Charity Heroes Awards 2024

🌟 Honoured, Humbled, and Hopeful: Receiving the Volunteer of the Year Award 2024

I am deeply honoured to share that I’ve was named Volunteer of the Year 2024 by The Benefact Group’s Charity Heroes Awards, proudly sponsored by Ecclesiastical UK & Ireland. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. This recognition is not just a personal milestone it’s a tribute to every volunteer, family, every name, and every story that has shaped the work I do.

When I first began volunteering and campaigning for a National Day of Remembrance for Pregnancy and Infant loss in the UK, supporting early pregnancy and baby loss loss, I never imagined how far this path would take me. What started as a quiet act of remembrance has grown into a movement of compassion, creativity, and community. Through Angel Parents UK & Worldwide, and the many remembrance projects we’ve nurtured together, I’ve witnessed the healing power of honouring grief with gentleness and beauty.

Receiving this award felt like standing in a field of flags, each one carrying a name, a memory, a moment of love. It’s not just my work being celebrated, but the collective strength of bereaved families, volunteers, and creatives who have walked this journey with me. I’m proud, yes, but more than that, I’m grateful.

🙏 Thank you to The Benefact Group and Ecclesiastical for

shining a light on the quiet heroes of charity work. Your support uplifts not only individuals, but entire communities.

💖 Thank you to every parent, every supporter, and every collaborator who has trusted me to help tell their story. Your courage is the heartbeat of everything I do.

🕊️ Thank you to my team, my friends who are family, and the baby and child loss community your belief in this mission has carried me through the most tender and transformative moments.

This award is a reminder that remembrance is not just about looking back, it’s about creating spaces of hope, healing, and connection.

Yesterday, bereaved families worldwide took part in the annual Day of Hope. A day that we encourage bereaved families to take part in honouring their babies and children who have gone on before them, by creating handmade with love peace or prayer flags. During the last 6 year's I have been running workshops supporting parents and providing the tools and selfcare needed to take part. We were proud to hang the beautiful handmade with love tapestry in our baby memorial garden, created by volunteer's and donated to the Benefact Group. Who kindly donated this to us at the award ceremony. Each stitch sewn with so much love and care, it truly is a piece of art.

On reflection yesterday, me and Harry were so overwhelmed with being nominated last year, let alone what we felt winning such a prestigious award for doing the work we do in communities across the UK. The impact of such an award left us left us humble with pride. But also feeling vulnerable because we do this in memory of our babies, and in all honesty we felt that such an award should have gone to someone more worthy than us. In fact I struggled on our return as I started volunteering to have a day of remembrance for the forgotten babies, a day that would help educate others who had not stood in our shoes, or walked this same path as us. When in fact we should have been shouting from the roof tops because of our work being recognised, helping to create awareness. I have had counselling since the day I left hospital in 2013, After a nervous breakdown. When people ask how we do what we do as a couple, truth is we still struggle, and will feel the heartache until the day we take our last breath.

Out of heartache and personal tragedy we had found the strength and courage to support others on their baby and child loss journeys, as well as deliver vital training within the NHS on how to preserve and dress a baby under 16 weeks. Something that has had sadly been denied to us with our five precious babies lost during pregnancy. Our first born, Jonathan Joseph Rimmer born sleeping at 17 weeks and 4 days gestation. Our first set of miracle twins, Ruby and Phillip who were also born sleeping at 13 weeks and 4 days, lastly, not forgetting our Snowdrop Twins who were created through Embryo Adoption and died between 6 to 8 weeks.

We now currently deliver to 15 UK NHS Hospitals who support families who endure baby loss under 24 weeks, our 'Never Give Up' project to children and adults who are undergoing live-in cancer treatment, and our local funeral homes. Furthermore this year will see the launch of two new projects in Scotland. Our well-being' boxes for children aged 5-16 years in memory of Katy, one of our director's daughter Katy, and the Rainbow Project supporting 'Pregnancy after Loss'. While it is not a journey or community we ever thought we would be a part of, we truly are blessed to stand shoulder to shoulder with true heroes who work alongside us every day!

I would like to say a huge thank you to David and Ian who made us feel welcome and relaxed throughout the event, as well as the whole team who work endlessly behind the scenes to make it such a wonderful event. Furthermore we would like wish all of the candidates nominated this year good luck, You truly deserve to be recognised for your achievements and we hope you have a wonderful time alongside some beautiful human beings. Remember you deserve this!

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