A CAMPAIGN to enable dozens of children in Worcestershire and Herefordshire access vital support to help them cope with the death of a loved one is to be launched.

Noah’s Ark Trust, based in Blackpole, Worcester, needs just more than £32,000 to help 120 children on its waiting list and will launch A Child’s Right to Grieve on Tuesday to raise awareness of their plight.

Demand for the bereavement support charity’s services across the two counties is continuing to grow, seeing the number of children supported rise from 740 in 2009/10 to 899 in 2010/11.

Referrals have also doubled in the past four months.

Chief executive Gabby Beddows said she hoped that Worcester News readers would lend their support to the campaign.

She said: “It’s so difficult to tell children that they need to wait for the kind of support we offer, especially in such a time of need, and it is why we are launching this very targeted campaign to raise the funds to support the 120 children on our waiting list. We hope that you will support the campaign, knowing that you can help this specific group of people.”

Ms Beddows said the charity will be launching and running the campaign online in order to reduce costs and maximise revenue.

She said: “An online launch offers the opportunity to run a highly efficient, environmentally friendly campaign, with less printing involved.

“It is also a very appropriate medium for the launch; while there are many benefits of virtual ‘social networks’, they can’t offer the kind of essential support and care sometimes needed by those experiencing bereavement, and indeed can sometimes compound feelings of isolation and loneliness.”

Noah’s Ark Trust was founded in 1998 to provide a grief support service for children, young people and their families across the two counties.

It is free to all users.

For more details of A Child’s Right to Grieve or to support the campaign, visit noahsarktrust.co.uk or the charity’s Facebook and Twitter pages.