Home > 15th anniversary appeal

Fifteen years of giving parents hope after baby loss. Of creating space to talk openly and be heard. Of making sense of the unimaginable. Of finding the strength to try again, and the courage to move forward. 

Petals began with the belief that parents shouldn’t go through the trauma of baby loss alone. Our founder, who was a bereavement counsellor in a maternity hospital, recognised that specialist psychological support should be available for all parents in the days and weeks after their loss. One friend agreed and donated our first £200. From this small seed something very special grew.  
 
That was fifteen years ago. Since then, 34 hospital partnerships are now in operation and more than 12,500 parents have been supported through one of the hardest experiences imaginable by our specialist counselling.    
 
But the need is greater than ever. 

Today, 1 in 2 referrals to Petals Counselling are turned away, because of insufficient funding.

These are devastating statistics. We have the expertise, experience and the ability to support parents through the most difficult time in their life, but not the means.

As we celebrate our 15^th anniversary, you can help us reach more bereaved parents and provide them with the specialist trauma support what we know is needed, and as one client described ‘a gateway back to life’.

Donate £15 for 15 years
OR
Sign up to our 15 for 15 Challenge and run, roll, walk 15 miles every week for Petals in August. 

and help us be there for the next parent who needs us.

When you donate, you can add a message to our bunting. These will be printed and hung between the trees right outside our office, as a mark of the support we have now and into the future.

How your donation will help:

It costs us £500 to fully fund a couple through Petals Counselling. Every £15 donated, or raised through the 15 for 15 Challenge, will mean we can say ‘yes’ to more parents.

“My counsellor really helped my husband to talk and get things out which has been a real struggle before. She has bought us closer together and helped us to process what has happened, together.”

Removing judgement
When face-to-face with a Petals Counsellor, parents find a safe space to articulate thoughts they cannot share elsewhere. They are met with compassion and understanding. Their grief and complex feelings are not belittled or dismissed. They are listened to and heard by unbiased, experienced and open-minded Petals Counsellors, who, quite simply, get it.  

“Our counselling was one of the few people that truly embraced our little girl’s existence and purpose.”

Advocating for parents
Parents trust us with their stories. We turn that insight into action. That means contributing  to government consultations, like the one on bereavement leave following miscarriage, and representing real experiences of parents when attending the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Baby Loss. When something needs to change for bereaved parents, we make sure their voice is in the room.

“In the fifteen years since I first started Petals, our beliefs haven’t changed We know that parents can recover their hope and find courage to continue their path to parenthood after the most devastating pregnancy loss, if they receive specialist psychological support. Petals Counselling is here for those parents, and we continue to pursue our mission to ensure every bereaved parent can access our service
“I would like to thank our astounding and ever growing network of supporters who share our beliefs and work hard to enable the expansion of our service. Everything we do at Petals is a team effort, and every member of that team is invested in creating the safe, nurturing space that is Petals. We have so much more to do, and I believe we have the drive and energy for this – you are welcome to join us!”

Karen Burgess, Petals’ founder and CEO

As we reach our 15^th anniversary, our aim is to ensure no parent hears ‘Sorry, we can’t help you’ because we don’t have the funding. 

That’s why we need your help today. 

 Here’s how:

Donate £15 (or whatever you would like to offer) today and add a message when you donate so that our birthday bunting looks amazing as it can.
Sign up to run, roll or walk 15 miles every week through August in our 15 for 15 Challenge 

Thank you.