UMi advisers volunteer at bereaved families’ charity
Steph Brown and Nadine Page, advisers with UMi’s Service and Investment team, recently volunteered at Sunderland charity 4Louis as part of UMi’s community volunteering programme.
Every day in the UK, around 15 babies die before, during or soon after birth, and tragically one in four pregnancies sadly end before they reach 12 weeks. 4Louis was founded by Louis’ family in 2009, who found that there was very little access to support and memory making following Louis been stillborn at 38 weeks’ gestation.
4Louis works across the country to support anyone affected by miscarriage, stillbirth and the death of a baby or child up to the age of 18. It provides free useful tools, equipment and training to hospital units, hospices and other professionals who have the sad job of comforting grieving families.
Steph and Nadine spent the day making keepsakes to go into tailored memory boxes, which aim to help bereaved families in capturing mementos of their baby or child. 4Louis supplies six different memory boxes, including stillbirth, neonatal and infant loss, and sends out 800 boxes a week.
Steph had previously volunteered at 4Louis with Nadine, so when given the opportunity by UMi to volunteer again, they had no doubt that they wanted to return, particularly as Steph knew how much a memory box meant to one of her own friends: “It was so rewarding for me to know that giving up just one day of my time really contributed to helping grieving families at what has got to be simply the worst time of their lives.
“Although the reason why 4Louis was set up is a terribly sad one, we would encourage anyone to spend time with the team there and help build these memory boxes which will give grieving parents forever memories of a loved one. Without volunteers, 4Louis would not be able to carry out this valuable work.”
UMi actively encourages staff to get involved with community projects across the country, allowing them time to volunteer, particularly with small local charities in the communities where the team live and work, making a real difference, through fundraising and volunteering. UMi also works closely with the UK Community Foundation, whose nationwide network ensures that our donations are invested in our chosen purpose: overcoming isolation.