East Bridgford mental health hospital Cygnet Maple House hosts big sleep out for baby loss charity 4Louis
Staff and patients at a metal health hospital have taken part in a sponsored sleep out for a baby loss charity.
Cygnet Maple House, a 16-bed hospital for women, in East Bridgford, has been fundraising for the charity 4Louis since the start of 2025.
On Friday, May 2, their charitable efforts continued — with staff and 13 patients camping outside in the grounds of the hospital in just their sleeping bags in return for sponsorship money.
It boosted their fundraising total to £1,152.
Hospital manager Nicola Mullender said: “The sleep out was a great success as both staff and patients loved trying something new and daring, especially without any tents. It is such a worthy cause and it was great so many people wanted to be involved.
“Everyone enjoyed the event and we had pizza, refreshments, an outdoor cinema and a musical performance by Georgia, one of Cygnet Health Care’s experts by experience. Our pharmacist came along with her dog, then our clinical manager made us all a hot chocolate at 4am so everyone was in high spirits.
“The patients reported that they want to do it again and are already planning future camping trips. One even said that the event helped her to be excited about life, so it’s really brilliant that everyone is dedicated to the charitable cause.”
4Louis supports anyone affected by miscarriage, stillbirth, and the death of a baby or child by providing memory boxes to help families remember their loved one, and offers free useful tools and training to hospital units, hospices, and other professionals who work with grieving families.
Cygnet Maple House kicked off its fundraising in January with an 11-mile sponsored walk around Kneeton, Gunthorpe and Caythorpe which raised more than £600, and then in March held a fundraising car boot sale which raised a further £230.
Nicola added: “Our aim is to try and raise as much money as possible in a year, doing lots of different events for a cause that would really benefit from our efforts.
“We have chosen 4Louis because this is a cause which can effect so many women and families as a whole and it is so important to bring awareness and try and do our bit to support families who suffer miscarriages and stillbirths.”
The staff and patients are now close to their fundraising goal of £1,500, and have further fundraising events planned in the year including a bake sale, a car wash and two more car boot sales.
