Making a difference to bereaved families this Christmas

Selfless students are helping to bring a little bit of joy to youngsters in Sheffield who are dealing with the loss of a loved one this Christmas.

A Nice Time on Saturdays (ANTS) is a unique society run by kind-hearted volunteers at the University of Sheffield which provides fun activities for children aged eight to 11 who are coping with bereavement.

The regular day trips and arts and crafts workshops offer an opportunity for the children to meet others that are in the same situation. The fun events allow them to express themselves through innovative and engaging experiences and adventurous pursuits.

Project leader Rachael Hart, 20, joined the group in October 2010 in her first year of University.

"I have seen how a close bereavement can leave families struggling to get back to normality and ANTS helps do this," said Rachael.

"The children are able to come and have a good time while knowing all of the other children are going through the same thing as them.

"When I came to University I wanted to join a volunteering project and as soon as I found out about ANTS I immediately knew it was something I would love to be involved in.

"It is fantastic to know that what you are doing is really making a difference in people's lives. Even though the trips are only once a month, just knowing that the children look forward to each meeting is more than enough motivation for us."

ANTS was first established in 2005 and is now run by a team of 10 dedicated student volunteers and two project leaders. The free sessions are held throughout the year and youngsters enjoy a host of activities from t-shirt painting to puppet making to laser quest and tobogganing.

Fellow project leader Dottie Greenwood, 21, who also joined ANTS in October 2011 added: "Focusing on play and fun activities is a way to help children be kids again and to make them realise how much they are capable of.

"With so much going on at home it gives them the chance to just kick back and be themselves again.

"At ANTS the children don't have to feel like the odd one out because they know that everyone there is in the same situation. The youngsters have lots of fun while the adults get an all-important day off."

She added: "I volunteer at summer camps for seriously ill children which has the same approach to ANTS. Before I joined the society I had never experienced the different side to the things I dealt with at camp – those who are left behind when someone passes away. This is extremely important especially for young children who are grieving for a parent, sibling or close family relative."

Children, and their parents or guardians, are referred to ANTS from a variety of agencies including Sheffield Cruise Bereavement Support, St Luke's Hospice, local primary schools and Sheffield Children's Hospital.

The volunteers work with the youngsters one-on-one to ensure that each child is given individual attention.

Mother-of-two, Kate Hill of Sheffield, was introduced to ANTS after her husband Dominic passed away in 2010. Her boys aged 12 and 10, joined ANTS last year and regularly attended the activity days.

"Dominic was a healthy 42-year-old when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He had never smoked in his life and when he died just three months after he was diagnosed I was lost. My boys were eight and nine at the time and I just didn't know where to start.

"They are the most important thing to me and will always be my priority but I just didn't know what the best way was to help them grieve for their dad and deal with his death.

"I was initially very nervous about dropping the boys off on that first Saturday morning – it was very hard to leave them with a group of strangers but I knew it was important to let them grow and realise that they are young boys and they are not going to grieve all the time."

She added: "ANTS gives the boys the chance to have fun, try new things and meet new people who are in the same situation. They are under no obligation or any pressure to talk about their thoughts and feelings but at the same time they know that the students are there to speak to in confidence if they would like to speak to someone outside the family.

"While the boys are having fun at ANTS I have six hours to take some time out and do whatever I need to. Whether that is run errands or just spend some time on my own it is invaluable and when I pick the boys up it is wonderful that they have lots of things to tell me and chatter about their day.

"I honestly do not think the students know how much their hard work and dedication means to families like ours. They are really amazing and I cannot thank them enough. The volunteers are really terrific role models for the boys."

Additional information A Nice Time on Saturdays

The innovative ANTS project won 'Exceptional Winner' in the 'Outstanding Project' category at the national Higher Education Student Volunteering Awards (HESVA) in 2006.

For more information about the society please visit ANTS or email ants@sheffield.ac.uk The University of Sheffield

With nearly 25,000 students from 125 countries, the University of Sheffield is one of the UK’s leading and largest universities. A member of the Russell Group, it has a reputation for world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines. The University of Sheffield was named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2011 for its exceptional performance in research, teaching, access and business performance. In addition, the University has won four Queen’s Anniversary Prizes (1998, 2000, 2002, and 2007). These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by universities and colleges to the United Kingdom’s intellectual, economic, cultural and social life. Sheffield also boasts five Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and many of its alumni have gone on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence around the world. The University’s research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, ICI, Slazenger, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations. The University has well-established partnerships with a number of universities and major corporations, both in the UK and abroad. Its partnership with Leeds and York Universities in the White Rose Consortium has a combined research power greater than that of either Oxford or Cambridge.