Feel the Magic and FICAP to bring hope and healing to grieving children

Exciting new partnership We are thrilled to share with you our exciting new partnership with FICAP – the Financial Industry Community Aid Program.  FICAP is a wonderful organisation that raises funds for charities that help young Australians, thanks to the generosity of the financial services community.  We are deeply grateful to have been chosen as […]

What is Happening to the Brain During Grief

After the death of a loved one, you may experience many changes in your mental and emotional state of mind. Grief affects the brain in many ways, causing changes in memory, behaviour, sleep, and body function2 Completing routine or simple tasks may seem overwhelming, impossible or might take longer than usual. When you are grieving, […]

Grieving the Loss of Someone Following a Difficult or Complicated Relationship

Grief has many layers when a relationship is healthy, but even more so when you have a complicated relationship with the person who died. While all grief is hard work, dealing with loss following a difficult relationship can be particularly complex to process. Feelings and emotions Following the death of someone who you had a […]

Understanding Children’s Grief: How It Differs from Adults and What You Can Do to Help

Although they will feel it just as deeply, children will experience and express grief in different ways to adults. Even though a parent and child may have experienced the same loss, the way they both grieve may differ and take varying amounts of time. Children’s understanding of death is limited to their age and cognitive […]

Mother’s Day Without Mum: Growing with Grief

Grief is a natural response to loss and can be an extremely challenging experience, especially on significant days like Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day and Grief Mother’s Day can be a difficult day for children and teens who have experienced the death of their mum, or other maternal figure in their life like a step-mum, auntie […]

Supporting Children & Teens Through Grief, Anniversaries & Significant Events

Parenting through anniversaries and significant events after the loss of a loved one can be challenging. Certain dates may serve as a reminder of a loved one’s death, such as the anniversary of the loss, birthdays and significant holidays. Reminders of the deceased, such as visiting the grave or attending a funeral or memorial for […]

Remembering Mum and Coping With Grief on Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day can be an incredibly tough day for children and teenagers who have lost their mum. This special day for so many can bring up a lot of emotions for grieving kids. It can make them feel isolated and can be hard for them to navigate without feeling overwhelmed. Grieving kids are not alone […]

Magic Ride 2023 aims to raise $150k to send 100 kids to Camp Magic

Magic Ride kicks off at 8.30 am on Thursday 13 April 2023. 33 riders will cycle 500km over four days to raise $150,000 to fund 100 kids to attend Camp Magic, Feel the Magic’s signature three-day camp for grieving kids. Riders will cross the finish line to the cheers of Campers at Camp Magic, Birrigia […]

The Power of Reading: Helping Children Navigate Their Grief

Grieving is a process that unfolds differently for every child and adult. Grieving children and teens might find it difficult to talk about their loss right away, and some may show signs of fear and need extra reassurance.  Reading books about death and loss can help a child better understand what has happened and realise […]

7 Helpful Activities for Grieving Children and Teenagers

Coping with grief following the death of a loved one is particularly challenging and often confusing for children and teenagers. Grieving children may feel numb and angry at the same time, while also dealing with both excess energy and exhaustion. No two children or teens react to grief in the same way, but there are […]

A Guide on How to Teach Children About Death

Teaching children about death requires honesty and simple, age-appropriate information.  Understanding your child’s knowledge and comprehension of death at different developmental stages is helpful when supporting your child through their grief.  Understanding death at different ages  Preschool-aged children mostly understand death as temporary and reversible. Children between the ages of five and nine begin to […]

Sharks Giving ‘From the Heart’

The National Rugby League Cronulla Sharks have announced its ‘From the Heart’ Giving Partners for 2023. We are thrilled to announce that Feel the Magic is one of four charity partners chosen. The panel chose From the Heart to support Gymea Community Aid and Information Services, the Sutherland Hospital, Community Radio 104.1 CHY FM Coffs […]

Luke Parker Joins Feel the Magic as Proud Ambassador

Professional Australian rules footballer and Sydney Swans co-captain Luke Parker joins Feel the Magic as a proud Ambassador. Luke is an accomplished footballer with impressive achievements. He has graciously pledged to support Feel the Magic and help us reach more families who need us. We were fortunate to have Luke at a recent Camp Magic. […]

Helping Kids Cope With Grief

He is one of Australia’s most respected positive psychology and parent speakers, an author and a researcher. He is the founder and owner of Happy Families Family Education. Dr Justin Coulson invited Feel the Magic Co-Founder and National Virtual Program Lead, Kristy Thomas to his Happy Families podcast recently. Many of us start the year […]

What to Say to a Child When a Parent Dies

The death of a parent is a very difficult situation for a child to face. Unfortunately, 1 in 20 Australian children will experience the death of a parent, and it is the responsibility of the adults in their lives to guide and support them through their grief. It’s hard to know what to say to […]

Transitioning to Adulthood as a Grieving Adolescent

Adolescence is a time of significant change in the realms of physical, psychological and social domains. Adolescents that are transitioning to adulthood will commonly experience various challenges throughout their journey. For grieving adolescents, these challenges are often intensified and may be more difficult to navigate. Adolescents express and process grief in a variety of ways […]

Feel the Magic partner Erebus unveils Gen3s ahead of Supercars Championship

Our friends and loyal partner Erebus Motorsport recently launched their brand new Gen3 vehicles for this year’s Supercars Championship. The new-look team launched its campaign with drivers Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast. Feel the Magic has gratefully been the Erebus team’s charity partner since 2018, also […]

Preparing for the Death of a Sibling – 5 Ways to Cope with Anticipatory Grief

The death of a sibling is a tremendous loss for a child. Children may face a range of feelings and thoughts following the death of a sibling. These feelings can be further complicated if their sibling faced a prolonged illness or terminal diagnosis. Grief can happen while expecting a loss Although grief is often understood […]

The Lasting Impact of Grant Giving

Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation grant round surpasses $25 million in funding since 2003.  Our friends and fierce supporters of Feel the Magic, Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation, reached this generous and impressive milestone recently.  The Foundation supports the delivery of various projects and initiatives focusing on improving the health and social wellbeing of vulnerable people in […]

What to Expect When Children Grieve

Understanding what to expect while your children are grieving is important so you can be better prepared to support them. Children dealing with grief will experience a wide range of emotions and express themselves in a variety of ways. Children often process emotions differently to adults. How Children Understand Death The ability for children to […]

The Hughes Family Story

The Hughes Family’s life changed on 6 February 2018. Stu died as a result of a head injury when he fell from a roof he was repairing. Their children Harrison and Sienna were just seven and five at the time. The family engaged in counselling and play therapy for the kids. During the early days […]

The Smith Family Story

The Smith Family’s grief journey started very suddenly on 24 February 2018 when they received a call at 2.00am in the morning. Clayton was 34 years old when he passed away in a single vehicle car accident in a rural town called Merriwa, in the upper Hunter Valley of NSW. From that instant so many […]

Children’s Understanding of Death at Different Ages

Grasping the concept of death will vary for children of different ages and stages of development.  Even though all children are unique and will respond to and understand death in their own unique way, children’s reactions to grief can depend on many factors including their developmental stage.  It is also important to remember that children’s […]

12 Ways to Remember Your Loved One this Christmas

For many families in our community, Christmas and the holiday season can be a difficult time. Memories may serve as a constant reminder of a loss, and some families may experience heightened stress and sadness. Feelings of grief may be rekindled as children reminisce about previous memories or as they create new ones.  But there […]

How to Prepare Your Grieving Kids for the Holiday Season

Whilst the holiday season is usually a time of joy and celebration, for many grieving kids and teens it can be a time of sadness and loneliness.  The holiday season comes with high expectations, such as family commitments and large celebrations at home and school. Grieving children often experience these ‘hallmark’ moments differently to others, […]

Self-care Tips for Parents During the Holiday Season

The holiday season can be a difficult time for anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. Memories may serve as a constant reminder of the loss, and some families may experience heightened stress and sadness.   Watching others celebrate can also be painful and overwhelming and contribute to feeling isolated and alone. […]

Addressing Fears as a Parent of a Grieving Child

When a child experiences the death of a loved one, various fears may arise throughout their grief journey. Often a parent or caregiver of bereaved children will also experience fears regarding their child’s grief journey. Many common fears are experienced amongst parents of bereaved children, including the fear that your child will feel isolated following […]

Saving lives: One ‘boxing strike’ at a time

Sadly 8.6 Australians die every day from suicide. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians between the ages of 15 and 44. Strike Out suicide The inaugural national Strike Out Suicide 14 day challenge starts soon on Monday 5 December and Feel the Magic is a proud and grateful beneficiary of the challenge. […]

Volunteering can bring a ‘helper’s high’

Volunteering can bring meaning and purpose to your life. It can bring people together by building communities and creating a better society. There is also evidence that helping others triggers a response in your brain that can give you a buzz sometimes known as the ‘helper’s high’. Without our caring and dedicated helpful volunteers at […]

Good Blokes raising money for grieving kids

Building relationships with Good Blokes, giving to charity partners (like us), and pounding the pavement to raise money to send grieving kids to camp. Now that sounds like a bunch of Good Blokes! Our friends at Good Blokes Society are doing the Ozwide Carbon Good Blokes Walk for 24, walking 24 hours for men’s health […]

Kostecki/Russell and Geoff Booth Foundation raise $10,000 for Feel the Magic

Feel the Magic is immensely grateful to Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki and David Russell, who, as part of a pledge by The Geoff Booth Foundation, raised $10,000 for Feel the Magic. The Geoff Booth Foundation pledged $10,000 for the #99 to reach the Top Ten Shootout at the Bathurst 1000, where Kostecki qualified the car […]

Melissa Wu joins Feel the Magic as Ambassador and 1-in-20 Challenger

Australian Olympic and World Champion medalist Melissa Wu joins Feel the Magic as Ambassador and takes on the 1-in-20 Challenge! Melissa has faced many challenges throughout her life and career but none as tough as losing her younger sister Kirsten. Melissa experienced bereavement after her sister died 8 years ago. Melissa said “it something that […]

The 1-in-20 Challenge is back!

We’re inviting you to join our 1-in-20 Challenge this October – its just the excuse to take a break, get active in the outdoors and support others in our community. What Is The 1-in-20 Challenge? The challenge is to walk or run 120km this October to help fund Camps for the 1 in 20 kids […]

Resources for Grieving Children

Grief is often overwhelming and can be hard to process no matter your age, which is why it’s natural to feel anxious and lost when trying to help your children heal after the death of a loved one. You and your family aren’t alone in this struggle as, sadly, 1 in 20 Australian kids experience […]

How to support grieving kids after Father’s Day

Thank you to our incredible community for supporting our #LetsTalkFathersDay movement. Many of you have valued reading our guide ‘5 Ways to Talk to a Grieving Child on Father’s Day’. We hope this helps our wider community support grieving kids through milestones and anniversaries like Father’s Day and encourages more of us to show them […]

Supporting Bereaved Siblings

Siblings are an important part of a child’s world and the relationship between siblings is unique. Therefore, the way siblings grieve is unique too. Facing the death of a sibling often presents a unique set of complex and emotional challenges. Siblings often experience a range of conflicting feelings for each other, and their relationship usually changes […]

Returning to school following the death of a loved one

Returning to school following a significant loss can bring up a range of feelings and emotions for bereaved children. The absence of security from loved ones is a common fear. On the other hand, some children may find that the return to school feels like respite from the intensity of family grief. No matter how […]

5 Ways to Talk to a Grieving Child on Father’s Day

For many families in our community, Father’s Day can be a difficult milestone. And for many others, they can struggle to know what to say to a grieving child. Often, because they fear saying the wrong thing, or don’t even know what to say, they say nothing at all. We want to change that and […]

Bereavement due to a child’s death from cancer 

No parent or sibling is ever prepared for the death of a brother, sister or child. No matter how expected or unexpected a child’s death from cancer is, each person’s grieving process will be unique. Grief is a natural response to losing someone and people express it differently. Some commonly experienced emotions include sadness, numbness, […]

How to support a grieving child on Father’s Day

Father’s Day can be a difficult day for many children grieving the death of their dad or a significant male in their life. For many others, they can struggle to know what to say to a grieving child. From fear of saying the wrong thing, they often say nothing at all, leaving the child feeling […]

Challenges That Change Us

In a recent ‘Challenges That Change Us’ podcast, guests and Feel the Magic founders James and Kristy Thomas, shared their experiences of loss, advice for dealing with grief, how grief affected them in different ways and using the analogy of seasons for understanding grief. “Grief has no time frame.” “Just be there. You don’t have […]

Supporting children and teens bereaved by suicide

The CEO of Feel the Magic, Adam Blatch, was recently interviewed on radio station 2BS 95.1 FM. Adam talked about supporting children and teens bereaved by suicide. Developmental stages and ages During the radio interview, Adam addressed the importance of considering developmental stages and ages when providing support to bereaved children. Grief is not the […]

Tips for Supporting Teenagers through Grief

The death of a loved one is one of the most difficult experiences a person can go through, and it’s tragic that teenagers are faced with that pain. Unfortunately, 1 in 20 Australian children will experience the death of a parent before they turn 18 – many Australian teenagers will also experience the death of […]

7 Things to Consider While Helping Children Deal with Loss 

From telling a child about the death of a person close to them, to dealing with their grief reactions, and finally helping them access support, there are so many things to consider while helping children deal with the death of a loved one. Whilst there are several considerations, they may vary depending on your child’s developmental […]

Supporting your child through the changes brought by death

Each year in Australia, around 1 in 20 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling prior to the age of 18*. Despite being so common, too many bereaved children are not accessing the vital child support that they need to grow into adulthood empowered with choice, opportunity, and personal resources. Child support […]

How To Help A Grieving Child Or Adolescent

The key steps in knowing how to help a grieving child or adolescent is to understand how they grieve, knowing what to expect during the grieving process, and the development of strategies to manage different grief reactions. Children grieve differently to adults Grief encompasses the psychological and physiological responses a person experiences after the loss […]

Ambassador and celebrity boardroom challenger

If you’ve been following us on socials, you would have seen our newest Ambassador Darren McMullen challenging it out on Celebrity Apprentice Australia. Darren is not only a proud Ambassador but selected Feel the Magic has his charity of choice for the battle in the boardroom. As a proud mental health advocate, Darren noticed the […]

Mental Health Minister backs ‘Let’s Talk Suicide’ camp

First of a kind ‘Let’s Talk Suicide’ camps Thanks to vital support from the NSW Government and Minister for Mental Health, Regional Health and Women, Bronnie Taylor, Feel the Magic can help more children grieving the suicide of their parent or sibling. Let’s Talk Suicide camps, a first of their kind in Australia, are offered […]

The 8th Night of Magic

Jazz, generosity, friends, and magic filled the room at the 8th Night of Magic last weekend. A sincere thanks to everyone there – your company and kindness made it the most successful Night of Magic ever! The money raised will directly support over 800 Feel the Magic Talk Time sessions – that is an outstanding […]

Meet our newest Ambassador Darren McMullen

Feel the Magic is pleased to welcome Darren McMullen as a proud Ambassador. You may recognise Darren from ‘The Voice Australia’, ‘House Husbands’ or ‘Sea Change’. As a mental health advocate, Darren noticed the link between mental health issues, suicide, and grief. We are thrilled to have Darren on board where he will be volunteering […]

National Volunteer Week

This year National Volunteer Week is held on the 16th – 22nd of May and is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering. Volunteering brings people together, it builds communities, and creates a better society for everyone. National Volunteer Week is a chance for us at Feel the Magic to recognise the vital work of our […]

5 ways to help a child grieving a death by suicide

Use language that is age-appropriate and easily understandable It is important to recognise that the death of a loved one is difficult for children and teens to comprehend, although suicide is particularly confusing and very difficult to understand. It is important to talk openly about suicide in an age-appropriate manner and provide honest facts to […]

The City2Surf is back!

Date: Sunday 13th August 2023 The World’s Largest Fun Run – The City2Surf – is back in Sydney on Sunday 13 August 2023. It’s time to sign up, hit the pavement, and start fundraising for Feel the Magic. Join Team Feel the Magic, and our sponsor SDG, for the 2023 City2Surf and help raise vital […]

Childhood Bereavement Prevalence

Each year in Australia, around 1 in 20 children will experience the death of a parent before age 18. To put this statistic into perspective, at least one child in every school classroom is grieving the loss of a parent. Suicide is the leading cause of death for individuals aged 15 to 49 years old […]

A fantastic documentary for our partner Erebus on Fox

AN EIGHT-PART documentary series following one of Supercars’ most popular teams, Erebus Motorsport, will debut on Wednesday 2 March on Fox Sports.Access All Areas: Erebus Motorsport was filmed across a remarkable two-year period covering the 2020 and 2021 Supercars Championship seasons and goes places no behind-the-scenes documentary has gone before.Access All Areas commences with cameras embedded […]

Supporting Grieving Kids through the Back-to-School transition

Transitions for children and adolescents who have experienced a loss can present various challenges. Returning to school following a long school holiday can bring up a range of feelings and emotions for all students. Some students might be excited to return to school, whilst others might be apprehensive. In all the chaos at the start […]

Can you help raise $100,000 by simply voting online?

Joey Essex is an English television personality that is currently featuring in Channel Ten’s I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. He has progressed to the finale which is being aired on Channel Ten this Sunday night! Why Joey selected Feel the Magic? When Joey was 10-years-old his mother died by suicide. Unable to comprehend […]

Shaw and Partners challenge Erebus for charity

Erebus Motorsport will have an extra incentive when they tackle Mount Panorama this week, with Shaw and Partners Financial Services philanthropic arm throwing down financial support to the team’s official charity partner.  Established in 2015, the Shaw and Partners Foundation was created with the goal to instil and perpetuate real change in Australian society and […]

Bereavement Programs for Families with Children

The death of a loved one is a painful yet unavoidable experience, and bereavement can be physically and emotionally exhausting. When death occurs in a family with children, it’s common to feel lonely or helpless. It’s important to remember that you are not alone. Feel the Magic exists to help children and families with their […]

How to Teach Children About Death

Death can be a difficult and uncomfortable topic to talk about no matter your age. Unfortunately, death is an inevitable fact of life, so we do need to talk about it and we do need to teach our children about it. The way to approach this conversation will vary depending on your child’s age, you […]

Teenage Grieving Process

In order to best support your teenager, it is important to understand the teenage grieving process. Teenagers who have lost a loved one will experience a range of feelings, thoughts, physical reactions, and behaviours associated with grief over the days, months, and years that follow the loss. What is the grieving process? Grief refers to […]

The Tickell Family Story

In December 2017, Cody Tickell who at the time was aged 11, tragically lost his older brother Blake in a horrific boating accident. Feeling isolated and alone, Cody’s parents Darren and Simone decided to give ‘Camp Magic‘ a try to help support Cody and themselves to come to terms  with their new normal. In October […]

Scott Pye Joins Team Magic

Supercars Championship Driver Scott Pye, now a proud Ambassador for Feel the Magic! Scott Pye is an Australian professional racing driver for Walkinshaw Andretti United in the Virgin Supercars championship. Scott knows all too well the devastation that grief and loss causes and is a classic example of how with the right support and attitude, […]