Balloons Charity

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Balloons Charity

Balloons is a charity providing free pre and post bereavement support to children, young people and families in Exeter, Mid and East Devon.

Balloons is a charity that provides free support to children, young people and their families before an expected death, or following the death, of someone significant in their lives. Our aim is to inform, guide and support them while they manage the impact of that death. The work of Balloons is carried out by a professional, multi-skilled team of staff and trained volunteers.

12/06/2026

Last night we gathered together to celebrate 20 incredible years of Balloons!

It was wonderful to mark this special milestone, sharing stories and coming together with a whole variety of people that have been part of our story - from supporters and volunteers, to schools and partners.

A special highlight, was the cutting of our beautiful celebration cake by our two founders Jill and Clare - a touching reminder of their vision, and the incredible journey that has brought us to this point, 20 years on.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and to all those who have supported Balloons over the past two decades. We couldn’t have done it without you ❤🎈💙

Shoutouts to:
Exeter City Football Club - for generously providing us with the amazing Heritage Suite at St James' Park.
Regency Wines - for donating the celebration Nosecco!
Gina’s Kitchen - for the stunning cake

11/06/2026

Our annual quiz raised £2300 for Devon charity Balloons, which supports the needs of bereaved children and young people in Exeter, East and Mid Devon.

Quizzers came from a wide section of the legal community including judges, barristers, Cafcass and local law firms. The event was held at Exeter City Football Club’s Heritage Lounge.

Before the quiz kicked off, Balloons Fundraising Officer Nasim Hartmann provided insights about the charity, which is celebrating its twentieth year.

11 teams took part, with Stephen Sowden from The Family Law Company stepping into the role of Quizmaster for the night. After all the rounds were complete, Walnut House Barristers were declared the winners.

Associate Solicitor Galina Labworth, who came up with the idea for the fundraiser, said: “Thank you to everyone who came to the quiz night and were so generous in buying raffle tickets and cards for our special ‘legal’ bingo.

“It was wonderful to see such a mix of legal professionals from the family law community coming together; we work closely on cases in high pressure environments – so it made a nice change to let our hair down and have fun battling for top spot!”

Nasim from Balloons added: We are thrilled to have been chosen as the charity partner for The Family Law Company’s annual quiz and for this wonderful donation. The event was so much fun and fiercely competitive!

Most of all though, I was made so welcome and your support for our small charity has been amazing. The wonderful work you all do to support children and families has been a fantastic match to the work we do supporting bereaved children and young people who are struggling at a really challenging time in their lives. Thank you from our whole team for helping us to continue the work we do.”

01/06/2026

is the perfect opportunity to thank our wonderful volunteers for all they do and to reflect on the contribution of volunteers, both past and present.

Without the amazing efforts of our grief support workers, fundraisers, and trustees, Balloons would not have been there to support hundreds of bereaved young people over the last 20 years.

A huge thank you for all you have done and continue to do for our small (but mighty) charity!

P.S. If you would like to be part of this amazing group of people, we are recruiting for volunteers. More details can be found here: https://www.devonjobs.gov.uk/job/Volunteer%20Grief%20Support%20Workers%20-%20Balloons-41/

28/05/2026

As part of our 20th anniversary celebrations, we are sharing the stories behind our charity. This month we go back to our beginnings with a story from Clare Selley, one of the founding voices who helped bring Balloons to life.

Her experience working on an oncology ward in Exeter highlighted a critical gap in bereavement support for children, sparking the idea that would grow into the Balloons of today.

Read more about our beginnings, and Clare's pivotal role in starting us off here: https://www.balloonscharity.co.uk/20-years-of-making-a-difference-may-clares-story/

13/05/2026

Last year, we supported 153 bereaved children and young people - but so many more need us.

We’re looking for compassionate volunteers to join our October training and provide one-to-one grief support to children and young people in Exeter, East- and Mid-Devon.

- Full training provided
- Ongoing support from our dedicated staff team
- Flexible volunteering hours

This is your chance to truly make a difference and change lives. Contact us today for an application pack: [email protected]

07/05/2026

Quilts have always been such an important and well loved part of our service. Thanks to the efforts of makers in a number of organisations, we are able to keep giving these beautiful gifts to bereaved young people.

Today was rather special though, as this time WE were the ones receiving a quilt of our own! Thank you so much to Amanda, Angela, Anne, Cathie, and Jenny for your wonderful gift. This amazing creation, celebrating our 20th anniversary, will hang proudly in our office for all our visitors to see ❤🎈🩵

30/04/2026

For the April instalment of our '20 years of making a difference' series, Lola shares her story of the death of her Dad when she was just 11 years old. Having an independent space to talk helped remind her that others were there to support her and that she was not alone.

Read Lola's story here: https://www.balloonscharity.co.uk/20-years-of-making-a-difference-april-lolas-story/

24/04/2026

Wishing the very best of luck to Hannah and James, who will be running the TCS London Marathon this Sunday for Balloons! 🎈

We’ll be cheering you on every step of the way – go smash it! ❤💙

23/04/2026

Are you supporting children or young people who are experiencing grief or loss, or would you like to feel more confident doing so?

Our Bereavement Champions course is designed to help adults better understand bereavement, recognise when a child may be struggling, and respond with compassion, confidence and care.

Whether you work in education, health, community settings, or simply want to build your understanding, this course will give you practical knowledge and the reassurance to make a real difference.

You can find out more, including how to sign-up, here: https://balloonscharity.my.canva.site/bereavementchampions

Address

First Floor, 6 Providence Court, Pynes Hill
Exeter
EX25JL

Telephone

+441392982570

Website

http://www.balloonscharity.co.uk/

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