Fundraising gift fair helps fund care packages for Ipswich miscarriage and child loss organisation

Michelle Dayson's son Dennis, 6, makes a colourful sand-filled lorry at the fun day (Image: Archant)

The event, held at Castle Hill Community Centre, drew in a profit of more than £110 for Bear for an Angel, which provides care packages to families which have experienced miscarriage or the loss of a child. The organisation was launched by Ipswich mum Michelle Dayson, 36, in 2010 after she experienced two miscarriages.

Each care package contains an eight-inch teddy bear skin with stuffing, two wishing stars, a certificate and tea light, and a card containing a poem written by Miss Dayson, and have been sent as far afield as Australia. They are available for families who have lost children up to 21-years-old.

Women who have experienced early pregnancy loss, from four to 28 weeks gestation, can receive a package which contains a tiny teddy bear, notepad and pen, tea light, a balloon and tag, packet of tissues, a beaded angel keyring, a charm on a bow engraved with the words tiny footprints on our hearts and a chamomile tea bag.

The cost of the packages is partly covered by Bear for an Angel, with people able to sponsor a bear for a family who cannot afford it.

Miss Dayson said: “We rely on these events to boost availability of packages for families who need them and to spread awareness of pregnancy and infant loss through these events...to inform people that there is support available for child loss and where to find it. Without your support we cannot continue our work to put these precious packages into the hands of bereaved families.”

A further fundraising event, a day of hope and remembrance and family fun day, has been organised at Foxhall Community Centre on Saturday, August 13, from 10am-4pm. For more information on Bear for an Angel and future fundraising events, visit www.bearforanangel.com