Sunderland's 4Louis marks 15 years of helping bereaved parents and 250,000 memory boxes

It was on December 10, 2009, that Louis’ mam and dad, Kirsty and Michael Knight from Houghton, had to go through the trauma of giving birth to Louis stillborn, just 12 days before his due date.

Louis’ parents and their families managed to have some precious time with their baby boy, with Kirsty’s dad, Bob, even taking him to the Stadium of Light, as he had always planned to do.

And in the difficult months that followed, they decided to honour his name by delivering 10 memory boxes to Sunderland Royal in the hopes of bringing some tangible comfort to other parents suffering the same trauma.

Little did they realise that this gesture would snowball into national charity 4Louis.

Fifteen years after that first delivery, 4Louis has hit the milestone of delivering 250,000 memory boxes to hospitals and units across the country, supporting countless families, helping to change the national conversation around stillbirth grief, working with soap operas including Emmerdale and Coronation Street on their storylines involving child loss and racking up dozens of awards, from those given by local newspapers to Prime Ministers.

It’s an incredible way to honour Louis.

Speaking from the charity’s base in Pallion Trading Estate, which employs a team of nine who work alongside dozens of volunteers and charity ambassadors, Kirsty said: “It was meant to be a one off of 10 boxes which we delivered in January 2010.

“It was a way of channeling my grief in the first instance, when it was really raw, so I didn’t spiral into depression.

“Then family donated £200 and we made more boxes and delivered them to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. And by the end of that year we were delivering to hospitals across the North East. We never expected it to become what it has.”

Over the years, the charity has listened to the needs of bereaved parents and has adapted the boxes to meet their needs and faiths, including boxes for those who are Muslim called Ibraheem's Gift, as well as a Welsh language box.

Today, 4Louis delivers to 246 hospitals and 960 units, helping parents suffering the loss of a child to the age of 18 with memory boxes for those affected by miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal complications, paediatric boxes and boxes that remember those aged 5-18.

Their services also include providing Cuddle Cots, a cooling device which can fit into a Moses basket which allows parents to spend more time with their deceased baby.

“It’s a lot more talked about now. On social media, mums and public figures share their grief journey. It’s not shied away from,” said Kirsty, whose other children Mitchell, 14, Daisy-Mae, 7, and Oskar, 12, have all grown up knowing about their big brother.

Kirsty added: “The grief when you lose a parent or grandparent is totally different to the grief of losing a child. You grow up knowing that you will likely outlive a parent or grandparent, but when you’re pregnant you never expect to lose a child.

“But the memory boxes are something tangible that families can walk out with, to let them know that their child mattered and they are not alone in their grief.”

Louis would be 15 now, but his name lives on, as do the names of other children who were taken too soon.

A jigsaw wall called Angel Avenue at the 4Louis headquarters honours the names of hundreds of children whose families have been helped by the charity.

Among them is Ayla McNeil who passed away on January 5, 2015.

To mark the anniversary of her passing, her parents Claire and Robert from County Durham volunteered at 4Louis, as so many families do, to pack memory boxes for other bereaved parents.

Claire said: “We weren’t aware of 4Louis beforehand but were provided with one of their Cuddle Cots, meaning we could spend more time with Ayla which was unbelievably special.

“Just as we were leaving the hospital, they gave us a memory box, which was just lovely and we sat and read the book it contains, Guess How Much I Love You, to her.

“With her 10th anniversary, we wanted to do something positive to remember her, so came here to volunteer with our friends.“

Kirsty says they often keep in touch with the families who’ve been supported by the charity, and have been invited to many christenings and weddings over the years.

“We never expected it to become what it has,” she said. “Because of Louis so many families have been supported. We worked out that with the 250,000 boxes we’ve sent out in his name we could fill Wembley Stadium 16 and a half times over.

“To look back at what we’ve achieved is phenomenal

“You never know why it has to happen to you that you lose a child, but maybe this was the reason for him to be taken away, to help all these other people through difficult times.”

Like all charities, 4Louis relies heavily on donations and fundraisers come up with all kinds of ways to help the charity, from charity nights at venues such as The Wheatsheaf and The Ropery to sky dives and sponsored escape rooms.

This year, 310 runners will be donning the 4Louis colours in the Great North Run, with another 200 on the waiting list.

The charity would also like to move to purpose-built premises to help even more people as Louis’ legacy lives on.

*To learn more about 4Louis and to get involved in fundraising visit https://4louis.co.uk/

Why 4Louis is so needed

*1 in 250 pregnancies end in stillbirth

*Around 8 babies a day are stillborn

*1 in 4 women have experienced a miscarriage

*4Louis supplies more than 1,200 memory boxes a month to hospitals across the UK & Ireland

*The charity has supplied more than 300 cuddle cots to hospitals

Forthcoming 4Louis fundraising events

There’s a host of fundraising events taking place for 4Louis in 2025:

May 11: Sunderland 10k and half marathon

June 28: Yorkshire 3 Peaks

September 6: Junior and Mini Great North Run

September 7: Great North Run

October 1- 31: Silent Steps sponsored walks

October 4-5: Kielder Marathon

October 9 - 15: Host your own Big Cake Day

October 15: Wave of Light remembrance night

Throughout the year: Tough Mudder, sky dives and Ultra Challenge events