In October 2020 we were proud to receive funding from the Government and The National Lottery Community Fund to support Sands as we continued to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and navigate the impact on our services and the communities we exist to support. We have now reached the end of our funding period and we are so delighted to report back on the difference this funding has made.

This grant has fuelled incredible behind the scenes transformation of our charity, the impact of this investment will stretch far into the future of Sands. The funding we received enabled us to complete our ambitious plans to digitalise our services, it has enabled us to;

• Develop new training modules and materials for healthcare professionals, helping to increase access to excellent bereavement care across the UK.
• Install a quick exit button on our website, meaning visitors can close the page with no internet history being logged helping anyone experiencing domestic abuse to safely seek our support online.
• Establish a new e-campaigning platform which will enable our supporters to get more involved in our campaign work to save lives and improve care.
• Upgrade our internal IT system so that we can truly understand the impact of the entire breadth of our work, across every group we work with including; bereaved parents and families, NHS Trusts and Boards, Royal Colleges, universities, researchers, third sector partners and funders. The investment will directly support us as we harness the voice of bereaved parents and campaign for change to the policies and procedures that can influence infant mortality rates.

As a result of these incredible developments we are in the best possible position to move forward, removing previous geographical barriers to both volunteering and support and address deep rooted health inequalities surrounding infant mortality.

“With the support of Government and The National Lottery Community Fund we have made strides to innovate and revolutionise Sands’ services to ensure we remain accessible and relevant in this ever-changing situation, but we know our work is not done. We strive for excellence across all areas of our work so that we can be the beacon of hope for all those impacted by loss, and to drive urgent change across the baby loss landscape to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable in society for the long term.”

Oliver Reichardt, Chair of Trustees

In short, this investment has underpinned every aspect of our work meaning we are emerging from the pandemic stronger, more agile and in the best possible position to achieve our mission to save babies lives and ensure that anyone impacted by the death of a baby has the best possible care and support for as long as they need it.

Thanks to the Government and The National Lottery Community Fund for making this possible.

If you are a grant making organisation or business and would like to partner with Sands as we continue to work to save babies' lives and ensure anyone impacted by the death of a baby gets the support that they need,  then please get in touch with our Partnerships and Philanthropy Team, you can email corporate.partnerships@sands.org.uk