with Caring Lady Funeral Directors.

Last year the six funeral branches which are part of Southern Co-op donated a range of gifts including gloves, socks and shower gel to the homeless hostel in the Grand Parade.

Laura Cullen, Sector Operations Manager for Southern Co-op, said: “Last year I remember there was a particularly cold day before Christmas which prompted us to get in touch with several charities in the area to offer support.

“This year has been even more challenging so we didn’t hesitate in gifting what we could to help.

“Thanks to my colleagues in Brighton, Goring, Hove, Peacehaven, Shoreham and Worthing, who are all glad these gifts brought a few smiles on Christmas Day.”

The gifts to the hostel included duvet sets, dinner sets, toasters, kettles, pillows and cutlery.

Darren Rusbridge, Deputy Manager for the Hospital and Homeless Team at Brighton & Hove City Council, said: “The generosity of Southern Co-op really helped us achieve a good Christmas for our vulnerable residents this year. The items donated have certainly helped our residents make their stay at Glenwood more comfortable and welcoming during what has been a difficult year for everyone.

“Our residents were extremely grateful for the gifts of bedding and kitchen equipment as the items are not easy to purchase on a low income. Thanks again from all at Glenwood Lodge.”

To find out more about Southern Co-op’s commitment to its communities, visit www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk/love-your-neighbourhood.