Rainbow Trust

Charity Overview

When a child has a serious illness, family life is turned upside down and time becomes more precious than ever. Rainbow Trust pairs each family with an expert Family Support Worker who is by their side whenever it is needed at home, in hospital and in the community to help them cope 

Family Support Workers enable families to make the most of their time together. They provide practical and emotional support, where families need it, for as long as it is needed. Their support can include:

• Listening to a family’s fears and anxieties 
• Taking the time to help explain illnesses, diagnoses and treatments
• Spending time with a seriously ill child, keeping them company during long appointments or hospital visits
• Driving families to hospital appointments so parents can relax with their child 
• Finding time to organise fun activities to support brothers and sisters 
• Supporting families with an ill baby on the neonatal unit 
• Giving bereavement support if a child dies, which might include helping arrange a funeral or visiting the child’s grave with the family

Rainbow Trust relies almost entirely on voluntary donations and through the generosity of its supporters helped over 2,500 families last year through its eight care teams of Family Support Workers across England.