Tŷ Hafan Children’s Hospice has launched its new “Every Precious Life Appeal” which aims to raise £400,000 in just 60 hours.
Donations made within the 60 hour appeal window, which will start at 10am on Sunday November 23 and finish at 10pm on Tuesday November 25, will be doubled thanks to a match-fund pot the charity has put together.
Tŷ Hafan’s “Every Precious Life Appeal” focuses on stories of families who have experienced baby loss and who are being supported by Tŷ Hafan.
Emrys Arthur was just 8 days old when he passed away on 14 March 2024 after he was born prematurely at just 25 weeks.
His parents Gwenno George and Luke Nicholas, who live in Cardiff, were supported by Tŷ Hafan to be able to drive their beloved baby son’s body back to Gwenno’s home town, Criccieth, in North Wales, themselves where he was buried alongside other members of Gwenno’s family.
“We had eight days with Emrys,” said Gwenno. “It’ll never be enough, but were lucky to have eight precious days.”
Gwenno, Finance Director for Acuity Law, and Luke, who works for the Welsh Local Government Association, have also received counselling via Tŷ Hafan and benefit from ongoing bereavement support.
“I feel really lucky that we have this additional support, this additional family, in Tŷ Hafan. I find it difficult to think about families or couples who are having to go through what we’ve gone through without the support of Tŷ Hafan.”
Also sharing her story to support Tŷ Hafan’s “Every Precious Life Appeal” is Kath Keeble, from Merthyr Tydfil, mum of Tommy Keeble.
Tommy was also just eight days old when he died, after having been born prematurely at 31 weeks.
Kath, a community mental health worker, says: “I never really thought Tommy would be gone. I always thought: ‘No, this is going to be OK. This is just something that we have to go through. It’s horrific. But he’ll be OK.’
“After Tommy died my life did fall apart a bit and I became very poorly with suicidal thoughts. I just wanted to be with him. Ultimately I was admitted to a mental health ward and slowly, very slowly, they helped me to realise that I wasn’t a bad mum because I didn’t want Tommy to go.
“Without Tŷ Hafan, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Dan Bamsey, Head of Fundraising for Tŷ Hafan, said: “We’d like to thank Gwenno, Luke and Kath for their incredible bravery in sharing Emrys’ and Tommy’s stories with us to support our Every Precious Life Appeal.
“We’ve chosen to focus on our work with very young babies as this as an area where demand for our services has almost doubled. The number of babies aged 28 days old and under referred to us in 2023/2024 was 21, and in 2024/2025 it was 39. And in the first six months of this year we’ve already had 22 referrals.
“So this Christmas we’re aiming to raise £400,000 in just 60 hours to support more families of children with life-shortening conditions. All we ask is that people go to www.tyhafan.org/everypreciouslife any time between 10am on Sunday 23 November and 10pm on Tuesday 25 November and donate whatever they can. Because no family should have to live their child’s short life alone.”
Read:
Stori Emrys – Ty Hafan Cymraeg
Stori Tommy – Ty Hafan Cymraeg