Join Tommy’s first Walk for Hope ahead of Baby Loss Awareness Week

Half of people in the UK have experienced baby loss or know someone who has. Every year Baby Loss Awareness Week is an opportunity to bring a community together and give anyone who has experienced pregnancy or baby loss a supportive space to share their experiences and feel that they are not alone.

Our Tommy’s Walk for Hope is a new event aiming to bring together the Tommy’s community while helping raise money for our vital research and support services which help save babies’ lives.

Tommy’s supporters can choose from either 2.5K or 5K distance through Battersea Park, and are encouraged to request donations in advance through JustGiving.  

Children, buggies, friendly dogs on leads are all welcome, and participants can join in alone or as part of a group, and take as long as they need to finish the route.

There will be a warm and inviting event village with hot food and drink on offer, as well as interactive activities and music performances after the walk, including a set by singer and our supporter Sophie Daniels who devastatingly lost daughter Liberty in 2011 the day before Liberty was born.

Kicking off the Walk for Hope with a warmup are fitness influencers the Townsend twins, Chloe and Francesca. After losing a second baby through miscarriage recently, Francesca spoke to Tommy’s, and backed our Miscarriage Matters campaign to stop women and birthing people having to wait until a third miscarriage until they receive support or tests.  

"I'd really love to raise funds and more awareness for women who are in need of more support,” she says about her involvement in Walk for Hope.

Every participant will be sent a paper lantern and LED candle in their Walk for Hope pack ahead of the event, which ends at the bandstand where lanterns will be placed together to create a beautiful temporary memorial to little lives lost.

Annabel Tompkins, Tommy’s Head of Community Events and Engagement says:  

“We’re so looking forward to bringing Tommy’s supporters together at what we hope will become an annual event. When you sign up, you'll join a close community walking together for much-loved babies gone too soon.  

“You'll have the opportunity to reflect and remember with other families who understand, and with every step, you’ll help Tommy’s bring lifechanging support to families on their pregnancy journey.”