Community Activities
A funeral arranger helped young carers to receive gifts and organised for a special Star Wars Stormtrooper to visit them at a party after building a special relationship with a charity which helps support them.
The connection began when Donna Forrester, who works at Aaron Black Funeral Directors in Edmonton, received a bunch of flowers from a client she had helped in early 2022, which, unbeknownst to her, also included £150.
After the man refused to take the donation back, it was decided to give the cash to a charity of Donna’s choice, and she took her time to research who she wanted to receive the money.
She eventually landed on the Young Carers from Enfield Carers Centre which supports people aged between five and 18 who have to look after somebody in their family.
After that donation, the relationship blossomed and Donna arranged for an appeal for Christmas donations of gifts for the youngsters to be displayed in the window at Aaron Black Funeral Directors, and Donna called on the help of a friend to appear dressed as a Stormtrooper at their festive bash.
Donna said: “I was told the money I had initially given had helped pay towards a trip to Southend where they had visited the aquarium and done lots of other wonderful things.
“I then decided I would like to continue to be involved and they asked if we could put a display in the window for their Christmas appeal and promote it on our social media.
“The response we had from the public and local businesses was fantastic – it was amazing the amount people donated.
“I have a friend who is part of a group called Heroes of the Empire and part of their work is to visit children in hospitals and in other difficult situations dressed as superheroes or famous characters to cheer them up.
“I was able to arrange for him to appear as a Stormtrooper from Star Wars at the event where we handed over the gifts and they loved it.
“I am really looking forward to working more with them in the future.”