Special Care Babies charity receives grant from leading firm of Accountants, James Cowper Kreston

New Life has been awarded £3,700 by the James Cowper Kreston Foundation in their 2023 Spring funding round. The Foundation helps charities to achieve their goals in the local community by awarding grants for specific projects.

The Spring Funding Round received 63 applications and New Life was one of four successful charities to receive funding. The charity applied for funding for their ‘Parent Baby Loving Link’ project which would fund the v-Create for The Buscott Unit in The Royal Berks Hospital. New Life will work with BIBS (Babies in Buscott Support) to fund the video diary technology for another year.

The v-Create is a secure video messaging link that enables parents to see their babies and keep in touch with their progress during the times they are unable to be in the hospital. The neonatal staff build up a library of videos and images and with a secure login the parents can access these day or night. If the baby is moved to a different hospital, this data moves with them, so continuity is kept. Video technology such as this minimises separation anxiety for parents of a premature baby, particularly when their baby has to spend long stints in hospital.

Sharon Davies, a representative from the Foundation said, “Meeting Trevor and Debbie was an absolute privilege. We're thrilled to be funding New Life to provide the Reading Buscott Unit Charity (BIBS) with the V Create Video Link system. Learning about the incredible work New Life does has been truly inspiring. Our Foundation is excited to see the positive difference the installation of this system will make."

New Life charity has had a long relationship with The Royal Berks Hospital and its neonatal team and has funded larger pieces of lifesaving equipment such as the Criticool machine which is used to cool down a premature baby’s brain, therefore, minimising the risk of cerebral palsy.

Mr Goodall, CEO and Founder of New Life said “We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen to receive this grant, especially as competition was so tough. It is really important to me to support neonatal units in Berkshire and to know that equipment such as the v-Create system makes immense difference to parents, many of whom I have had the pleasure to meet.