Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

The charity that I am going to raise funds for is SANDS (http://www.uk-sands.org/home.html) a charity that helps those effected by still birth or neo-natal death.

 

On January 24th 2012, our little boy Jacob was stillborn. Every parents' worst nightmare came true for us.

SANDS has been a lifeline for my wife Caroline and I from the moment this terrible event happened.

SANDS support parents and hospitals in so many ways. We have been sent books, taken counselling and advice and joined support groups (online and in person). All of these have been a tremendous help to us in what have been some very dark times. As well as offering support directly to the parents, they support research in to trying to lower the rates of still-births and neo-natal deaths. 17 families lose a baby this way every day in the UK.

SANDS also help support the hospitals to provide support to parents - an area that is effected by government cutbacks. At Harrogate hospital, where Jacob was born, SANDS and the Angel Mother's Charity have funded the redecoration of a bereavement suite for parents to spend time with their child after their death. They have also helped to fund other valuable items such as a refrigerated cot to enable these babies to spend precious time with their parents. Even providing a camera and printer, a footprint recorder and also a memory box complete with teddy and candle. All of these little things help immensely at a time when as a parent you do not know how to feel or what to do. All of these things could so easily be ignored or overlooked but I know how much they mean to both Caroline and me in our memories of Jacob.

I'm sure you can tell just how appreciative we are and how passionately I feel about this charity.

With their help, Caroline and I felt able to try again and just over 2 weeks ago our little boy Oscar Jacob was born, like his big brother he was very early but has managed to go from strength to strength.

I would like to show how much we appreciate everything that was done for us over the last 14 months.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.