BOWDON resident , Barry Besbrode, Chair of Cruse Bereavement Care, Manchester, is delighted that the charity has been chosen for the next round of the Co-op Local Community Fund.

This unique source of funds has been selected by Co-op members and will run until October 23 2021.

Anyone who is a co-op member, including shoppers, are asked to select Cruse as a charity to receive financial support.

Barry said: “ Bereavement affects people in so many ways. Their life is disrupted, they feel confused and fearful, work suffers as does family life Many require medication to help them, some turn to alcohol, and relationships suffer.”

He explained that Cruse, a registered charity covering the whole of Greater Manchester, supported adults during this difficult time.

Although, due to Covid, they can no longer provide face to face sessions, Cruse offers comfort by telephone, email and Zoom. All sessions are delivered by fully trained bereavement workers.

Barry said: “We desperately require funds to provide training for our support volunteers and to cover our expenses.

“We employ a part time administrator who deals with requests for support and then allocates clients to support volunteers.

“We would really like to employ a full time administrator which would help us to reduce our waiting list which is currently several months.”

The charity relies on grants and donations to keep them going – so the support of the Co-op is doubly welcome.

Barry said: “We need money to help us train our bereavement support volunteers. We have 47 already working and another 12 completing their training.

“They help 4,000 clients over a year.”

The service is vital to help people through their darkest days, enabling them to find their way back to a life with a future.