The Good Grief Trust Launches After Goodbye for Grief Awareness Week

From helping children understand grief to inspiring communities to knit, bake, draw and create, The Good Grief Trust’s National Grief Awareness Week 2026 is encouraging everyone to find connection, comfort and hope after loss.

Losing someone we love can change our world in an instant. But even after goodbye, the connections we share, the memories we hold and the support we find in others can help us move forward. That is the message at the heart of After Goodbye, the 2026 campaign from The Good Grief Trust, which launches its annual National Grief Awareness Week on 2 December.

Founded in 2016 by Linda Magistris OBE, The Good Grief Trust brings together a network of more than 1,400 bereavement organisations and charities, helping people find information, understanding and support when they need it most. Running from 2–8 December 2026, this year’s campaign centres on a simple but powerful message: “After goodbye, we are all connected, young or old, by a thread of hope.”

The campaign aims to make conversations about grief more open and natural, reminding people of all ages that bereavement is a shared human experience and that nobody should have to face it alone. A particular focus this year is helping children understand their feelings, talk about loss and discover where to turn for support.

Helping children find their own thread of hope

At the heart of this year’s campaign is ‘The Little Card of Hope’, a new resource created by The Good Grief Trust to help children explore their feelings and encourage conversations about bereavement at home and at school.

The card is designed to be the first link in a thread of connection, helping children recognise their emotions and reach out to friends, family members, teachers and specialist bereavement services. Teachers will be encouraged to share the cards with pupils to take home, opening up conversations with parents, carers and loved ones about death, loss, the importance of human connection and where to find support.

With grief and bereavement education becoming part of the national curriculum in England as of September 2026, National Grief Awareness Week offers an important opportunity to help schools, families and communities build the confidence to talk about loss and support young people when they need it most.

The ambition is for every school-age child to receive The Little Card of Hope, helping to make conversations about grief part of everyday life and reassuring children that they are not alone.

Why talking about grief matters

The need for greater awareness and understanding of childhood bereavement is clear. According to figures cited* by The Good Grief Trust:

One in 29 school-age children has been bereaved of a parent or sibling — meaning at least one child in every classroom.
Approximately 26,900 parents die each year in the UK, leaving dependent children behind.
When Ofsted asked young people aged 11–18 what they most wanted to learn about in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, coping with bereavement came top of the list.
89% of respondents to the Department for Education’s consultation on updated guidance supported the inclusion of grief education.

For children, losing someone close can bring a confusing mix of emotions, questions and changes to everyday life. Some may struggle to put their feelings into words, while others may not know who they can talk to or where to find help.

By encouraging honest, age-appropriate conversations, The Good Grief Trust hopes to help children understand that grief looks different for everyone, that their feelings matter and that talking can make a difference.

Knit it! Bake it! Draw it! Make it!

The Good Grief Trust is inviting individuals, families, schools and community groups across the UK to get creative as part of its “Knit It! Bake It! Draw It! Make It!” initiative. The idea is to create something that represents your own thread of hope, and there are no rules about what that needs to look like - it could be a knitted heart, a homemade cake, a colourful drawing, a handmade gift or an entirely original creation.

Whether you are an experienced crafter or simply enjoy making something meaningful, everyone is encouraged to take part. Participants are invited to share their creations on social media, tagging The Good Grief Trust and National Grief Awareness Week to inspire others to join in. By bringing these individual contributions together, the campaign hopes to weave a visible thread of hope through communities across the country.

Campaign posters, social media assets and T-shirts will also be available to help schools, charities, community groups and individuals spread the message.

Bringing hope to life with BBC Children in Need

This year, The Good Grief Trust is also supporting BBC Children in Need by helping to promote Pudsey and the Thread of Hope, a book and animation based on the original story by Tom Fletcher.

As part of the partnership, The Good Grief Trust has created a bespoke poster for schools, alongside social media materials featuring the book and stills from the animation. These resources direct bereaved children, families and those supporting them to The Good Grief Trust’s website, connecting them with information and support from a network of more than 1,400 bereavement organisations and charities.

Storytelling can help children explore difficult subjects in a way that feels accessible and reassuring. Through this collaboration, the charity hopes to help families find opportunities to talk about grief with greater understanding and compassion. Together, the partnership and the wider After Goodbye campaign aim to make conversations about grief easier to start, whether at home, in the classroom or within the wider community.

Be part of the thread

National Grief Awareness Week is a reminder that grief is something we all experience, yet nobody should have to face it without support. This December, The Good Grief Trust is encouraging people of all ages to help change the conversation around bereavement, by talking openly, supporting one another and sharing their own thread of hope. Will you knit it, bake it, draw it or make it? Join the campaign, share your creation and help spread a message that matters: even after goodbye, connection remains.

Find out more and get involved:

Visit The Good Grief Trust to discover bereavement information and support.
Explore National Grief Awareness Week for campaign information and resources.
Share your creations on social media using #TheGoodGriefTrust, #AfterGoodbye, #NationalGriefAwarenessWeek and #MyThreadOfHope.

National Grief Awareness Week 2026 runs from 2–8 December.

*Source for the cited statistics: The Still Method thestillmethod.co.uk

BBC Children in Need is a registered charity in England & Wales no. 802052 and Scotland no. SC039557.