Children's appeal money will go towards memory jars (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Children's appeal money will go towards memory jars

7:20am Wednesday 13th March 2013 in News

AN important activity at Kemp Hospice is to help bereaved children produce memory jars to cope with their loss.

The jars act as a colourful reminder of the person they have lost and is just one of the ways Kemp Hospice will spend the money raised by its Children’s Appeal.

The appeal, in association with The Shuttle, aims to raised £30,000 in 30 weeks to help bereaved children and young people in Wyre Forest.

A memory jar is made using salt, chalk and glitter. They are made to help children to think about and focus on memories of a loved one.

The jar is filled with salt and then divided into four to six piles. The piles of salt don’t have to be equal in size, as some memories may be more important than others, and they may not be all happy or good memories.

The salt is then coloured by rubbing the chalk into it and put back into the jar one colour at a time.

Each colour represents a different memory such as blue may remind them of a seaside holiday they shared, the colour of their eyes or the colour of their favourite football team.

Children sometimes add glitter into the salt if it is a special memory and sometimes they may hide beads or sequins in the middle of the jar so that only they know they are there.

When all the salt has been put back into the jar, the lid is sealed and the children can write a special label to show what memories the colours represent.

The process of making a memory jar can be very helpful and therapeutic for children to look at and remember their loved one.