Balloons Charity

10/08/2026

It was wonderful to get together with the other charities in the new Together For Grief alliance. We really loved being able to spend time getting to know one another better, while sharing ideas, insights, and best practices. ❤️

31/07/2026

As part of our 20th anniversary celebrations, we are sharing the stories of the people whose lives have been touched by Balloons.

When Flo's mum died, she was just 13 years old. Years later, as she started university, the true impact of that loss began to surface.

With support from Balloons, Flo found a safe space to explore her grief, understand her emotions, and reconnect with her love of art.

Read her powerful story here: https://www.balloonscharity.co.uk/20-years-of-making-a-difference-july-flos-story/

30/07/2026

We have just released our Summer 2026 Supporters' Newsletter! Packed with exciting updates about our work - please do take a moment to read it ❤🎈💙

https://balloonscharity.my.canva.site/supporter-newsletter-summer-2026

15/07/2026

We were so delighted to receive this wonderful donation from Alphington Primary School PTFA. Thank you so much for your donation - it will ensure that we can continue to be there for bereaved children in the local area, and the amazing school staff that support them ❤🎈🩵

We are delighted to announce that £700 has been donated to Balloons, thanks to the generosity of our PTFA. The donation came from funds raised at the Colour Run, supporting Balloons as they celebrate their 20th Anniversary. Balloons provides invaluable bereavement support to children and young people, including many within our school community. Thank you to everyone who took part and helped make this possible.

08/07/2026

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Oli and the incredible team of 12 who took on the National Three Peaks Challenge in support of Balloons.

Battling tough climbs, challenging weather, exhaustion and very little sleep, the team successfully completed the challenge in an amazing 23 hours and 40 minutes, raising a fantastic £3,076 to help bereaved children and young people across Devon.

Their achievement is a wonderful example of teamwork, determination and resilience. As Oli states

"It’s a weekend I’ll never forget, and one that showed just how much can be achieved when you refuse to give up, no matter how tough things get".

Read the full story and see photos from their adventure here: https://www.balloonscharity.co.uk/the-boys-take-on-the-three-peaks-challenge-for-balloons/

Thank you, Oli, Kyle, Brian, Will, Jack, Dave, Andy, Liam M, Liam C, Lee, Stan and Dan for going the extra mile for Balloons. ❤🎈💙

30/06/2026

As part of our 20th anniversary celebrations, we are sharing the stories of the people whose lives have been touched by Balloons.

This month, Rob Pudner of Entertainingly Different, and his 10-year-old son Jasper, tell their story of how they turned to Balloons after the loss of Jasper’s brother Tobias.

This was a poignant full-circle moment for Rob, a well-known Devon entertainer who supported Balloons in its early days, performing at family events we held for bereaved families. You can read Rob and Jasper's moving story here:

https://www.balloonscharity.co.uk/20-years-of-making-a-difference-june-rob-and-jaspers-story/

30/06/2026

A huge well done to our Year 12 students, Heidi and Chloe, who wrote and delivered an impactful Chapel talk last week about child bereavement and how we can better support friends experiencing grief. ❤️

Together with Mimi, they then ran a fantastic smoothie bike 🚴🥤 and balloon raffle 🎟️🎈 at Blundell's Fest on Friday, raising an incredible almost £400 for Balloons, a charity supporting bereaved children and young people.

We're so proud of their compassion, leadership and commitment to making a real difference. 👏💙

17/06/2026

We’re almost halfway through our milestone year and there's still time for you to be a part of it!

For our 20 for 20 campaign, we are hoping to raise £20,000. Maybe you could take on your own fundraising challenge and help us to continue our work. Whether it’s making £20 at bake sale, a 20k run, a sponsored silence, or something completely unique, every effort makes a real impact.

You can join our campaign here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/balloons20for20

Find out how you can help on our website: https://www.balloonscharity.co.uk/its-our-20th-anniversary-can-you-help-us-celebrate/

We'd love it if you could please share this post and help us reach even more supporters!

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.”