Whittington Babies Committee

Whittington Babies deserves to win Volunteer Team of the Year because everything we do is powered entirely by volunteers. What makes our charity so special is the team itself: parents with lived experience of neonatal intensive care working side by side with NICU staff for families at their most vulnerable.

This year, one of our biggest challenges was the threat of closure hanging over our unit during the NHS Start Well consultation. We came together and campaigned to save the unit, protecting a vital service for babies and families.

Our work begins from the moment a baby is admitted. We welcome parents with practical support, including free packs containing water bottles and cooler bags for breast milk. Just as importantly, parents on our team offer peer-to-peer support rooted in understanding of the exhaustion and uncertainty that NICU families face.

We also fund the extras that make a real difference including medical equipment the NHS does not provide. We pay for Chiltern Music Therapy which helps parents bond with their baby even across the barrier of an incubator through gentle soothing music.

Beyond the unit, we have built a thriving online community from scratch, with more than 1,000 engaged Instagram followers who eagerly follow our stories of babies going home.

Our annual tea party reunites families and staff to celebrate how far generations of babies have come. In our 40th year, this award would be a wonderful tribute to a team built on the future of tiny feet.