THE grieving parents of a baby who was “born sleeping” have been “completely blown away” at raising more than £2,770 for charity in a week.
Ricky and Lucy Twelves, of Spalding, asked for donations to be made to Sands following the stillbirth of their daughter Darcey on December 27.
The couple set up a fundraising page through Just Giving and since then, donations have been pouring in.
Giving her story on the website, Lucy said: “I started this page thinking we could raise about £100 if we were lucky and would have been amazed if we achieved that, but to see it four days later at over £1,500 has completely blown us away. There are some truly generous and kind people out there.
“It has been a devastating Christmas and end to what wasn’t a bad year.”
Sands is a charity which supports anyone affected by the death of a baby and works in partnership with health professionals to ensure that bereaved parents and families receive the best possible care.
The charity also funds research which could help to reduce the number of babies dying and families devastated by such a tragedy.
Lucy and Rick were put in touch with Sands following Darcey’s death.
They said: “Sands provide memory boxes. In this box we received a shawl, disposable camera, a bag to keep a lock of hair, hand and foot prints, two teddy bears – one to keep with Darcey and one for us to keep – not to mention the gorgeous box we get to keep cards and scan photos in.
“I hope the money we raise can go towards making more of these amazing boxes.”
Lucy used social networking site Twitter to spread the message of her fundraising campaign.
She said her baby girl had been “born sleeping” over Christmas and urged her followers to retweet the link to the Just Giving site.
Her message has since been retweeted by a number of high-profile users including television presenters Lorraine Kelly and Katy Hill and actress Natalie Cassidy.
Her message was also supported by Doncaster Rovers striker Billy Sharp, whose son Luey Jacob was born on October 27 but died two days later.
At the time of going to press, the fundraising total in memory of Darcey had reached £2,778.
l Anyone who would like to make a donation to Sands can do so through the Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/darceytwelves