Thank you for attending the hour-long AGM hosted ahead of the conference which provided Sands members with an opportunity to hear an update from the Board of Trustees on activities and progress made during the past year.
Following the Annual General Meeting (AGM) we are delighted to welcome a trio of new faces to the Sands Board: Jonathan Bird, Joel Mitchell and Dr Sarah Stock were elected following a vote by Sands’ members at Resource for London in Holloway Road on Saturday 23 November.
Read more about them here.
Workshop 1: Running a Support Meeting - Richard Craig and Lesley Dewar
Join us for this interactive session to share ideas and think about key skills needed to facilitate a successful support meeting.
Workshop 2: Supporting Men - Helen Butlin and Peter Byrom
How does men’s grief differ around baby loss, how can Sands best support men to grow around their grief? Find the presentation here.
Workshop 3: Focus on Fundraising in the Community: Maximising impact and increasing engagement - Nicola Gale and Natalie Lovegrove
Join us for a fun, collaborative and interactive workshop that will outline our new fundraising strategy with a specific focus on fundraising in the community. Read the presentation here.
Workshop 4: Returning to work: helping employers support their bereaved staff - Ross Jones and Fatima Bhula
This workshop will consider the issues faced by parents on return work and discuss how Sands is working with employers to ensure that bereaved employees feel fully supported. Access the presentation here.
Workshop 5: Why research is core to our work: Sands new research strategy - Mehali Patel and Kate Mulley
This interactive workshop will outline Sands’ new Research Strategy and demonstrate how it will help us achieve our ambition to save babies lives, increase understanding of why babies die and provide better bereavement care and support.
Workshop 6: Art Workshop – Exploring grief through different media - Vicky Paul
This is a safe, fun, healing workshop that requires no previous painting experience. For adults only.
Workshop 7: Finding Your Way – A Midwife’s Perspective - Clare Worgan and Rebekah Walsh
During this workshop we have a rare opportunity to consider bereavement from this care givers perspective. Find their presentation here.
Workshop 8: Supporting Siblings - Jen Coates and Sarah Richardson
Ages and stages of children’s grief, supporting a child through a subsequent pregnancy, how to help schools help our children. Read more here.
Sands' Conference is aimed at trustees, members, staff, volunteers, befrienders, bereaved parents, supporters and donors. The conference provided an opportunity for the whole organisation to celebrate what has been achieved and focus on how we can work together to support anyone affected by the death of a baby, improve bereavement care and save babies’ lives.
The theme of the conference was Finding Your Way, which carried on from Sands digital awareness campaign in June and focused on tackling the taboo and helping to break the silence that exists around baby loss, especially for men, who can feel overlooked when a baby dies.
There was a moment of remembrance to allow everyone to remember all those babies who have died before, during and after pregnancy.
If you have attended, you will have
- Learned about the progress that is being made to make our vision a reality, and what is being planned for the last year of the Sands Strategy 2017-2020
- Discovered different ways to meet the needs of men following the death of a baby
- Took key learning from workshops and use this to inform and improve the work of Sands
- Found out who won the Volunteer awards to celebrate and recognise the amazing work of Sands’ volunteers
Sands Conference offered keynote speeches from our guest speakers, as well as networking opportunities for members, volunteers, befrienders, fundraisers, bereaved parents and staff, and two sets of workshops on a variety of topics:
- Running a support meeting
- Supporting men
- Focus on Fundraising in the Community: Maximising impact and increasing engagement
- Returning to work: helping employers support their bereaved staff
- Why research is core to our work: Sands new research strategy
- Art Workshop - exploring grief through different media
- Bereavement midwife - finding your way
- Supporting siblings
Read more about workshops below
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
08:30 – 08:50 Registration and Refreshments
09:00 – 09:05 Welcome, Introduction & Candle Lighting
09:05 – 09:45 AGM
09:45 – 10:00 Q and A
10:00 – End of AGM
Sands' Conference - Finding Your Way
09:00 – 10:10 Registration for the conference
10:15 – 10:20 Welcome and introduction
10:20 – 10:50 Spotlight on Sands
10:50 – 11:20 Saving babies’ lives – Professor Asma Khalil (Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine at St George’s University Hospital)
11.20 – 11.50 Break
11:50 – 12:50 Workshops 1
12.50 – 13:15 Remembrance
13:15 – 14:15 Lunch
14:15 – 14:50 Panel discussion on #FindingYourWay – with bereaved fathers Rob Allen (Sands United FC), Richard Boyd (@ShoeboxofM), Jonathan Bird (Delivered Social) and Michael O’Neil, lead by David Haig, Actor and Sands Ambassador
14.50 – 15.50 Workshops 2
15.50 – 16:05 Tea/Coffee break
16.05 – 16.25 AGM results and Volunteer Awards
16:25 – 16:30 Final summary and close