Local dad, Stuart to receive Inspiring Fundraiser Award

We are so pleased to share that some very special people within the Held In Our Hearts team and community have been successful at the Volunteer Edinburgh Inspiring Volunteer Awards! ? The first person we send our heartfelt congratulations to is: Stuart Owen. Stuart and Lauren Owen lost their son James on 4th November 2020 and have been involved with Held In Our Hearts first by receiving support and then they went on to do some volunteer fundraising so that we can continue to support other families with befriending and counselling. In James’ memory, and to raise funds for Held in Our Hearts: Stuart decided to set himself a huge challenge of walking 50 miles in 3 days. He recruited three of his friends to join him and they cycled and walked Coast to Coast. His friends were Hugh Hutchison, Pete Ripley and David Maxwell. He was met at the end by his wife Lauren and his daughter Madeline. The event was completed over three days and they endured every season through the period, going from baking sun to being utterly drenched, to traipsing through snow! They walked and cycled from Beauly to Inversheil and spent the time reflecting on James and the incredible legacy that one little boy has left. They raised an outstanding £13,710, which is absolutely transformational for our work, allowing us to provide 342 counselling sessions to our families and we are so truly grateful. Stuart also works for the company Oceaneering who made an incredibly generous donation of £5235 to the charity as well. Stuart in his own words said; “On November 4th 2020 our son James was born sleeping. The night James lost his life, we lost our son, Madeleine lost her brother and our family lost a huge part of its future in a tragedy that I am still struggling to come to terms with. Despite this we have still managed to gain cherished, beautiful memories of our time with James through the support of all the wonderful and caring people at Held In Our Hearts without which, memories which will stay with me forever would simply not have been made.” Through publicly sharing about his volunteer fundraising challenge, Stuart has received huge amounts of support through donations, but also people reaching out to support however they can. By sharing at his workplace, it has enabled others to be more open about their own experience of baby loss and encouraged greater awareness and understanding of the impact that this has not only on the immediate family, but the wider ripple effect on family, friends and work colleagues. Everyone at Held In Our Hearts would like to extend our deepest gratitude and admiration to Stuart for his continued support of our charity, and through Stuart’s support we are able to continue our befriending and counselling services for bereaved families. ❤️