Thursday, September 30, 2010

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month Yasminah's Gift Of Hope will be doing it's part in the community to raise awareness and provide more support to families who experience the premature birth or loss of their child

We will be releasing our very first newsletter, launching our online support forum, holding our first event Scrap For Yaz and also raising funds through our first online auction to be able to continue to provide early support to parents with a gift of hope....

SCRAP FOR YAZ If you are in NSW we invite you to join us next Saturday the 9th of October at the Mercure Hotel Parramatta between 9am - 4pm for a day of fun! Help us decorate journals to provide to families with children in Neonatal Intensive Care or dealing with the loss of their baby. Even if you aren't creative there are still ways that you can get involved.



If you can't attend in person we welcome any donations of scrapbook supplies to help us on the day. You may even like to decorate your own journal at home or hold your own event at home with friends and send the journals to us to distribute to the hospitals. Every journal contains unique support material for families that includes a comprehensive list of Australian Support Services.



You can also make monetary donations by depositing directly into our ANZ account



Yasminah's Gift Of Hope Incorporated
BSB 012556
Account Number 905083525



During October we will be trying to raise funds to expand our program to other hospitals around the state. One of the things we are hoping to achieve is to raise enough funds to have a special gift of hope that will go directly to parents who experience stillbirth. We will be also holding a Charity Auction, and are seeking support from businesses who would like to donate a product or service for our online Auction. Bidding will open on Friday the 29th of October and end Sunday the 31st of October. We have set up a separate Facebook fan page for this Auction called @Scrap for Yaz Charity Auction. If you or the company you work for would like to donate a product or service for our Auction please email



This has been a very long awaited dream of mine since losing Yasminah the 26th of March 2009. Looking back there are things I wish I had been told, or things I wish I could of done with my daughter whilst she was still here with us.



We have only a handful of photos of our precious daughter that were taken by hospital staff, we have no digital copies, no videos, or things that we often take for granted in our day to day life. Only 2 members of our family met our daughter and no friends met her, a few friends later mentioned that they would of loved to have met our daughter.



I'm lucky to have the few photos I do have of her, a locket of her hair, her footprints on paper, her cot card, hospital bands and the handmade blanket that we held her in. I have made it my personal mission that every parent who experiences the loss of their child will receive the same level of care, support, information and resources from the moment their precious child passes away. So that they are able to create lasting memories with their child, that there are no regrets. When a parent losses a child they loose all their hopes, dreams and vision of the future. Their world changes in an instant, at least it did for me. My world has and will never be the same.



So I encourage you to help support Yasminah's Gift Of Hope by spreading the word to raise awareness within the community and build support for families by generously donating to our program so that we can achieve our dream and mission for the future.



Sending you all hope, light, love and happiness. Find hope to keep you strong, light to lead the way, love all around you and happiness one day.



Much Love Rebecca ~Yasminah's Mummy~