A CHARD charity is marking a special birthday as it steps up to support families during the coronavirus crisis.

Little Daffodils was launched in 2016 by Chard mum Julz Scott.

In 2012, the family were devastated after their baby, Melody, died of sepsis at just five weeks old.

Julz said: “We unfortunately received very little after care, and was met with various sources telling us our baby was either too old or too young to fit in anywhere.

“So I decided to set up an organisation that included all losses - both parents and of course siblings too.”

The charity started with a bereavement help group, but provides support equipment to hospitals as well.

Julz added: “This is our fourth year since our very first group. Since then we have been nominated for Butterfly Awards and two Darcey’s Dreams awards - one due in November.

“We’ve seen some incredible highs, from fundraisers to meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury, and radio appearances too.”

Little Daffodils has also had a boost this year after being picked as one of the Chard mayor’s chosen charities.

Julz said: “It is so important for us to keep Melody’s legacy going, raising awareness of not only baby loss, but of sepsis too.”

In 2018, Little Daffodils started supplying sibling grief support boxes to hospitals - which have now been sent 200 sibling memory boxes shared between hospitals in Taunton, Yeovil, Winchester, Portsmouth, Scotland, USA and Australia.

Julz’s next project was to give a lanyards and cards for parents who are expecting again after experiencing loss.

She added: “300 lanyards have left our hands and are also available through joeltcp.org, as well as our Facebook page.

“We recently sent boxes to a family who lost a parent to Covid-19, and we are donating de-stress packs to NHS staff to help reduce stress, these are available to long stay maternity patients too.”

To mark the fourth birthday, Little Daffodils is running a week-long social media campaign, and a month long grief mindfulness project.

Julz said: “We just want people to know that we are still available to help, even when we can’t currently meet. Donations are always welcome through our PayPal or Amazon wish lists.

“We would like to thank every one who has supported us, with donations, events or just keeping us going.

“It really does mean the world to us, that we can still do something in memory or our little Melody.”