About Us
About Us
We are a family who following the death of our beautiful 10-month-old son, Bodie, wanted to offer support to other bereaved families. The Bodie Hodges Foundation was formed in 2013, to support families who have been bereaved of a child of any age and to promote organ donation. As Bodie’s parents we lead the Charity alongside a dedicated team of staff and volunteers. Some members of our team have lived experience of child bereavement, while others bring professional expertise and a shared commitment to supporting grieving families with compassion, understanding and care.
Over the years, we have listened carefully to the families we support and adapted our services to meet their changing needs. Today, our support includes 1-1 counselling for parents, children and young people, a range of peer support groups and practical resources that help families navigate life after the death of a child.
Our services are available for families bereaved of a baby or child aged 24 weeks gestation to 25 years. This support is for both individuals and families, parents whose only child has died, as well as families with living children, individuals and families of any faith or no faith. Please see our criteria – here.
The death of a child is isolating and lonely and it can be hard to ask for help or know how we want to be supported. We were blessed to be given time away from home to be together as a family and to show our daughter that life would somehow continue and that out of tragedy comes hope. The acts of kindness that we received from others led us to decide to support other families bereaved of a child and to do good things in Bodie’s name.
What began from our own experience has grown into a specialist child bereavement charity supporting families across Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland and beyond. We believe that it is the love and understanding we received in those early days, alongside our lived experience that has enabled us to welcome so many families. While our services have evolved, our vision remains the same: to give hope to families bereaved of a child and to ensure that no one has to face their grief alone. Everything we do is inspired by Bodie’s legacy and driven by our belief that every bereaved family deserves access to support, understanding and hope, whenever they need it.
With love, Donna and Nick x
Bodies Bereavement Service
Our services are available for families bereaved of a baby or child aged 24 weeks gestation to 25 years. Bodie’s House provides a range of comfortable therapeutic space’s where your 1-1 bereavement counselling sessions will take place.
Organ Donation
We are very proud that Bodie could become an Organ Donor, giving hope and life to 4 other children.
As a foundation, this forms part of our mission to raise awareness of the facts of organ donation and we educate and encourage others to talk about Organ Donation and to start the conversation.
Bodie’s Treasured Memory Bags
Bodie’s Boathouse
In 2023 we made the difficult decision to close Bodie’s Boathouse to allow us to focus on offering bereavement counselling support during the first two years to families in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. We are proud to have offered this service to bereaved families. The money from the sale of this property will be used within our Capital Appeal to buy Bodie’s House.
The Bodie Hodges Foundation has grown and gathered many loyal supporters who have helped us to build Bodie’s legacy. We are still grieving and use our experience to inform the services that we provide.
We are excited about the future of the foundation, working alongside other bereavement charities and continuing to achieve good things in Bodie’s name.
Nick and Donna Hodges – Founders and Bodie’s Daddy and Mummy