Siblings of disabled and seriously ill children in families on low incomes face numerous challenges in their lives. These young 5 to 17 year olds often act as carers for their brothers and sisters. Household life, including sleep and routine is often disturbed. Parents tell us that there is often not time or money available to support a sibling in their passions whether it’s a hobby like ballet, football or music, or that the parents do not have time to help a sibling with their homework.

This Christmas we want to help 120 siblings by raising £6,000 to provide grants in the form of £50 vouchers to provide respite activities or a gift of the child’s choice. The awards help to promote the sibling’s self-esteem, instigates pride in the sibling’s achievements, increase feelings of self-worth, and give siblings the opportunity to have time allocated to them with their parents to go shopping together. We also gain feedback from the families to learn how we can help siblings in future.