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July is Group B Strep Awareness Month, and what a wonderful month it was.
This month was all about raising awareness of the new group B Strep information leaflet and making sure one gets to every pregnant woman in the UK. With your support, during July we distributed nearly 15,000 information leaflets about group B Strep to individuals, companies and hospitals. We also challenged our supporters to get involved and part-take in one of our fun & easy fundraisers. From the British 10K and Strep B Stomps to Charity Fashion Shows and The Big GBSS Bake Sales, read about what some our fabulous fundraisers have been up to this July.
We started the month with a Thunderclap that reached nearly a 1/3 of a million people with information about group B Strep on Facebook and Twitter.
We launched our online research survey into the long-term impact of late-onset GBS infection, which so far has had over 400 responses. Please note that the closing date for this survey is Friday, 31 August 2018. so if you haven’t got round to completing it then please do so here.
On the 4 July we held a successful drop-in event in the House of Commons gaining the support of MPs from across the UK, including a Health Minister and several Shadow Ministers.
Brave families shared their story with the press, and reached thousands of people with information about GBS. Here are just a couple of the stories which were featured across the UK:
- Volunteer Ambassador Ame Jenkins spoke to her local paper about her experience of GBS with baby Lilee.
- Young parents Amy and Scot shared their tragic story of baby Mia’s death from GBS infection with the MailOnline and the Metro.
Raising Awareness
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Our aim for July was for our new group B Strep information leaflet to reach every single pregnant woman in the UK. We have sent nearly 15,000 leaflets to health professional this month, double our average monthly leaflet order.
Thanks to the amazing support and fundraising of our supporters, we are able to send out free informational materials to medical professionals and families. We have had over 90 supporters ordering Awareness Packs to display in their local GP’s, medical practitioners, nurseries and work places. Including the 1000 we sent to hospitals and maternity units throughout the UK. These included all the necessary information and materials to display and raise awareness of group B Strep.
We have posted a Fact-a-Day about GBS to combat common myths about GBS, along with sharing inspirational stories of those affected by GBS and the incredible fundraising events taking place during Group B Strep Awareness Month. Thank you to everyone who’s helped us raise awareness throughout July and beyond.
If you haven’t ordered a FREE Awareness Pack yet, they are still available from our online shop
The Strep B Stomp
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On Sunday 1st July, following last year’s successful event, we hosted a family fun run in Victoria Park, Worthing, with local supporter Tania Burrell, to raise funds for the charity and awareness of how to prevent most group B Strep infection in newborn babies. This year’s Strep B Stomp was again another huge success and has raised over £3000 so far. You can read more about the Worthing Strep B Stomp here.
New for 2018 we have had over 70 people sign up and take part in our Virtual Strep B Stomp. From walking, jogging, running, cycling and even walking a horse, we have been blown away by how creative our participants have been in getting involved. And it’s not too late! If July didn’t work for then you can still sign up here and take part wherever and whenever you want and you’ll get a medal for your efforts. Visit our gallery today to see just some of the pictures we have received from supporters taking part in our 5K Virtual Strep B Stomp challenge.
Our next Strep B Stomp will be held on the 12th August at Nowton Park, Bury St Edmunds. It’s all about having fun, so you can walk, run, push a buggy or toddle! And there will be fun family activities to take part in on the day too. Why not bring a picnic and relax after your fundraising efforts! Registration is from 10am with the fun run starting at 11am. Each entrant will get a free t-shirt, a race number, and a finisher’s medal at the end. And under 5’s go free!
GBSS on the road
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We were delighted to hold a drop-in event for MPs to meet us in the House of Commons to mark Group B Strep Awareness Month and learn more about how they could help prevent GBS infection
The event was a great success, with MPs from all across the UK attending. A particular highlight was having Steve Brine MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care joining us and agreeing to follow up with Public Health England on group B Strep.
MP can be powerful champions for our campaign for more awareness of group B Strep. If you haven’t already, you too can contact your local MP and ask them to support our work and Group B Strep Awareness Month.
Whiston Hospital in Merseyside, invited our Chief Executive Jane Plumb MBE to give a talk to local midwives about group B Strep and the latest RCOG guidelines. Jane’s presentation was well received, and we are always delighted to share our expertise on group B Strep. If your local hospital would like to update their knowledge, and discuss the key issues around group B Strep during pregnancy, labour and in the first few months after birth, please contact us to learn more.
The Big GBSS Bake Sale
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So many of you all over the UK joined in and hosted a Big GBSS Bake Sale during July’s Group B Strep Awareness Month. Again these were huge successes and raised an incredible amount of awareness, as well as over £600 so far nationally. Thank you!
You can still get involved. Hosting a bake sale is a fun and easy way to raise money for GBSS. Host it at home, work or in the community.
Sign up for your FREE Big GBSS Bake Sale Fundraising Pack, which includes everything you need to make your bake sale a success. Including a complimentary T-shirt, posters, informational leaflets, balloons and cake toppers.
