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PARENT REFERRAL

Meet the team

We wouldn’t be where we are today without our amazing team of dedicated staff, volunteers and trustees. Having been through neonatal care with their children, they’re passionate about providing support to other families experiencing similar situations.

Read their stories…

Kirsten

Founder & Operations Manager

My little boy Tom was born at 24 weeks in 2014 and spent 127 days in neonatal care. I met lots of parents on the neonatal unit, and we all supported each other. I found the transition from hospital to home really difficult. I was very anxious and found it difficult to engage with universal baby groups and communities. I really missed the relationships I had with my peers on the neonatal unit. I felt that I could create something to bring neonatal families together. I’m really proud to have grown Spoons organically from a community group to a thriving charity. I still offer peer support to families on the neonatal unit and am a trained peer supporter.

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Shahnaz

Family Support Coordinator

My youngest daughter was born at 29 weeks gestation and was diagnosed with Downs Syndrome. She also has an atrioventricular septal defect (ASVD). As a parent on the unit, I accessed support from the Spoon volunteers, which was very beneficial to me and my family. I later became a Spoons peer support volunteer and have helped many families. My role is to help parents navigate life on the neonatal unit and support them in the transition from hospital to home. I have a special interest in supporting families from Black, Asian and minority communities.

Pip

Community Group Coordinator

Our little boy Oscar was born at 27 weeks gestation. He was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit and the following day became severely poorly. He spent 110 days in hospital. When Oscar was discharged from NICU, Spoons groups became a place of comfort. I felt welcome, understood, relaxed and un-judged. My husband and I also benefitted from trauma therapy. As a Community Group Coordinator, I lead a variety of sessions. I have a background of working in primary schools with a focus on social, emotional mental health needs and neurodiversity. I’m honoured to now be part of the amazing team at Spoons and have the chance to support others to feel welcome, heard and understood.

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Aimée

Family Support Coordinator

In 2018 my son Leo was born at 29 weeks and spent nearly two months in neonatal care. The emotional impact of my experience on NICU didn’t hit home until I had my daughter 17 months later. She was born at 32 weeks and was also admitted onto the neonatal unit. As a parent I felt there was little understanding from mainstream groups and services about the challenges and impact of neonatal care. I turned to Spoons for support and found genuine empathy from people who shared similar experiences to my own. As a Family Support Coordinator, I help families with any challenges they may be facing. Along with the wider support team, I aim to develop and shape Spoons’ services to ensure that families receive the care and support that best meets their needs.

Katie

Volunteer Coordinator

My little girl Phoebe was born in 2016 at 24 weeks gestation and was immediately admitted to the neonatal unit, which became her only home. Phoebe sadly passed away at seven days old. I encountered Spoons following Phoebe’s passing, which became my lifeline by enabling me to channel my grief into fundraising to help other neonatal families whilst also accessing trauma therapy. My experience led me to change my career, and I went on to become a Funeral Director in 2018, supporting thousands of bereaved families. I now have the honour of working full time for Spoons in the role of Volunteer Coordinator, to ensure Spoons continues to thrive by recruiting, training and managing our peer support volunteers. On top of this, I hope to develop a bereavement peer support network for parents who devastatingly experience a neonatal loss.

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Sammy

Fundraising Manager

As Fundraising Manager at Spoons, I’m here to support you in turning your ideas, energy and experiences into something that can make a real difference for families who have experienced neonatal care.

Whether you’re thinking about organising your own fundraiser, taking on a personal challenge like a run, doing your own fundraising, or exploring how your workplace could partner with Spoons, I’ll be alongside you every step of the way.

Fundraising can be an empowering way to give back, to honour your own experience, or simply to stand alongside families who need support. However you choose to get involved, I’d love to hear from you and help you get started.

Trustees

Tracey

Chair

I became a Trustee of Spoons in 2019, after being made aware of the great work they delivered when I was developing the clinical service strategy as part of my role with the Northern Care Alliance. I’m a clinician by background, but latterly in my career went into leading transformation across complex health and care systems. My daughter was born at 34 weeks gestation and spent six weeks in NICU in Buckinghamshire in 1991, without any of the amazing support offered by Spoons. It was an emotionally difficult time, and I felt quite isolated and ill-equipped. I’m constantly blown away by the selfless work the peer volunteers provide and the difference it makes to parents experiencing neonatal care across Greater Manchesrer. My role as a Trustee is to apply my lived experience, management and leadership skills to help shape our strategic plans and operational delivery, in line with the national directives and local need.

Khadija

Trustee

My daughter Alizah was born eight weeks early and was admitted to neonatal care straight after birth. My brother was born prematurely 25 years ago, so my only experience of premature birth was based on this. During our five weeks on the unit, I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. The highs of Alizah having her first breast feed or coming out of the incubator paled in comparison to the lows of not being with her. I was supported by Spoons on the unit, and we continued our journey with Spoons once Alizah left NICU by attending coffee mornings and weaning sessions. I love the passion that Spoons trustees, fundraisers and volunteers have to support parents and families. I feel that I bring my personal experience and skills gained through working in the NHS to support the charity.

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Shaun

Trustee

I was compelled to apply to become a Trustee of the Board following my twins’ significant NICU experience. Our neonatal journey lasted 79 days and involved critical open heart surgery. This experience inspired me to run for 79 days each year, and to date, I’ve raised over £20,000 for neonatal charities, while building a community of runners and raising awareness of neonatal care. My professional background spans over 15 years in various data leadership and practitioner roles, focused on driving growth and optimisations across multiple industries. At Spoons, I leverage my expertise to enhance our support for neonatal families, aiming to drive better outcomes, and build a strong and resilient support system.

Pamela

Trustee

My second son was born almost 10 weeks premature at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and he spent a month-and-a-half on a neonatal unit. The start of the pandemic was a scary time for the whole world, but to have a baby on a neonatal unit during this period. where we didn’t really know anything about the virus. was nothing short of terrifying. I was in survival mode and my mental health suffered. When we finally got to take our son home, I realised we were victims of the healthcare postcode lottery and that the area we lived in didn’t commission neonatal outreach services. Thankfully a member of the nursing team had given Spoons’ details to my husband and, through the charity, we were able to access information that helped us care for our son in those early days. I was also personally able to receive trauma therapy. My professional background is in marketing, communications and fundraising, and I’m incredibly proud to be a Trustee of Spoons and to be supporting a charity that has given my own family so much.

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Becki

Trustee

My little boy, Isaac, was born by emergency C-section at 30 weeks and two days in September 2021. He spent nearly nine weeks on NICU before being discharged home in late November. I found the entire experience incredibly traumatic, but the presence of Spoons peer support volunteers on the unit were really significant in helping me and my husband through some of the toughest days. After Isaac was discharged, I really struggled to get back to ‘normal’, as I was incredibly reluctant to take him out and about for fear of him picking up an illness and getting poorly. It became really debilitating until I was able to access trauma therapy through Spoons and started to work through our experience. Spoons has been there for me and my family through every stage of our neonatal journey, and I really wanted to pay that support forward to other neonatal families, so I became a Trustee in May 2023. In my professional life, I’m a solicitor, so I bring my legal and regulatory skills to the board, as well as my personal experiences of neonatal care.

Bethany

Trustee

My son was born in 2024 via emergency c-section at 28+3 weeks old. It was a huge shock and one that I was not prepared for both practically and emotionally. We spent 64 days in Stepping Hill NICU and tried to quickly adapt to our new routine of caring for a very tiny baby who needed support with breathing and tube feeding. During our time on the unit I really benefited from chatting to our Spoons peer support volunteer who would sit with me on tough days, answer my questions and understood what we were going through. It made such a difference to find a community of staff and volunteers who just ‘got it’. The neonatal experience can be stressful and incredibly lonely but I really appreciated Spoons checking in on me in person and over the phone, and welcoming us at their baby sensory groups once we were discharged from hospital. The work that Spoons do to support neonatal families is vital and I’m very proud to be able to contribute my communications skills and charity experience to the team.