At Pembroke Rotary Club's business meeting last Thursday, a cheque for £2,500 was donated to the Pembrokeshire Sibling Group. The group was founded in 1997 and is a small, local, non-profit charity which gives support to children and young people aged seven to 18 who have a sibling with disabilities or special needs, including chronic illness. They are currently working with 124 children and young people in our county. The Pembrokeshire Sibling Group was set up 17 years ago by a small group of professional people who realised that there was no support for the siblings of disabled and special needs children. "We appreciate the difficulties that can arise when there is a special needs, disabled or seriously sick child in the family," said a spokesperson. "Often this can lead to stress and anxiety in the other children in the family. We offer much-needed respite to the siblings in order to relieve the tension and provide them with something to look forward to where they will be with others who understand what it is like being a sibling. "We have a dedicated team who provide support to children and young people aged seven to 18 who we work with during our monthly day trips and drop-in club. We also try and run three residential trips throughout the year, typically in March, August and October. "Our action-packed workshops provide a base where the siblings can get together with other children and young people who experience similar situations to themselves. We used many methods to work with the siblings, including puppets, art and crafts and cooking, where our aim is to raise awareness of their situations and share experiences with each other. Our ultimate aim is to put the childhood back into the child. "Day trips are run monthly and take us to places such as Oakwood, Folly Farm, ice-skating, cinema, swimming, laser combat, skiing and much more. Our residential trips have taken us to places such as Alton Towers, Drayton Manor, Monkey World, Bristol Zoo, St. Fagan's and more locally, Newgale YMCA and Pembrokeshire Adventure Centre and many others places. "We believe that the siblings should be involved as much as possible with the planning of trips and organisation of drop-in sessions. The Sibling Group is like an external family to the children and young people we support. "If you are the parent of a special needs, disabled or seriously sick child and you have other children who you think may benefit from our services or you want to know more about us, please contact us or download an application form from our website."