Simba was delighted to exhibit at the Collaboration for Change VHS Annual Conference this year.
We are a values led charity and we are at our best when we work in collaboration, supporting each other, celebrating diversity and using collective skills and abilities to achieve a common goal. We work closely with other baby loss charities to advance our shared aim in alleviating the suffering and addressing health issues and social wellbeing of those affected by baby loss in Scotland. Together, we believe that no family has to face this journey alone.
Established in 2005, Simba is the only charity in Scotland focusing on providing memory making opportunities to families who experience the loss of a baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death. Our work is delivered across the whole of Scotland reaching around 2500 families annually.
In the UK, 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage, with 1 in 250 resulting in stillbirth. Yet, many families facing these tragedies struggle to access the emotional support they desperately need. At Simba, we have been working tirelessly since 2005 to change this by providing free, compassionate support to parents grieving the loss of their baby.
Baby loss has a profound impact on family dynamics as each family member processes grief in their own way. Within both the immediate and extended family there is often a collective struggle to process the trauma of what has happened. We strongly believe early intervention in baby bereavement care reduces the prevalence of long-term complex mental health issues for which treatment is at a high cost to the NHS. Our work also strengthens family bonds as parents, siblings and grandparents can collectively remember their much missed piece of their family for years following their loss.
In the last 20 years, we have supported over 120,000 families and our work was recognised in 2024 when we received the People’s Choice Award at the SCVO Scottish Charity Awards.
We offer our unique Memory Boxes to over 2,500 families each year, giving parents a safe way to preserve precious memories of their baby. Each box contains meaningful keepsakes, acknowledgment tokens, and tools to help families express their grief, ensuring they feel seen, loved, and cared for. The boxes are made of the following:
Small Box – Stage of Miscarriage: up to 14 weeks
We honour babies who have died in the first trimester and the size of the box reflects the babies’ size. Contents of each box includes: 2 hand knitted teddies, a blanket, crocheted butterfly, wooden star, and a birth acknowledgement certificate.
Medium Box – Stage of Miscarriage: 14-24 weeks
Our late miscarriage box is designed to create memories with a baby who has died in the second trimester. Contents: 2 knitted teddies, 2 butterfly charms, photo folder, birth acknowledgement certificate, baby wash, clay imprint Kit & Touched by You blankets.
Large Box – Stage of Miscarriage: Over 24 weeks and Neonatal
Our large box is for babies that are stillborn and allows parents to gather precious memories with their baby. Contents: Contains the same items as the other boxes plus a brush set and wisp of hair box.
Our amazing Volunteers: We provide volunteering opportunities within the local area of our head office in Edinburgh, where groups meet on a weekly basis to sort through all of our knitted donations that are sent to us to make up the Memory Boxes. They also carefully make up Memory Boxes that have been requested from health professionals and parents. We also welcome corporate groups to our office to volunteer and have thousands of volunteers across the UK and beyond, knitting items for our Memory Boxes.
“We lost our baby at 22 weeks. What I have because of our Simba Memory Box are treasures to me now. Without the Box, I’d never have been able to read my baby a story before I said goodbye. I’m eternally grateful. Thank you for doing something so invaluable and giving me everything I didn’t even know I needed.”
We were delighted to welcome Simba Charity to our Health Creation Hub at this year’s Annual Conference.
