The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Bereaved family plan centre to help others through trauma
Sam Jennings suffered cardiac arrest aged just five
The family of a boy who died at the age of five hope to bring a bereavement and support centre to Dundee.
Sam Jennings suffered a fatal cardiac arrest while on a family day out at Cairnie Fruit Farm near Cupar.
His mother Donna, 46, has since endeavoured to continue her son’s legacy through her charity For The Love of a Child (FLOC), which aims to help children and families following trauma and loss.
FLOC has already helped children in conflict zones across the world by establishing ‘Sam’s House’ centres in the five-year-old’s memory.
The centres provide access to toys, activities and personal support.
A Sam’s House is also being established in Lebanon, to help families displaced by the conflict in Syria.
Donna, from Cupar, said one of the charity’s next steps was to open a Sam’s House closer to home in Dundee.
She said: “It’s going to take a lot more funding – it’s at the ‘vision’ stage – but there is a need in Dundee for help and support for young people with mental health problems.
“A lot of young people don’t like going to support services because they can be quite intimidating places.
“We want Sam’s House to be a creative and therapeutic space.”
Donna, husband Thomas, 47, and kids Joy, 16, Zoe, six, and Jacob, two, are all taking part in the Kiltwalk next month to raise money for the charity, encouraged by FLOC’s chairwoman, Julie-Anne Alexander.
The family are completing the Wee Wander, a six-mile trek from Discovery Point to Monifieth, with a buggy in tow for Jacob.
Donna said she was driven by a “need” to help others – and is hoping to get at least 20 Kiltwalkers to support FLOC as their chosen charity.
She said: “It’s like I’ve got this fire in my belly, like I need to do this.
“It is all about Sam’s legacy – that is the most important thing to me, at the heart of what we are doing, and helping to heal broken hearts.”
The Kiltwalk’s timing is especially poignant, as Sam died on July 27 eight years ago.
To find out more about FLOC, visit fortheloveofachild.org.uk
A lot of young people don’t like going to support services because they can be quite intimidating places. We want Sam’s House to be a creative and therapeutic space. DONNA JENNINGS