Our shining light was tragically taken far too soon on Thursday 30th September 2010 at 10.06p.m. Em was on her way home from her boyfriends place in Ledbury that night.  I knew something was wrong, but I never knew the magnitude of devastation that faced us.  Being told that Emma had been killed in a car collision will haunt us for the rest of our days. Being unable to see Em for 16 hours was sheer agony, it tore us apart because all I wanted to do was hold my baby.

We were traumatically distraught at losing Em so cruelly and we were in no mental state to comprehend the consequences of turning our back on everyday life when our society keeps functioning. We found ourselves facing funeral costs, household bills, an Inquest into her accident and Probate – all which needed to be paid. The biggest worry was paying for Em's funeral, it cost nearly £5,000. Without the support of my Mum we would not have afforded this without taking out a loan. Em died Intestate and did not have a Life Insurance. The majority of young adults don't think about such things, neither do Mum's & Dad's, you are too busy looking after the family and insuring your own life for them.  When we turned to find some help, we were totally distraught to think that there was no financial help for us because we did not qualify for help from the Department of Social Security. Emotionally, we were in turmoil and shut down to the outside world for many months.

We set up the fund in March 2011 by way of a donation of £100.00 from a dear friend, Annie. Due to the overwhelming response and support we received over the year to May 2012, we decided to apply to the Charities Commission of England and Wales to become a registered charity to help families in Herefordshire. As of the 13th August, 2012, The ELY Memorial Fund received Charity status under the registered number 1148535. 

The ELY Memorial Fund objectives are to relieve financial hardship for families within the County Boundary of Herefordshire as defined by Herefordshire Council. By giving a condolence gift as a one-off payment, if their son or daughter are tragically killed in a road traffic collision between the ages 17 to 25 years of age.  Whether the collision is in Herefordshire or another part of the world, irrespective of race, ethnic or national origin, colour, disability, sexuality, political or religious beliefs, in the interests of public benefit and the object of relieving financial hardship for the families whose main domicile is in Herefordshire.

The fund will provide a condolence gift known as "Hugs from ELY" (funeral plan) to contribute towards the funeral costs.  We want families to feel assured that there is some help with the funeral costs – my heart wants to help all ages if they are tragically killed, but our funds could not sustain such costs.  We are therefore liaising with funeral undertakers to agree an amount to pay for a basic funeral, so a family can mourn and arrange their child’s funeral without the added stress and financial burden.

Our other objectives are to provide help and support through other groups, such as looking into life insurance, Will writing and emotional support for victims of road traffic collisions. 

The grief is too unbearable without the added pressure of money worries. We don't want other families to suffer as we have, so through our tragic loss we hope to help others through such distressing circumstances. We can't explain our pain and sorrow of losing our daughter so tragically, we truly miss Em every day.  

We hope that you will support the fund in memory of our beautiful daughter Emma Louise Young "ELY".

With our best wishes, thank you for visiting our website.

Angela & Steven Tyler