Going the extra mile for Ella’s Memory

Employees at a housing charity in Redruth have raised £6,375 for Ella’s Memory.

Coastline Housing staff selected Ella’s Memory to fundraise for last year, in honour of a small number of colleagues who had, tragically, needed the service of this charitable organisation.

The aim of Ella's Memory is to provide practical help to parents of stillborn babies throughout Cornwall. In 2011 the charitable organisation completely renovated and re-equipped the Daisy Suite at Treliske hospital in Truro which is a special bereavement suite for parents experiencing a stillbirth.

Coastline Housing colleagues undertook a number of fundraising events across the year including company BBQs, big breakfasts, bake sales, a pamper evening and even a tug of war tournament.

Lettings Manager at Coastline Housing Jo Morris undertook a sponsored sky dive in aid of Ella’s Memory. She said: “I was extremely proud to undertake the sky dive for such an amazing cause. It’s been a very successful, but very poignant year in terms of our fundraising and I’m thrilled that as a company we’ve managed to raise more than we’ve ever done before. It just demonstrates how much people here care about their colleagues and what they’ve been through.”

Martyn Selley, who founded Ella’s Memory with his wife, added: “We really do appreciate all the fundraising people undertake for our cause. We can’t do what we do without this money, and we’re proud to say that every penny of it goes directly into improving things for parents of stillborn babies.”

Ella’s Memory has most recently opened a support and counselling room located in the Truro Health and Wellbeing Centre, away from the hustle and bustle, clinical environment and often bad memories that Treliske Hospital holds for some.

The room will supply a much needed and multi-functional space, where ongoing support for bereaved parents can take place without them having to return to the maternity unit, which can be difficult and distressing.

Looking ahead to the future, the Ella’s Memory team also hopes to fundraise to sound-proof a room in the new delivery suite at Treliske Hospital and to update the Daisy Suite.