Date published: 31 December 2025 by Sophie Wichman
In 2026, Rainbow Trust celebrates 40 years of supporting families through some of the most challenging moments of their lives. Now, more than ever, this work must continue.
For 40 years, Rainbow Trust has pioneered standing alongside families facing the unimaginable, caring for a terminally ill child.
In the darkest and most uncertain moments of their lives, Rainbow Trust continues to be a lifeline, offering not just practical help but deep emotional support that wraps around the entire family.
A childhood should be filled with laughter, mischief and boundless curiosity. But for too many families, that simple, joyful reality is stolen in an instant with the words no parent ever expects to hear: your child has a life-threatening illness.
One moment that changes everything, families should not be left to navigate this unimaginable journey alone.
Rainbow Trust’s story began around the kitchen table of one amazing woman, Bernadette Cleary.
She was asked to help a friend whose 12-year-old daughter, Rachel, had terminal cancer and wanted to spend her final days at home, not in a hospital. Bernadette offered emotional support and comfort to both mother and daughter on that final journey. Word quickly spread and soon Bernadette was receiving more requests for help than she could manage alone.
What began in her kitchen soon outgrew the space, moving to a shed at the bottom of her garden, where she raised funds to train Family Support Workers to provide the same care and compassion she had given to Rachel. There were no rigid schedules and no pre-set programmes, and from there in 1986, Rainbow Trust was born. Forty years later we are still supporting around families kitchen tables.
No other UK service offers such truly wraparound, family-led support for families facing a child’s serious illness. From the moment of diagnosis, Rainbow Trust provides practical, emotional support tailored entirely to each family’s evolving needs. We work seamlessly with other professional services and organise activities that create cherished memories.
Our strength lies in providing consistent, compassionate and tailored care, we shape long-term wellbeing. A child’s serious illness affects parents, siblings and extended family alike. Without the right support, the trauma can last a lifetime.
But with Rainbow Trust, parents find strength, siblings find a voice and families build resilience to navigate their uncertain future.
As we look to the future, our commitment remains the same: no family should face this journey alone.
