We are supporting Dandelion Military Families to help military parents who have experienced pregnancy, baby and child loss.
One of our newest partners is Dandelion Military Families, a grassroots organisation dedicated to improving the parental mental health and early parenthood experiences of military families. Its online peer support network connects individuals with others facing similar issues, reassuring them that they are not alone, and helping them to find the support they need.
We have awarded a grant of £2,420 to the organisation’s pioneering project, The Whispering Wind, for military parents who have experienced pregnancy, baby and child loss. The project’s aim is to provide bereaved military parents, both serving and non-serving, with a channel for their grief and an opportunity to remember their children, to share their names and memories in a safe space.
During Baby Loss Awareness Week (9–15 October 2024), a specially commissioned commemorative installation and garden of reflection, created on behalf of Dandelion Military Families, will be situated in the grounds of the Defence Academy at Shrivenham. The installation features over 100 different personalised windmills, each of which will denote a bereaved military family, together with a specially commissioned sculpture, handcrafted by members of 8 Parachute Field Company REME, to commemorate those babies and children not represented individually.
The installation will remain in place during Baby Loss Awareness Week, when families will be able to visit, should they wish. Our grant will enable Dandelion Military Families to send personalised windmills after the event to each of the bereaved parents, wherever they are based around the world.
Lynsey Spencer is one of the three founders of Dandelion Military Families. She said:
“The Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) has provided us with a generous grant, which enables us to send each of the personalised windmills to bereaved parents, wherever in the world they are stationed, as a memento and enduring symbol of solidarity from the wider military community.
“Thank you, ABF, for supporting our work during Baby Loss Awareness Week and for your ongoing dedication to our community, we are incredibly grateful.”
Peter Monteith, Chief Operating Officer, Army Benevolent Fund, said:
“We are proud to award a grant to Dandelion Military Families, which is doing so much to improve the mental health of military parents. This project is a moving tribute for those families who have experienced pregnancy, child and baby loss; and will help to raise awareness among the wider military community of the challenges these families face.”