Here's the episode description, ready to paste into your website:

Charity Changemakers Podcast

Lee Barnett, Chief Encourager at Sandy Bear Children's Bereavement Charity: compassionate leadership, grief support and why laughter belongs in bereavement work

In this episode, Adam is joined by Lee Barnett, Chief Encourager of Sandy Bear Children's Bereavement Charity, for a warm and candid conversation about life, leadership and supporting bereaved children and families across Wales.

Lee shares a career journey that began in catering and moved through NHS dementia care, youth work with the Red Cross and public health commissioning, before arriving at Sandy Bear three years ago. He reflects on what compassionate leadership really looks like, why it is so often mistaken for weakness, and how personal life experience has shaped him as much as any formal training.

The conversation covers Sandy Bear's model of supporting families before, during and after a bereavement, why early grief support can reduce risky teenage behaviour and improve educational outcomes, and the funding challenges facing small charities. Lee also shares the origin of the Sandy Bear name, rooted in the beaches of Pembrokeshire, and why the charity sees itself as bigger than bereavement.

A generous, grounded and joyful conversation for anyone working in the charity sector, leadership, or the often overlooked world of bereavement support.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and career journey
• 09:13 Transition to Sandy Bear and challenges of funding
• 14:46 Working with local authorities and long-term planning
• 20:54 Impact of the charity's work and positive memories
• 26:21 Collaboration with hospices and family support
• 32:44 The origin and name of Sandy Bear
• 40:51 Lessons learned and compassionate leadership