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All ideas and help most gratefully received ...

20/5/2014

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Yikes !!! 

Can I just say a massive Thank You to everyone for their fabulous words of encouragement and excitement for the £100k challenge (as I've decided to call it)

I'm under no illusion that this is going to be easy and it is not going to happen at all without help ...lots of it!

There are lots of ideas about what we can do to raise this money but I need to really commit to something every month so instead of doing 10 challenges or fundraisers in the year September 2014 to September 2015 I think we need to think a little bit bigger and go for 1 a month (or more).

Obviously we already have some fundraisers in place in some months however if you would like to host a fundraiser yourself as part of our cause I'd be very grateful or if you are holding any fundraisers would you consider our cause to be the one you collect for?  If you own your own business or work for a company could we be your chosen charity for a year?  I am on with this one myself and even a collection box on a counter would make a huge difference to our total.

We need to kick start the year with something that will get our awareness up as well as getting people donating and I've seen the power of social media so had thought that maybe we could instigate a 'selfie' campaign such as 'A Selfie for SIDS' I know this has been done but it was so well received and was such a boost for the charities involved I'd love to give it a try and see how well we can spread the word.

So ideas on the table for fundraising are as follows:

Alexander's Charity Ball 2015
A Great Big 'Northern' Mile in Memory 
Great North Run 2015
A Family Fun Day 
A Cycling Challenge - Possibly Tower to Tower or Lands End to John O'Groats this is being handed over to those in the know !
Ladies Vintage Tea/Champagne Party
The Teens are looking into organising their own Football Tournament 
Supermarket Bag Packing 
Craft Fairs 
Tough Mudder (Or equivalent without the electric shock) 
Abseil down the Humber Bridge or other appropriate Yorkshire Landmark)
Quiz Night
Collections at local Yorkshire Football and Rugby Grounds 
Creating Children's PJ's or a T-shirt with a percentage of donations going to The Lullaby Trust and the £100k challenge

I'd welcome any and all ideas if you'd like to share yours or if you think you could help organise, sponsor, run or volunteer I'd love to hear from you.  Any bloggers wishing to help also would be fabulous I know what a great bunch of people you are and I'd love to work with you to keep this going.

Please share the challenge if you can I need to keep the momentum going for the year and the more people on board the better the response will be.

Thank You 

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Matilda Mae and her inspiring Mum Jennie 

24/4/2013

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This post has been a long time in writing, it's one thing to share my story but another one completely to put into words the heartbreak of another. 

On Saturday 2nd February Jennie Edspire and her family's lives were devastated when little Matilda Mae never woke from her sleep.  A week away from Alexander's 6th anniversary it was a heartbreaking reminder of that time for us.

The very close world of Mummy Bloggers was rocked to the core as they found out this devastating news and I was contacted by a few who know me and my story to ask me to reach out to Jennie, I was more than happy to do so.  I'm not a blogger but I follow a few, I love reading other people's hints and tips, recipes, life stories and Jennie's story and words since this tragedy happened have been so heartbreakingly close to my experience I wanted to share her blog link so you can see her journey.  

Jennie hasn't held back in the telling of Matilda Mae's story but she writes with such honesty and emotion you have to admire her strength and courage.  Many would hide away from the world, shut themselves off to grieve privately but in telling her nightmare I feel Jennie has started creating her legacy for Matilda Mae.  Jennie is a doer, she reminds me of me!  Using the internet to it's full resource to keep the memory of her precious daughter alive she is blogging making people aware that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a very real nightmare.  On launch day for the Lullaby Trust there was an amazing outpouring of support from her blogging community who all linked up to get the message out there and I know that she is also fundraising for them by holding A Mile In Memory of Matilda Mae.

She is sharing her story, making it public and seeking help, there are so many people reaching out to her I hope she knows she is never far from many's thoughts. http://www.edspire.co.uk/ 

Jennie has been nominated in the BritMums Brilliance in Blogging Awards (BiBs) and I'd like to help her get the recognition she deserves for wearing her heart on her sleeve.  This is a bittersweet nomination for Jennie and one she maybe feels she doesn't deserve or wouldn't have happened were it not for the loss of her daughter.  I wish with all my heart another family hadn't been affected by SIDS and I hope Jennie takes strength from the nomination, Matilda is helping her share this very special and emotional journey of grief.  Please take a minute to vote for Edspire 
http://www.edspire.co.uk/year_2013/04/23/a-cheeky-request/


  It's for families like Jennie's and babies like Matilda Mae and Alexander that I fundraise, I want to stop Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in it's tracks, to stop families hurting like we do, to keep babies where they belong...in their mothers arms! 

So as one more baby leaves this world in turmoil I was reminded of a Poem written for and read at the Family Carol Service held in York at Christmas by FSID.  From one heartbroken Mummy to another Jennie Thank You for telling people how it feels to be us x


Precious Memories - Valerie Robinson 

You were with us for a short time only.
Such a very short time.
Too short for us to know you well:
Part of our lives forever, we thought,
Not knowing that yours would be so short.


We will never know the person you would become,
You will never know life's joys and fears,
But you understand that you are loved:
The world and life you have barely seen,
Which should have been yours-Should have been.


Did you know our anguish when you were gone?
Part of us, yet, no longer here.
We will never understand the reason for our loss:
Life's gift can be lost through accident or disease,
But who understands when it's neither of these.


Does God need some children in Heaven
To balance the long-lived souls.
Why He wanted you with Him, he alone only knows:
Memories of our happiness are still so deep,
All too soon you went to sleep.


Your life to us was precious,
We valued every hour.
The memories of you will never be lost:
With each passing year we let our love grow,
Why you are not with us, we still don't know.


Valerie Robinson 



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A Mile in Memory 2013 

25/2/2013

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Since 2007 A Mile in Memory has been a lovely way for family and friends to get together to honour the life of someone special.  It is a poignant event for us as it was founded the year that Alexander died and the first fundraising we ever did.  Members of Mumsnet started the walk in memory of a little girl called Maude who was 2 when she died in January 2007.  It was a huge success and FSID took the event on as their own.


I've never met Nola, Maude's Mummy but we were in contact then and we still are friends on Facebook.  I owe a lot to Maude and Nola for helping me through those first few months,  I found it hard and unthinkable that Alex was over 1 when he died and knowing I wasn't alone in that was a little comforting.  I had never heard of babies over 1 suffering from Cot Death or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome but it does happen, sadly. 

This year's I've planned a walk in Yorkshire at Cannon Hall Park and Gardens.  This is a fabulous local setting and after we have strolled around our mile we will release our balloons and messages into the sky for our angels to read.

I hope to organise a little bit of fun after as well with our usual picnic taking place but also some games and a bit of fun for us all to get involved in.  If you can help with this or have any ideas as to what we could do then please do get in touch.

The date is Saturday 11th May and as with previous walks there will be many held across the country and as we all set of at 11:00 I know there will be many thoughts with all those babies that we couldn't be sharing the walk with.

If you would like to join us then please do I will ask for a donation to the charity as part of the walk nothing to break the bank just £1 and I have set up a Facebook event so I can communicate any details on there as well as here on the website.  
https://www.facebook.com/events/359706987477673/

I look forward to seeing you then 


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