How your money helps us

No family should have to face unexpected pregnancy news alone. Every year around 40,000 women will be told there is a risk that their baby is not developing as expected, causing a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty for expectant parents. Unfortunately, some will receive the devastating news that their baby has a serious, sometimes fatal condition.

ARC exists to support women, couples and their families through what can be a very difficult time, but we can’t do it without your help. Our services are funded almost entirely by private donations, so helping us today ensures that tomorrow’s anxious parents continue to receive this support.

Because of your donations and fundraisers, we can offer our helpline and resources to struggling and grieving parents all over the UK, deliver subsidised ‘sensitive communications’ training to healthcare professionals, and help fund wide-reaching partnerships.

We are so grateful to our supporters, who feed back how inspiring they found raising money for ARC was:

For up-to-date examples of this impact, explore our annual Impact Reviews.

Here are some examples of how vital your donations are:

1. Our donations enable us to run and improve our core helpline services

“I rang your helpline 2 years ago… I was absolutely devastated and plunged into a world of unknowns … In sheer panicked desperation I rang your helpline and spoke with the most wonderful woman. She listened to me and knew exactly the right things to say… When I think of what I went through, I always think of [this] beautiful ARC lady who literally saved me in that moment.”

As a result of donations, we can run our helpline, connecting with an average of 6,500 parent contacts annually (via calls, emails, texts and Live Chat) and sharing our printed and digital resources. Our website is accessed around 10,000 times a month, and we engage with thousands of supporters via social media. We also support around 6,000 bereaved parents a year on our forums and run 3-5 meetings for parents around the UK annually.

In context: a donation of £5 a month means we can support one family on our helpline; raising £1,000 therefore supports 200 families through very difficult, emotional experiences.

2. Your donations help us deliver and expand our UK training programme for healthcare professionals

“I am grateful for a charity like ARC that I can refer my patients to for an informal discussion around the complexities of their diagnoses to help them make the best decision. Their training and leaflets have helped me to offer better counselling to my patients and colleagues alike.”

Sharing the reality of how parents face unexpected news during antenatal screening, and how much they struggle with decision-making during a wanted pregnancy, is central to ARC’s training services for healthcare professionals. For decades, we have run tailored training for medics in antenatal, ultrasound, obstetric and fetal medicine care. We know how key informed and sensitive language and attitudes are to a parent’s experience during pregnancy, and after a bereavement, and (like above) receive very positive feedback from our professional attendees.

We aim to run at least 60 training sessions annually in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (both in-person and online delivery), as well as delivering our popular conferences, circulating resources and running the Fetal Medicine Midwives Network. Although professionals pay for training, ARC subsidises these where possible, as we are very aware of how financially restricted the NHS’s training budget is.

In context: £200 covers travel expenses to enable a professional living in a remote UK setting to attend ARC’s renowned conference; £1,500 pays for one face-to-face ‘Sensitive Communications’ training session with 30-40 healthcare professionals.

3. Your donations fund our outreach partnerships with sector and charitable organisations to reach more families around the UK

“I just wanted to say a massive thank you for sharing your time and knowledge with us at AMMA Birth Companions yesterday.  It was really, really useful for our team to learn from you.”

One of our key goals is to increase awareness of our services to communities, organisations and individuals where we see less engagement. Specialist funding from donors, grants and corporates allows us to target specific groups or regions to underline how inclusive our services aim to be. We often reach out to specialist professional or charitable organisations to pool our expertise and deliver projects together: for example, we partner with Home-Start in Portsmouth and AMMA Birth Companions in Glasgow, to promote knowledge of antenatal screening. Projects like these deliver training sessions and printed ARC resources, develop relationships with local NHS hospitals and community groups, and encourage parents who may not otherwise feel comfortable contacting a helpline to engage with our services.

In context: £10 pays for a support pack for a family struggling to understand their next best steps, so £1,000 funds 100 packs to be distributed by a local community charity.

ARC is funded almost entirely by donations and gifts from wills, so if you value our help and services, please donate to ensure tomorrow’s anxious parents continue to receive this invaluable support.

There are many ways to support us: donate today, or check out our events.