When a parent has to leave hospital without their child, they shouldn’t have to leave feeling completely alone.
Bags of Sunshine are thoughtfully created bereavement bags, given with love to parents at one of the hardest moments of their lives. Your support today means the next 200 bags can reach families who need them.
There are no words for the moment a parent walks out of a hospital without their child.
Everything that was their world, is suddenly behind them. The ward. The nurses who knew their baby's name. The machines they learned to read. All of it, left behind. The life they imagined for their child. The memories they would build together.
What they carry out is grief. And in the midst of that grief, they need to know: somebody thought of you. You are not invisible. You are not alone.
The bags began with Aimee and Mark Beaumont, Freddie's mum and dad. After losing their son, they came to Imagine This with an idea: to create something for the parents who walk out of hospital without their child. Something warm. Made with care in Freddie's memory. Together we made it happen.
Aimee and Mark have been hand-delivering 100 bags to bereavement teams across the North of England, including Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Salford Royal, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Salford Royal's community team, and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals. More hospitals are now asking for them, having heard from colleagues about the difference they make. The demand has grown far faster than anyone expected.
Inside every bag:
- Jute Bag
- Weighted Teddy
- Lip Balm
- Candle
- Notebook & Pen
- Wildflower seed packets
- Cooling face mask
- Tangle Toy
- A fidget ring
- Tissues
- Info Leaflets
- Tea Sachets
- Coffee Sachets
- Biscuits
- Organza Bags
- Short Stories - by Donna Ashworth
One bag arrived at the hospital; Aimee was handing them out when they met a recently bereaved family. They fell in love with the weighted soft animal in the bag, a sloth, because it had been the child's spirit animal; he had carried a sloth everywhere. The bag felt like it had been made for them.
The teddies have brought comfort not just to the parents who receive them, but to the siblings left behind too.
A nurse receiving bags for her bereavement team wrote:
"In those darkest moments, the kindness behind these bags offers a gentle reminder that they are not alone, and that others are holding them in their hearts."
"In those darkest moments, the kindness behind these bags offers a gentle reminder that they are not alone, and that others are holding them in their hearts."
Another wrote:
"I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for the generous donation of the support bags. These will make a profound difference to parents facing the unimaginable pain of losing a child unexpectedly. Thank you for recognizing this need and for helping us offer dignity, warmth and understanding to families during the most difficult of times."
No bag undoes what has happened. But they can create a spark of hope.
These bags are designed to be opened later, in the quieter, harder days that come after. The candles lit on a difficult evening. The seeds planted in a moment of quiet hope. The notebook opened when something needs to be written down.
The weighted animal. Held.
Each item was chosen not to fix anything. But to say: We are still here. We are still thinking of you.
The first round of bags has been delivered. The response has been extraordinary. More hospitals across the North of England are already asking for them. The need hasn’t slowed down.
Aimee put it perfectly:
"Such a strange mix of emotions: being both incredibly proud, and so sad that these are in such demand."
With your support, we can fund the next 200 bags and reach every hospital that has asked.
A gift of £44.50 could pay for a complete bag for one bereaved family. Or you can give whatever feels right:
- £14.79 could pay for the weighted teddy that brings comfort through the night
- £4.92 could cover the cost of the bag, stitched and printed with love
- £4.47 could cover a candle and a notebook: small comforts for long, quiet evenings
- £0.76 could plant wildflower seeds: a quiet symbol of hope
Your kindness means a bag will be waiting for a parent who needs it. Because of you, they won’t leave hospital feeling alone.
Thank you for caring.
