Story
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">On the 11th October last year Jonathan my brother and his fiance Nicky's world fell apart when their beautiful baby Benjamin Mark was stillborn.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">So cruel and so wrong- this perfect little boy who was so wanted and loved, taken away.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">It was news that shocked and stunned all their family and friends. I personally was filled with an overwhelming feeling of loss and helplessness.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">It is for this reason that on the 13th - 23rd October David - who lost his own son at birth, Lucy and I will be taking part in a Kilimanjaro Challenge.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong>About the Charity I am raising money for:</strong> Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, is an organisation that offers support when a baby dies during pregnancy or after birth.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Sands, was founded in 1978 by a small group of bereaved parents devastated by the death of their babies and in particular by what they felt was a complete lack of acknowledgement and understanding of the significance and impact of their loss.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Over the past 25 years the charity has supported many thousands of families whose babies have died, offering emotional support, comfort and practical help. Sands has worked tirelessly with health professionals to revolutionise the care bereaved families receive in hospital. Sands has fundamentally changed the way in which bereaved parents and their babies are cared for</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong>Why Sands is so relevant:</strong> Incredibly in the UK today, in spite of medical advances, many parents, their families and friends continue to have their lives quite literally turned upside down by the death of their baby. 17 babies a day are either stillborn or die within the first twenty eight days of life, over 6,500 babies dying every year. Rates of stillbirth have remained relatively unchanged for 20 years and in fact are increasing.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong>Sands core aims are to:</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">support anyone affected by the death of a baby;</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">work with health professionals to improve the quality of care and services provided to bereaved parents and their families;</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">and promote changes in antenatal practice and to fund research that could help to reduce the loss of babies' lives and the number of families devastated by this tragedy.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">With your support we can really make a difference.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Sands gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">So please sponsor me now and thank you for your support!</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Angela</span></p>