Development agency World Vision UK has created an innovative online service to enable grieving families to create a sensitive personalised tribute for their loved one.

Launched on Thursday, the Book of Remembrance allows families and friends to create and manage a tribute page for the deceased, similar to that of a Facebook profile. This special ‘online community area’ allows people to visit the page and add their contribution by recording a message of condolence, sharing a special story or adding a favourite photo. Visitors can also choose to make a donation to further support World Vision’s work.

“We hope that a personal tribute in our Book of Remembrance will provide a positive way for family and friends to channel their grief and celebrate the life of a loved one,” says Karen Bissaker, Legacies and Remembrance Gifts Manager at World Vision.

“Making this facility available online is all about empowering our supporters/people to do something easily, at what is a difficult time for friends and family. We live in a global world and this service is particularly useful for family and friends of the deceased who live overseas.”

Family or friends who set up the tribute page will be able to review all messages and photos from visitors first in order to choose the ones they would like posted.

World Vision said income from remembrance gifts in the past had enabled it to fund a number of projects around the world, including the building of a primary school for a community in Cambodia, and the building of a crèche and feeding station for orphans and vulnerable children in Kodumela, South Africa.

On the web: www.worldvision.org.uk/bookofremembrance