Jennie Akers sadly died in 2009 after a short battle with cancer at the age of 25, after being diagnosed when she was pregnant with her 3rd child. On the day she died she had three young children, Taya (6 months), George (2) and Ella (5).

'After the death of my sister Jen things were tough for all of us; while we tried to deal with our own loss we were left to manage the kids heartbreak and the reality that we couldn't do anything to bring their mum back. As adults we were offered lots of support but little advice or help was found for the kids and what services we did find was either too far away and not accessible or not the direct support we needed. There was no where to turn in our moment of need. I knew this wasn’t right and had to do something to fill this gap, this is where Jen’s Special Place was born’

Jemma along with Jen’s mother Pauline set up Jen's Special Place in 2014, with the support from family and friends, aiming to provide better access to the help, advice and support that children and their families need in such dark days. Since then Jen’s Special Place has supported over 300 bereaved children and young people (statistic from September 2024).

'We have been blown away by the generosity of people, businesses and the community. Without this we would not be able to keep running and we can not thank everyone enough.’

Jemma Akers-Jacklin - Jen's Sister

We are proud to announce we won the BBC RADIO HUMBERSIDE ‘MAKE A DIFFERENCE’ AWARD 2024 in the community Category ! Thank you Emily who nominated us and for the judges who picked our charity out of so many good causes in the Humberside region