Tommy’s, the UK’s leading pregnancy charity who are working to make the UK the safest place to give birth, hold a special place in our hearts at babyballet. To support their work, our bi-annual Danceathon events take place in our classes across England, Scotland and Wales by raising money to help move research forwards and save babies’ lives.

The Tommy’s Danceathon is a truly magical time when we see our huge babyballet family working together to raise money in such an incredible way. babyballet franchisees and dance teachers host their Danceathons around the country during their baby ballet classes, where thousands and thousands of babyballet stars and their grown-ups join in. Each child can open their own Tommy’s Danceathon fundraising account and this year, their friends and families sponsored them to wear their brightest, most colourful clothes to embark on a magical dancing quest to find the missing colours of the rainbow! It really does bring everyone together and we all have so much fun!

Sadly, every one of us knows someone who has been affected by baby loss.

Tommy’s believes losing a baby should never be ‘just one of those things’ and is working tirelessly to reduce the UK’s unacceptable rates of miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth. Here at babyballet we are beyond proud to support them in their work, as it does and will continue to have an effect on so many people we know. We know baby loss will never go away, but helping to minimise it as much as possible through research and education, will save so many heartbreaks, plus the support for those who have experienced it will only improve and help to bring understanding as to why and, in time, bring some closure.

We have many parents/guardians of our babyballet stars, who have experienced the heartbreaking loss of their baby, all at different stages, for different reasons, and have coped in different ways. One brave Mummy decided to share her story this year, in hopes of encouraging others to talk, seek help from Tommys, and send a message of comfort. Samanta and her beautiful rainbow baby, Penelope, fundraised in the Tommy’s Danceathon in memory of her big sister, Scarlett. 

“Raising money won’t make the pain go away, but it will make a difference in people’s lives.”

You can read Samanta’s story here.

Tommy’s Danceathon babyballet

Families like Caroline and Mark self-referred to Professor Quenby’s clinic in Coventry and had specialist care from Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research after being heartbroken by recurrent miscarriages.

“We self-referred to Professor Quenby’s clinic in Coventry, not really knowing what they might be able to do but just desperate for someone to do something… We’re incredibly grateful to Tommy’s and Dr. Quenby’s research for our miracle baby.”

After suffering 3 miscarriages, baby boy Teddy was born on 28 March 2020, at just 27 weeks gestation. He weighed a tiny 2lbs3 and was instantly taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for ventilation. The next 10 weeks were the hardest of their lives. 

You can read their full story here.

After holding our fundraising event for Tommy’s this October, we are so proud to be able to make this announcement:

Drum roll please… babyballet® stars, YOU HAVE HELPED SAVE BABIES LIVES! 

It is our pleasure to announce that our Danceathon has raised an incredible £319,319k in total for Tommy’s the UK’s leading baby charity! This could fund their National Centre for Miscarriage Research for 9 months, allowing their clinical teams to continue to support families with specialist care and to develop treatments that will save babies’ lives. 

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our wonderful families, and of course fantastic teachers, for the support you showed to this event. It makes us so proud to think that with our help, Tommy’s can continue working towards their goal of halving the number of babies’ lives lost by 2030. 

Well done and from all of us, THANK YOU!

 #DancingForABrighterFuture #babyballet #TommysDanceathon #SavingBabiesLives 

We would like to thank everyone who has been involved in supporting the Tommy’s Danceathon. Please look out for some exciting news earlier next year as we continue our mission to dance for a brighter future… 

Our fundraising will continue and Tommy’s will never give up!