Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

After the sad loss of my baby son, Elliot, last June, Jo and I received a lot of help and support from SANDS. So to help them support others and particulaly help research into Stillborn children,

I completed my walk of the River Thames from source to the sea (184 miles) on Sunday 15th of May. Apart from sore feet all is well. But please feel free to continue supporting this great charity.

This page will close for contributions on 21/6/11. Elliot's first birthday.

About the Charity I am raising money for: Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, is an organisation that offers support when a baby dies during pregnancy or after birth.

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.

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

Why Sands is so relevant: 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.

Sands core aims are to:

support anyone affected by the death of a baby;

work with health professionals to improve the quality of care and services provided to bereaved parents and their families;

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.

With your support we can really make a difference.

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.

So please sponsor me now and thank you for your support!

Robert