Hi Everyone!! ♥
Since Jason’s death I have had a need/desire to raise money and raise awareness in his name, a mother’s wish is that her children are never forgotten and for me that is so important. I never want Jason to be forgotten, he was here and alive even if it was a short time and his life will carry a legacy through the fundraising myself and others have do and will continue to do in his memory.
When Jason died we were sent beautiful flowers, too many if I am honest and it was decided that we would ask people to contribute and show their sympathy by donating to the SANDS charity. At the time I wasn’t aware of any other charities and I wanted any donations to help other people in our shoes. In the first year we raised £2466 by other people’s generosity. As well as donations made for Jason’s funeral, my Mum made bears out of resin in to badges and my Nan made shortbread and sold them to family and friends.
My cousin then completed the Spartan Sprint in September 2016 in Jason’s memory and raised over £100 for SANDS. I am so incredibly proud of her and her now husband for doing this and grateful that they did it with Jason in their minds and hearts, like I’ve said before him not being forgotten is all I want.
In October 2016 myself and a wonderful team of people took part in Aching Arms campaign Miles in Memory which was a personalised challenge to do as many miles in the month of October as possible and raise as much as possible by doing so. I wanted to take part but being 8 months pregnant knew I would find it a struggle to walk as much as I needed to so other’s offered to help me complete my miles set. Throughout the month of October Team Jason completed over 500 miles by either walking, running or cycling and I could not be prouder of what every one achieved in Jason’s memory AGAIN! As a total we raised £225 for Aching Arms which was the equivalent of 22 bears sent to other families with Jason’s name on them.
In March 2018 I organised an online charity raffle to celebrate Jason’s 3rd birthday. The raffle was a huge success and I was extremely fortunate to have been sent some amazing prizes too! I held two different raffles throughout the month as some prizes were more local restaurants etc and others were very general and could be posted anywhere. Jason’s Raffle raised money for three charities that have helped us so much in the past 3 years. Aching Arms UK, Hope House and The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and we raised £600 to split between those three charities.
To celebrate Jason’s fourth birthday I decided to do something a little different and so I set up a crowdfunding page. I had recently heard about the bereavement suite at our local hospital (something that unfortunately wasn’t available when Jason was born) and thought about what I would have found helpful during such a difficult time. I decided to purchase some books, mainly on baby loss, grief, death to donate to the bereavement suite and asked others to help out if they were able to. I received £400 after the fees to purchase these books and have found so many amazing ones to donate. I also used this money to purchase some light-hearted, funny picture books for children who unfortunately may need to use the suite themselves. Another reason I wanted to buy children’s books is because I know lots of parents whose children were stillborn or died shortly after have found it comforting to read to their baby; something I wish I had the courage to do back then. I wanted these books to be there for ANYONE who may need them and am currently talking to my bereavement midwife Jan about taking them and possibly having a look at the suite itself.
I have dedicated a couple of pages to the books that will be donated and can be found in the drop down menu above under Jason’s Legacy.
In total we have raised £3406 in Jason’s memory and I look forward to seeing what else we come up with to help raise money in the future!
If anyone would like to host an event in Jason’s memory please do get in touch.
Amy x
Mothering A Rainbow 