A Christchurch charity that began with 10 care packages has now delivered more than 45,000, offering comfort to parents and caregivers facing the uncertainty of a child’s hospital stay.

One Mother to Another is marking its 10th anniversary with a fundraising appeal to continue supporting families, including those with sick and premature babies in neonatal care.

Chief executive and cofounder Joy Reid told chrislynchmedia.com the charity’s approach was shaped by the loneliness she experienced when her firstborn son, Jono, needed neonatal care in 2013.

“I felt like I was a mama bear who’d had her bear cub taken off her, and I knew Jono was in the right place getting the medical care that he needed, but I wasn’t prepared for, I guess, the psychological journey that I was going on.”

While making toast in the unit’s tea room, another mother acknowledged how difficult the experience was and shared some of her own story.

Reid could no longer remember the woman’s appearance or exact words, but the encounter stayed with her.

“For the first time in that experience, I felt seen.”

Three years later, Christina Buckland delivered 10 care packages to the hospital ward where her own child had been treated, wanting to ease the vulnerability and isolation other parents were experiencing.

When Buckland told Reid what she had done, it brought back memories of that conversation in the neonatal unit.

The pair began making more packages, increasing their deliveries from 10 to 20, then 30 as the initiative grew.

“It was just us seeing the impact that we could make for other parents that spurred us on to want to keep going.”

The charity now supports families across the South Island. Its packages contain practical essentials, small comforts and a handwritten message, and its work also extends to mothers experiencing perinatal mental distress.

But there were moments when its future was uncertain.

Around the time of the pandemic, Reid said the workload and changes within the organisation prompted questions about whether One Mother to Another would continue

This time, she watched a nurse give one of its packages to a mother who had endured a particularly difficult 24 hours.

Reid recalled the woman breaking down in tears and asking why a stranger would do something so kind for her.

“It was in that moment that I made a really quiet promise to myself that I would do everything I possibly could to help every mother sitting in that chair going forward.”

Research undertaken around the charity’s anniversary had since sought to measure that impact.

Reid said the findings estimated a social return of $7.87 for every dollar invested in One Mother to Another, reflecting benefits to wellbeing beyond the initial gift.

Of those who responded to surveys, 97 percent said receiving a package made a big or huge difference to feeling seen, cared for and valued, while nearly 90 percent reported an improvement in their mental wellbeing.

As Christmas approaches, the charity is asking the public to help fund its next deliveries through a Givealittle anniversary appeal.

Reid said that support could reach anyone keeping watch at a child’s hospital bedside, including mothers, fathers, grandparents and other caregivers.

“We really want to continue to be there for other parents in a space where they don’t know they’re going to need to have that encouragement.”

Hundreds of volunteers contribute to the charity’s work, alongside donors and community supporters.

“We just couldn’t do it without them, and of course without the financial support from very generous people.”

People can donate through the Givealittle appeal or find out about volunteering and other ways to help on the One Mother to Another website.