One of our Kent police families is sharing a few thoughts on how Police Children’s Fund has supported them over the years and mum, Vicki told us her story.
“Thinking back to all those years ago (2013), when Police Children’s Fund started helping me, gave me a sense of warmth and I smiled as I remembered all the times that, as a struggling widow of 3 young sons, they helped me financially when I didn’t think I was going to cope.
I was in shock at losing my husband unexpectedly. Trying to nurse my three sons through the grieving process seemed an impossible and frightening task. Not only did I have a job to do, but I also had so many questions about how I was going to cope as a single parent with three children.
Police Children’s Fund helped me pay for counselling for the boys when they needed it over the years and enabled them to start doing things again like football by paying the annual fees for one of my sons who knew how much his dad enjoyed the game. By helping me with that it helped my son feel closer to the father he once had.
After a few years, when all the boys were at school, one at secondary school, I feared the expense of school uniforms but I shouldn’t have worried as Police Childrens Fund assisted me and they continued to do so with their quarterly allowance payments. The allowance meant that my sons could have lessons such as swimming and tutor help for exams and I didn’t feel quite so alone in trying to pay for these things by myself.
My youngest son has just come back from a college ski trip that was way out of my financial pocket but when he asked me if he could go, given his anxieties, I felt this was such a great opportunity for him. Kindly, the Fund assistance meant he could participate in the trip; he had a great time and made new friends and new memories.
The boys were also invited to go on activity holidays over the years and they could do many things from sailing to picnics and more. Initially, they didn’t want to go as they felt too shy but the opportunities were fantastic!
My middle son is at university studying criminology and was able to carry out his studies because the Fund gave him a higher education grant to assist with anything he needed for his course including a laptop.
I’m sure there are things I have forgotten to mention but the Fund has helped us to achieve so much as a family.
We are eternally grateful for the help we have received and I cannot stress enough to any parent who is in a similar distressing and unfortunate position, that they can approach the Fund for some guidance and help.
In a few years my boys will have outgrown their eligibility for the Fund’s assistance but I will never forget the wonderful work they do. It’s been tough and none of us ever asked for what happened to happen. Life has been slightly less painful with the help from Police Children’s Fund.”