A mother has recorded a charity single for an under-threat Liverpool charity that supports bereaved families, three years after the death of her son. Cath Martin, 60, penned the song 'Give a Little Love', which is to be released in support of Wavertree-based charity Love Jasmine.
In April, the ECHO reported the charity could close by Christmas if it does not secure funding after a National Lottery grant ran out. Cath's son, Sean Martin, died aged 26 in 2023. Sean was lead singer of Liverpool band The Night Café.
Cath, from Roby, teamed up with local musicians Barrie Cass and Ty Gulliver for the recording at Scratch Studios in West Derby. She said: 'We've come together really to support the work that Love Jasmine do, and hope and pray that they get the funding that they deserve for the work that they're doing in the community.'
'What they do is so impactful. I've got experience of being a bereaved mum. It's so important that there is support out there and there are people out there that do care.'
'There isn't anything similar out there in Liverpool, and I think that's what's making them so special. That speciality needs to be funded and recognised.'
'Sean was everything'
Cath came to music late in life. She began writing poetry and performing music after the death of Sean. She also wrote a bucket list, which included her ambition to record a song in a studio.
Sean was a founding member and frontman of The Night Café, one of Liverpool's most popular bands. Cath said: 'When I lost my son, Sean, I wanted to continue his legacy in some respects, but also for my own therapy, to do something that gives me solace.'
'Sean was an amazing man. He was a wonderful son, brother, uncle, partner, and friend. He was everything. I think that he would be very proud of me doing this.'
Charity in 'precarious' position
In April, the ECHO reported that Love Jasmine was facing closure after a three-year National Lottery grant totalling £255,571 came to an end. The grant represented 40% of the charity's funding in 2024. The charity applied for another grant from the National Lottery but was unsuccessful.
Complementary therapies for bereaved families were being cancelled and the charity had to stop taking on new families. The charity was set up by Kathy and Rob Lapsley, whose daughter Jasmine died on a family holiday in North Wales in 2014.
The charity remains in a 'precarious' position and faces closure if long-term funding is not secured. Rob, 52, told the ECHO: 'Without long-term, secure funding, things are precarious.'
'The families that we support are getting behind us, but we need to engage people who aren't aware of what we do.' Events have been organised in support of the charity, including a sponsored walk this Sunday and a fundraising event in September.
'I can say it with experience'
Cath said the lyrics of the song address the feelings of a parent losing a child, as well as the support Love Jasmine offers. She said: 'Music is therapy for me. It's my own therapy, and it's enabled me to delve into the creativity of poetry and songwriting. It makes you feel like you're giving something back.'
'The lyrics in the song are so poignant and, I can say it with experience, so I know that the lyrics meet the brief for the charity. It's what they are about, and it's just so heartfelt really.'
'People sometimes don't know what to say or how to deal with it [the topic of losing a child], and the lyrics touch on how someone may be feeling. Towards the end, it directs its energy towards Love Jasmine. The last lyric in there really is, 'I don't know how I would have gone on without you.' It captures that support in the lyrics.'
