Finding yourself after a loss
28th October 2020
Rhian Mannings is the founder of 2 Wish Upon A Star - a charity she set up after her family was hit by a double tragedy in 2012.
After the sudden loss of her one-year-old son George, still traumatised by the loss, her husband Paul took his own life 5 days later.
Realising that proper bereavement support at the right time might have saved Paul’s life, Rhian decided to create that support herself.
Backed by her local community in South Wales, she set up a fund to help those who lose a child suddenly.
Soon she began to realise that she had identified a national gap in care, as first police officers, then health professionals, and other parents reached out to say what she’d gone through was happening all the time and that they wanted to work with her.
Because she thought of George and Paul as flying stars, Rhian decided the name of her charity would be: 2 Wish Upon A Star.
Previously a PE teacher at the Cathedral School in Cardiff, Rhian worked tirelessly on a voluntary basis for three and a half years, travelling the length and breadth of Wales to tell her story.
Eight years on, she is the CEO of the charity she founded which has 11 members of staff, an office and is supporting thousands of people every year.
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