A WORTHY charity dedicated to supporting youngsters who have lost a mum, dad or sibling, is thrilled with news of a £44,000 boost.

The Noah's Ark Trust was awarded £44,076 by Comic Relief, and has now received the first instalment of more than £7,000.

The money will fund one of three bereavement services managers for three years, to provide one-on-one support to youngsters and their families.

Administration and funding manager Sue Smith said: "We're absolutely delighted.

"This support gives the trust added financial security. Its bereavement service managers are vital to the continuation of the service.

"They are the people who work directly with bereaved children and young people in Worcestershire.

"It is enormously reassuring to know that Comic Relief considers our work worthy of such enormous support.

Support

"We still need funding and the support of the community to cover the cost of our residential weekends."

The charity operates from offices in the College Precincts in Worcester city centre.

It provides its services free of charge and is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions and fund-raising.

It provides individual support to children and families, as well as residential breaks to the Malvern Hills Outdoor Centre in West Malvern.

The breaks give people the opportunity to share experiences of losing loved ones, make friends and learn to have fun again.

Each camp costs around £5,000 to run and, with three each year, the need for funding is ever the greater.

There is a Parents' Support Group, run by the families themselves, as well as reunion days for youngsters to meet up again after residential breaks.