January 2017 Newsletter

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January 2017 Newsletter

A newsletter from heartfelt

Newsletter - January 2017

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President's Message

Dear {Contact_First_Name},

Welcome to Heartfelt's first public newsletter.

My name is Gavin Blue and I have the honour of being the President of this very special organisation.

You are receiving this email because at some point you registered at our website to either attend an event, support us, enquire about being a member or sponsor a session/camera-kit/inkless print kit.

We have always been a very private organisation but we want to start to share a little of the work our amazing members do for families.

In this and future quarterly newsletters we will be sharing some of the feedback we get from families who have requested our services, profile a few of our 300+ members across Australia and New Zealand, as well as share different activities and projects that we are involved in.

Heartfelt is driven by a deep commitment to make a difference to families who face the loss of a child. We are always looking for ways to reach more families.

2016 was an incredibly busy year for Heartfelt. We looked after a record 1,519 families and in April we experienced our busiest month ever with 198 sessions provided. Behind each of these numbers is a world of grief for the families with far reaching impacts.

Many of our members know first hand the heartache of losing a child, as well as the benefit of having beautiful images that are easy to share with friends and family and that is what drives us.

We all hope that our service was able to offer these families some comfort inside of their experience.

As an organisation, we are humbled daily by the extraordinary acts of kindness by our members and tremendous courage of families.

It is an honour to be a Heartfelt member.

Gavin Blue
Heartfelt President

Feedback from Families

Each week we receive message from the families we look after (sometimes years after they have received their photos) here are a few we have received recently.

"These photos are amazing, memories and pictures

are all we have now so thank you very much"

"Sadly my daughter and husband had to use your service

on wednesday morning for their son. It was such a

comfort to them knowing after his birth someone would

be there to help them capture special memories. .

Thank you for your service it was wonderful."

"We cannot thankful the beautiful Emma Hutton

and the Heartfelt team for the amazing photos and memories

we will now have for a lifetime. Our little mate, Scotty, was diagnosed

with an inoperable brain tumour in April and this gift from

Heartfelt has truly lifted spirits and given his family precious

memories to hold onto. From Scott's Mum and myself,

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts"

"Words cannot describe what I felt today when I received

your precious box in the mail. The presentation, the photos

and the USB stick. Just Beautiful.

My little angel has some more precious photos and

gives me more precious memories.

Thank you to an amazing organization."

"Me and my partner received our heartfelt photos today,

receiving them was such a lovely moment,

getting to see our Lola's face again captured absolutely beautifully "

Member in Focus

Amy Mellicent Bergman - Qld member

Where do you live?

I live in Jimboomba, an hour south of Brisbane.

How long have you been a part of Heartfelt?

I joined Heartfelt in July 2012. I took on the role of state coordinator in October 2013 and held the role for almost three years.

What's your family like?

My partner Greg and I have been together for ten years and we have five boys between us. Our lives are busy and loud, but full of love!

If you won the lotto, would you still be a photographer?

Yes. Think of camera gear I could buy!

What motivated you to join Heartfelt?

I first learnt about Heartfelt back when it was ACOCP. I always thought it was something that I'd like to be involved in. In 2009 we had a holiday in Sydney, our first together as a family seven. By chance I came across Heartfelt's photo exhibition and was taken aback by how beautiful and meaningful it was.

What has been your most profound experience with Heartfelt?

I will always remember my first day on 'the job'. In the morning I visited my local hospital and photographed a beautiful full term, stillborn baby girl. A few hours later I answered a request at our major Brisbane hospital for a darling baby boy with a critical heart condition. He passed away a few days later. Both babies hold a special place in my heart, as do the many others I have met since then. Each session since then has been profound or special in its own way. It never ceases to amaze me what a privilege it is to be able to help these families in their time of need.

What do you do to prepare or debrief from a session?

Before I enter a session I always make sure I take a few quiet moments to gather my thoughts and prepare to meet a family. In terms of debriefing, I have a wonderful group of friends I have met through Heartfelt that lend an ear whenever its needed!

What would you say to photographers who are considering joining, but are having some reservations?

It's totally normal to question whether you could do this kind of work. It can be confronting, challenging, and often upsetting. But its also incredibly rewarding. Without sounding dramatic, it has quite literally changed my life. If you have thought about becoming a member I would encourage you to chat with your local members or state coordinator. They are always happy to answer your questions!

Amy, thank you for being a member

2016 Heartfelt Session Statistics

Here is the breakdown of Heartfelt sessions across Australia and New Zealand during 2016

ACT - 19

NSW - 299

NT - 11

NZ - 239

QLD - 388

SA - 98

Tas - 45

Vic - 353

WA - 67

1,519 sessions

Let Us Run With You

We know everyone deals with the loss of a child differently.

Sometimes, when the grief is raw, it can be a victory to get just to get out of bed each day.

At Heartfelt, we like the idea of parents turning to exercise as they begin restore themselves physically and emotionally to help them come to terms with their loss.

We would like to support parents on this path, by offering Heartfelt running tops with the option of having your child's name and date subtly displayed (on the sleeve for shirts and hip for singlets).

We also like the idea of family and friends joining parents to support them on their health and fitness journeys, knowing their discomfort is nothing compared to the loss of a child.

If you get a team together (of at least three people), choose a fun run/walk/activity and we can print customised tops for you at the subsidised cost of $30. All we need is five weeks notice.

We are very keen to support people organising groups in a variety of different exercise and fitness endeavours across the country.

There is absolutely no obligation, but if you wish to raise funds for Heartfelt, this can easily be done at: www.mycause.com.au.

Currently we have 2 events that families are building teams for

Sunday 9 April - Runs for the Kids - Melbourne

Sunday 23 April - Werribee Mansion Run - (near Melbourne)

Please get in contact if there is another event you would like to build a team for.
president@heartfelt.org.au

Thank you
The Heartfelt Team

Giveaway (now closed)

Grieving Parents - Surviving Loss as a Couple

"Losing the younger of our identical twin girls on the third day of her life totally shocked us. We had barely grown used to the identity of being 'first time parents' before we also donned the title of 'bereaved parents.' But there was more to come..." The loss of a child affects the whole family, especially the parents and their relationship. The journey of grief has no set timeline or steps, but unfolds as each person travels in their very own way. This book will help you: understand differences in female and male grieving find the best way to support yourself individually and as a couple bring awareness, acceptance and understanding to the grieving process adjust to life post-loss and reemerge as a stronger couple be a support to grieving parents"

We have 10 copies of the Grieving Parents book by Nathalie Himmelrich to give away.
(Which have been generously donated by Nathalie)

We will randomly give books to 10 people who reply to the newsletter with
"love" in the subject line.

You can find out about Nathalie here:
www.nathaliehimmelrich.com and
www.grievingparents.net
or find her on FB: www.facebook.com/ nathaliehimmelrich and www.facebook.com/grievingparents.net

The book is available to purchase from this link
http:// www.booktopia.com.au/ grievi.../ prod9780989934770.html

The Heartfelt Team

Donate

Heartfelt : giving the gift of photographic memories is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) from 01 Jul 2014. It is covered by Item 1 of the table in section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

Heartfelt is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission

Heartfelt is a free service offered across Australia and New Zealand and is funded by members, supporters and donations.

Through the generosity of our members and supporters, we have got the costs for each session down to $65.

If you are considering donating to heartfelt, one option we invite you to consider is donating the cost of a session. When you do this, you know that there is one more family that will benefit from our service.

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