SiMBA bosses thank Glasgow supporters – but warn of future cash crisis

Simpson’s Memory Box Appeal (SiMBA) has supported over 50,000 people since it was set up over 15 years ago, but spiralling costs and a downturn in funding left it on the brink of closure.

An emergency appeal launched at the beginning of 2023 has now raised £331,461, but with more and more charities scrapping for a share of a shrinking funding pot, bosses say this will only be enough to remain operational until October.

Now a fresh fundraising drive - called Keeping SiMBA Safe - is underway in a bid to secure a long-term future for the lifeline cause.

Vanessa Rhazali, head of fundraising and communications at SiMBA, told the Glasgow Times that staff had been overwhelmed by the incredible response to their initial appeal.

She says the flood of donations will protect the charity in the short term, but admits that the coming months will be vital for its survival.

Vanessa Rhazali (Image: Supplied)

Vanessa, pictured, added: “We cannot thank our wonderful supporters enough for getting behind us and helping to save us from the immediate threat of closure.

“But we are not out of the woods yet, and while we have enough to keep going for the next six months, we need to secure longer term backing. We need this to ensure we are there for every single person who will need SiMBA moving forward.

“We’ve managed to recover the shortfall in our finances, but for the rest of the year we will be focusing on the Keeping SiMBA Safe campaign to try and achieve longer term financial stability. We desperately need people to keep supporting us and big businesses to get behind us so that we can continue our work with steadiness and reliability.

“We are recovering from crisis point but the cost to make each memory box has soared in recent years. Even the price of cardboard has increased, along with blankets, candles and the other tokens we gift. 

"The cost-of-living crisis mean people just don't have the money they once had to donate to good causes. Everyone is finding it tough, not just us."

This year the charity predicts that 11,000 families and individual will request memory boxes in honour of their lost little ones. Since 2017, SiMBA have donated 3,102 of these to hospitals and individuals in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

SiMBA also have family rooms at maternity units, allowing parents to spend precious time with their child in private. It also provides training for midwives and other healthcare professionals within its field of expertise.

READ MORE: Glasgow street turned into ‘free car park’ claim residents

The charity was founded by former midwife Sara Fitzsimmons, who felt more should be done to help grieving parents cope with the trauma of still births and miscarriages.

She now helps to gather precious items to give to parents whose babies have passed away, which includes a blanket, hand and footprints, a lock of hair, candles and two teddies, one of which stays with the baby and the other with the parents.

Sara, pictured, described how the charity got off the ground in 2005.

She said: “I got a group of friends together to help raise money to cover the cost for the boxes and soon other hospitals started to take notice of what we were doing. About a year later we became a registered charity.

“No parent can ever imagine being told that their baby has died at a stage where they are preparing for a life with their new-born. The shock and numbness are unimaginable.

“We guide the parents through this tragic but most precious time by gathering these items and aim to provide the memory boxes to any maternity unit which wishes to have them.

“The memory boxes mean so much to bereaved parents and are a beautiful symbol of remembrance to all our lost babies.”

READ MORE: Glasgow Starbucks move ‘compromises’ city’s low emissions zone

Jennifer and Callum Brown were supported the charity after losing their son Alex 16 weeks into their pregnancy.

Jennifer, below, received a memory box from SiMBA and was given a room at Glasgow’s Princess Royal Maternity hospital to make her stay more comfortable.

Jennifer Brown (Image: Supplied)

The 30-year-old, from Stepps in North Lanarkshire, said: “I gave birth to Alex last September and we were given a peaceful place where we could spend time with him - I’ll always be grateful for that.

“Thanks to SiMBA we had a quite, dignified space where we could just be with our son, and it was very respectful.

“No parent should ever have to leave hospital without their baby, but just having the memory box with prints of his hand, feet and blankets means we have something that we can always cherish and something that is a constant source of comfort to us.

SiMBA memory boxes (Image: Supplied)

“I can open the box and remember our son, know that he was here and will never be forgotten. That’s so important to us and other families coping with the heartbreak of losing a child.”

The couple, who are also parents to Isla, two, helped to raise over £1,100 for the charity at its time of need, and are keen to ensure that others understand its value.

Jennifer added: “It’s so important that every single person can access this support. This was just our way of giving something back. 

“I really don’t know where I would be without the help they gave to me, SiMBA was there for us during the most difficult time of our lives and it is vital that we find a way of securing its future for the years ahead.

“There is nothing like it and it can’t be allowed to go under.”

To help towards Keeping SiMBA safe, visit http://ow.ly/1jaZ50MASgE