AUCKLAND

‘Tea for Tom’ Champagne High Tea –  we had an amazing afternoon tea where we remembered young Thomas Gardener, we spoke about the impact on mental health from having a premature baby as well as the awesome coffee group that we’ve started up for our families ‘Coffee Confidential’. We raised $3800 which will help to support this initiative which aims to get families out of isolation and talking about their NICU experience and the ongoing journey once home.  Images from the day can be seen on our Facebook page.

Running for Little Lives – one of our amazing ex-NICU Mums is running the Maui marathon on 20 January and fundraising for the Little Miracles Trust Auckland at the same time.  You can support Katie by donating to her fundraising at this link: https://give.everydayhero.com/nz/running-for-little-lives

NICU Mums ‘Knit & Natter’ Morning Tea –   Now EVERY Tuesday! Mums Kitchen NICU Ward

This is a morning tea for Mums who currently have a baby or babies in the NICU at Auckland hospital.  It’s a chance to meet those Mums you often pass in the corridor, plus one of Lactation Consultants comes along to answer any questions you may have about expressing or feeding and from this month on we’d love you to bring along your knitting!

‘Sit & Knit’ packs –We’ve had an amazing response from families and staff to this project with one family telling us how they’ve been sitting down together at night to knit and chat where before they’d sit down and scroll on their phones.  These are available for FREE for our NICU families so just pop and see us in the shop if you’d like one.

 The Little Miracles Trust Developmental Playgroup – this has finished for the year however we’ll be back on Thursday 7 February at 10am! 

A huge thank you to Kathryn and Janet who run the group for us and give so much help to our families once they’ve been discharged from the unit.

Coffee Confidential – our coffee group with a ‘twist’.  This is a facilitated group run by Ariella Bond (Social Worker) and Lara Mulgrew (Psychotherapist) who have both worked in Auckland NICU.  The purpose of the group is to get ex-NICU families to come out for a coffee and a chat, to talk through their NICU experience plus the transition of going home.  We held three really successful sessions this year and will continue again in 2019 on the
following dates at the Parenting Place, Greenlane between 12.30-2pm: 1 February, 1 March, 29 March, 26 April, 24 May and 21 June.

WAIKATO

Café Agora

A huge shout out to Café Agora in Frankton who have been supporting The Little Miracles Trust this Neonatal November with 50c from every coffee sold going towards fundraising for specialist equipment for the Waikato NICU. Watch this space to see what your cup of coffee has helped us fund!

They have also been hosting out Incubator Information & Collection box. A visual aid says a million words, and even as parents of prems, we sometimes forget just how very small and fragile our special babies were.

The Café Agora team are amazing folks, and make a great cuppa too! Please share the love and pop in for a cup and cake if you are in the area!

Christmas at the Wells

Our Incubator Information & Collection box is spending December with Santa at the “Christmas at the Wells”! (see FB page!) These folks know what it is like to have a NICU journey and we are immensely grateful to them for their support!

Pop along from 1 December and see their personal collection of lights, display of collectable santa bears, Christmas tree forest, and much, much more! An elf told us Santa will be there and posing for selfies, and there may be a candy cane on offer for those who have been good all year!

Thank you!

This is the time of year that we reflect and say thank you to everyone who has, and who continues to support The Little Miracles Trust. As a charity, and a community, we are only as strong as those who support us… and with your help, we are mighty!!

Thank you to those who knit, crochet and sew, to the bakers, the fundraisers and the quiet, secretive elves who go about the business of helping us make a difficult start to life just a little bit easier for so many. You are amazing!

Thank you to those who donate, sponsor, share our stories and host our collection boxes, Incubators and banners. You rock!

Thank you to the nurses, doctors, specialists and anaesthetists in our NICU’s, and to the support staff keeping our hospitals running. You are our miracle workers, and we can’t thank you enough!

As the year draws to a close we wish you and your whanau joy, happiness and above all, love! Aroha nui!

CHRISTCHURCH

Eat, Drink and be Charitable –  A Charity Fundraising Event for The Little Miracles Trust NZ

A Night Out for Neonatal is an opportunity to dress up, socialise, listen to some great stories and banter from rugby commentator Grant Nisbett all while supporting an incredible cause! 

*Tickets $80 per person or purchase a table of 10 for $750
*2 course dinner, charity auction, raffles, spot prizes & much more!! 

Every year 5000 babies have a difficult start to life and spend time in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In January this year my beautiful niece Lilly arrived suddenly and very early at 30 weeks 1 day weighing only 910grams. Lilly spent 87 days in Christchurch NICU and during this journey I spent many hours with her where I met some of the most incredible nurses and wonderful families who were all facing their own battles with their new babies. During this time, I noticed the lack of La-Z-Boy chairs that parents use for kangaroo cuddles and I promised Lilly we would find a way to ensure as many parents as possible would have a comfortable and suitable chair for their long, hard days in the unit – this is where “A Night Out for Neonatal” was born! 

Can you assist with our fundraising efforts?
If you, or anyone you know may be able to help with items for the auction or raffles please contact Alicia.

FOR MORE INFO AND TO PURCHASE TICKETS CONTACT- 
ALICIA GAINSFORD
*phone – 027 275 0018
*Email – againsford@gmail.com
 

DUNEDIN

We would love some support from local businesses and organisations to host our incubator donation box and smaller counter donation boxes.  If you want to be kept in touch with upcoming initiatives in Dunedin please let us know on dunedin@littlemiraclestrust.org.nz