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Scottish Gathering - view from a volunteer

Earlier this year in early May, 100 bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents participated in TCF's Scottish Gathering in Stirling. It was wonderful to see everyone and we welcomed attendees from all over Scotland and the UK to this very special, supportive event.  A new team planned and organised the event this year with back-up from the TCF staff team. 

Vera was a new member of the organising team and she has shared her reflections as a volunteer at the Gathering below:

"Last year in 2023 the outgoing committee, which as been part of the Scottish Gathering for over 25 years, came to an end. There was a call to form a new committee to continue with the Scottish Gathering into 2024 and beyond. I was asked if I would be willing be a part of the new committee and I agreed. So, for the first time in over 25 years there was a new committee formed to put together the gathering for 2024.

It was a challenge, we didn’t know each other and had very little in common other than being bereaved parents, but with different skills and experiences that seemed to be important and bring different ideas to the table. So we came together in August of 2023 not really knowing what to expect, we knew we had a huge challenge ahead and we wanted to get it right as much as possible for those parents who would be attending and relying on a supportive weekend to help them in their journey.

As I write this I am reminded of my nervousness and how I felt out of my depth, I had never before been on any kind of committee let alone one of such importance. However, we came together in an attempt to help others who have experienced what we all have and  because TCF seems to be the organisation that helps us on our journey, we wanted to continue with this event that helps so many of us. 

In that first meeting we formulated a vision to provide for the future of the gatherings, knowing we had big footsteps to follow. It wasn’t always easy as plans were being formed -  we didn’t always agree on everything - but we persevered though the difficult conversations and put together a programme that we felt was worthy of those that needed the support, a comprehensive package of workshops, discussion groups and activities or just to come and feel safe and supported.

I felt immensely proud of myself as I never in a million years thought I would ever put myself forward for such a task and feel very proud of the committee that we were able to put this forward as an event on our terms for the first time. The success of the event was down to the hard work that everyone involved put into making it possible. We had lots of positive feedback, we also of course had some feedback about how we could improve things going forward and with this in mind we hope to hold future events, albeit with perhaps a few changes that would benefit not only those attending, but the organisation and the TCF community.

So there may be more changes ahead, but our endeavour is to provide a positive impact for people who find themselves on a journey they never wanted to take. We want to offer our support for future events and hopefully continue to build confidence as a part of a welcoming, approachable and inclusive environment. 

If there are any further comments or we would welcome them and if at all possible or feasible we can incorporate some new ideas into the programme. One of the things I would be keen is to reduce the amount of paperwork, you can imagine the amount of paper involved for over a hundred people. So in the age of electronic devices, one aim would be to introduce an online programme with a paper version on request".