The Treasured Babies’ Program was privileged to receive an award for our ‘outstanding contribution to the Yarra Ranges community’ from the Yarra Ranges Council.
Cindy Furby, our Volunteer Centre Coordinator, accepted the award at yesterday’s Yarra Ranges Australia Day ceremony. Cindy and the other hard working committee members and regular centre volunteers are all local residents and without them the program would not exist.
Councillor Noel Cliff visited the centre at the end of 2015 and was blown away by what he saw was being achieved – predominantly by dedicated volunteers.
The Treasured Babies’ Program is an initiative of an advisory group of bereaved parents, organised in Victoria by Red Nose Grief and Loss in 2002. The aim of the Program is to acknowledge and honour the life of newborn babies who have died, regardless of their gestational age and to support bereaved parents in a practical and tangible way.
Gift packs containing beautiful handmade clothing are provided to health professionals such as midwives, counsellors and funeral directors, so that babies can be dressed and held by their parents and family members, as well as dressed for burial. The gift packs also include a naming certificate, a brochure Decisions…when your baby has died and information about ongoing peer and professional support services.
To learn more about the Treasured Babies’ Program click here.