‘If the money we raise will help one baby, we’ll have made our little girl proud’

Tommy’s news, 27/03/2017

Last Friday we celebrated the annual Tommy’s Awards that celebrate incredible companies and individuals working to help us save babies’ lives.

Once a year we bring supporters together to celebrate what the support that they and countless others has made possible. The Costa Star Fundraiser Award recognises an extraordinary individual who has gone above and beyond to fundraise in their local community on behalf of Tommy’s.

Susan Jackson has been a long term support of Tommy’s since experiencing the heartbreak of losing her daughter Evie in 2010. Evie’s identical twin sister Ella turns seven this June and no reason was ever found as to why Ella was born healthy but Evie was stillborn.

  In Evie’s memory, Susan has raised an incredible £52,000 for Tommy’s that will go into funding vital research, including why stillbirths happen and what we can do to stop them.

‘Evie was born sleeping but no one knew why. That's why we decided to fundraise for Tommy's as we believe the number of babies lost via miscarriage and stillbirth needs to be reduced. We fundraise in Evie’s memory to help fund research and help one less family go through the loss of their child.’

Susan has raised an incredible £57,000 for Tommy’s over the years in a variety of different ways.

One of her most popular initiatives is the annual Christmas market trip, which has grown in popularity so much that she is now taking an extra coach, and her commemorative Christmas baubles give comfort at a time that can be challenging for bereaved parents.

These are clear baubles with a white feather inside and a beautiful message attached to pay tribute to your lost little one.

‘You’re trying to put on a smiley face, trying to pretend that everything is ok. You feel so isolated when you lose a baby because people just don’t know what to say and really, there is nothing they can say. But a gift like this shows someone that you’re thinking of them and that you’re acknowledging their loss. A gift like this is actually all it takes.’

And she hasn’t stopped there: Susan is spreading the word helping more people join in fundraising for Team Tommy’s, as well as getting involved in other Tommy’s events; Susan even joined us at Downing Street in 2013 at a reception hosted by Samantha Cameron in support of Tommy’s!

Last but by absolutely no means least, Susan has broken the taboo of silence surrounding baby loss by championing Tommy’s in her local community and going on to organise large scale events in support of Tommy’s and other baby loss charities, Susan has shown other women suffering this pain that they are not alone.

Sandy Gourley, Costa Charity and Community Manager said;

'We are delighted to help recognise the incredible work that Susan does for Tommy’s through her imaginative and creative fundraising. The Costa teams have a long track record in supporting fundraising for both local causes and our own charity the Costa Foundation. Through the Costa Community Programme we hope to be able to assist Susan in reaching her future fundraising goals.'

We were so heartened to see Susan receive the Costa Coffee Star Fundraiser Award on Friday. She is wholeheartedly deserving of the title ‘Star Fundraiser’, raising vital funds which have helped to enable pioneering research which saves babies lives.

See what support like Susan’s has enabled us to achieve across the years.

If you want to hear how Tommy’s are working to tackle the unacceptable statistic that 10 babies are stillborn every day in the UK, you can read about our research centre in St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester.

If you are a community group local to a Costa stores and you think they might be able to help, please visit www.costa.co.uk for contact the store details or pop in and have a chat with the Store Manager.