Matilda Mae Memorial Auction to raise money for cot death research

Parent bloggers from across the UK are banding together to launch an online charity auction this month, to raise funds for research into Sudden Infant Death Syndrome SIDS), following the death of nine-month-old Matilda Mae Henley.

Award-winning blogger and mum-of-three Jennie Henley put baby Matilda to bed as normal on February 2, 2013. But just a few short hours later, Matilda had stopped breathing, a victim of SIDS.

Jennie hopes that the Matilda Mae Memorial Auction, in aid of The Lullaby Trust, will help fund vital research into infant death, and perhaps help other families avoid this kind of devastating loss in future.

Jennie says: “As I battle my way through each day without Matilda I am comforted by friends and family. I am surviving by keeping busy and by knowing that sadly I am not the first mother to make this journey and regretfully I will not be the last.

“Because of the people who have been so kind to me and for the people who I hope I can help in the future, I want to raise awareness of SIDS and raise money for the trust that supports families affected by it and carries out research into preventing it, SIDS, what we commonly know as cot death.”

The Matilda Mae Memorial Auction launches on 11 May 2013, and will run for nine days, one for each month of Matilda’s life.

The launch coincides with The Lullaby Trust’s annual “Mile in Memory” walks, where thousands of members of the public walk a mile in memory of someone special, to help raise funds for research into FSID.

The Matilda Mae Memorial Auction is being held on eBay, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to The Lullaby Trust, the UK’s leading baby charity aiming to prevent unexpected deaths in infancy and promote infant health.

During the nine-day auction, parent bloggers across the UK will be writing about the Matilda Mae Auction, and encouraging their readers to take part and help raise vital funds in memory of Matilda Mae.

“UK Parent bloggers have a combined audience of more than 7.5m people, and we want to reach as many of those people as possible with Matilda Mae’s story,” said Sally Whittle, founder of Tots100, the UK parent blogger network. “The auction will raise vital funds for research into FSID, and thanks to the support of our community, and the brands we work with, we have some amazing items to auction.”

Some of the UK’s biggest family brands are supporting the Matilda Mae Memorial Auction with donations, including Thorpe Park, Annabel Karmel, Cossato and Medela.

For more information about the auction, please visit Ghostwriter Mummy, one of the Mummy bloggers helping to organise the auction.

Staff Writer