The Invisible Thread of Love: Supporting GOSH and CIAO LAPO

Our Story: The Flamingo Symbol

As Elena's birth approached, I asked my daughter Margaret to choose a small gift for her baby sister. She picked a beautiful flamingo-shaped doudou.
Elena was born on April 7th, after a wonderful delivery. On April 8th, when Margaret came to visit me in the hospital, Elena had already been transferred to intensive care. Margaret decided to take home the little bag that held the gift for Elena, but unfortunately, that bag was lost during the journey from my room to the taxi.
Two days later, on April 10th, Elena was admitted to GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital), in the Flamingo ward. "See? It's as if that flamingo has come back to her," said my husband Alessandro.
From that day, the flamingo became a recurring symbol in our lives, appearing at particular moments—not just after Elena passed away, but even before, while I was pregnant with her.

The Project: a bookmark dedicated to Elena


I decided to channel the profound love we have for our daughter and the immense gratitude for having had her. That’s how the idea of a bookmark was born, symbolically representing Elena and our story of rebirth.
The quote on the front of the bookmark holds a meaning as deep as the flamingo itself.
It was May, and I was in Puglia when I decided to treat myself to a massage. The masseuse greeted me with a warm smile and bright, luminous eyes. She handed me a welcome envelope she had made, with those words so full of meaning:
"One day, we decided to be something else, forever."
She explained that the words had been swirling in her mind all morning, so she decided to write them on that envelope. She didn’t know anything about my story, yet those words were meant for me, like a message that tells of a connection beyond the physical. I believe we are more than what we see and touch; I am convinced we can expand far beyond.
On the envelope, there were also fresh leaves placed as decoration. I thought there could be no better symbol: a leaf draws nourishment from both the earth and the sky, suspended between two worlds, in constant communication.

Sadly, events like these will continue to happen. Even I thought they were far from my life, and yet we found ourselves in the middle of a storm. If we managed to navigate that emotional turmoil, it was thanks to the delicate, constant and extraordinary support we received.

The Fundraiser


With this bookmark, I am launching a fundraiser to support:

* GOSH ( Great Ormond Street Hospital ): a world-renowned pediatric hospital for research and innovation, which supported us with extraordinary humanity.

* Ciao Lapo: founded by Claudia Ravaldi, this Italian non-profit organisation offers psychological support to families facing prenatal or perinatal loss. Through its website, social pages, and books, it helps countless families navigate this dark, complex, and challenging labyrinth.

Because, in the end, it is possible to find a way out of that labyrinth. The light will return, just as our children will always remain with us.

Suggested donation:

* starting from £5 (shipping included in the UK)

Larger donations are always welcome and deeply appreciated!

With each donation, you will receive a bookmark (available in Italian or English, as per your choice).

Please provide your name, surname, and shipping address by filling out the form at the following link: https://forms.gle/zuPVjf3kV1vf8X4Z7

We will start shipping bookmarks on January 8th. Thank you for your patience and support.

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The total goal for this fundraising effort is £2000, but since we want to accept donations in both pounds and euros, we have created two parallel campaigns (link to the Italian campaign https://dub.sh/altropersempre) : one for the UK and one for the Eurozone.

* The goal for the UK campaign is £1000.

* The goal for the Eurozone campaign is €1000.

Both campaigns contribute to the same overall purpose of supporting GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital) and Ciao Lapo. If one of the campaigns exceeds its target, any extra funds will still go towards this initiative.

Thank you for your generous support!