"Forget-Me-Not" Walk

Grief Encounter is one of the UK’s leading children’s bereavement charities, providing free, professional bereavement support to children and young people following the death of a loved one. As a small to medium size charity that relies entirely on voluntary donations, our flagship gala dinner and other fundraising events were postponed due to COVID-19, forcing us to rethink our fundraising strategy. At the beginning of 2021, over 140,000 people had died in the UK with COVID-19 mentioned as the underlying cause and an estimated 750,000 people were suffering intense grief as a result of the pandemic. As a bereavement charity, the demand for our services increased threefold. Grief Encounter’s “Forget-Me-Not” Walk was a virtual fundraising event that took place during lockdown on 21st March 2021, marking a year to the week of when the UK first went into lockdown. This was the first national, virtual event we’ve ever held. In excess of 300 people (children and their families) up and down the country walked in memory of a loved one to raise funds for bereaved children and their families. Our initial fundraising target was £10,000, but staggeringly, existing and new supporters raised £200,000!