Youth Philanthropy Initiative Scotland

Why was Bliss founded?

Bliss was founded in 1979 after an article appeared in a national newspaper highlighting the lack of vital resources for many babies born sick or premature. Babies were dying through lack of equipment and skilled care.

The day after the article was published, a concerned reader called Mr A. Chilvers wrote to the newspaper and suggested forming a group to campaign on this issue. From this an executive committee of 12 concerned parents was formed – this group would go on to become the charity Bliss. The first donation to the charity was £10.30 and more than 40 years later, Bliss has grown into the UK’s leading charity for babies born premature or sick.

Bliss originally stood for Baby Life Support Systems and was primarily focused on providing equipment to neonatal units. Although we now no longer provide equipment to units, we provide vital support to parents through our information and support services. In addition, we provide training to the healthcare professionals working in neonatal units. We also fund and support ongoing research to improve care for babies, and continue to campaign so that hospitals and families have resources they need to give babies born premature or sick the best possible quality of life.

In 2009, Bliss Scotland was established to focus on the work of Bliss in Scotland. Bliss Scotland’s Celebrity Ambassador is Lady Sarra Hoy who gave birth to her son Callum 11 weeks early.

In 2019 Bliss is celebrated 40 years of change for babies. You can see more about the history of our organisation and what we achieved in 40 years on our timeline.

What does Bliss do?

Bliss exists so that one day every baby born premature or sick will have the best chance of survival and quality of life. You can find out more on our ‘About Us’ page

How can we help Bliss?

We would love for you to choose us as your charity for your YPI presentation. The money received from your winning presentation will go a long way in helping us continue to support the most vulnerable babies and their families.

There are also lots of ways you can get involved with the work of Bliss. If you would like to host a Bliss fundraiser at your school, we have packs that we can send to you to help you organise and promote your event.

Even if you aren’t of age to vote yet, your voice matters and can be heard by your local politicians. There are many issues that affect babies needing neonatal care which your local MSPs and MP have the power to change. You can sign up to help campaign for the issues affecting babies born premature or sick here

Can we visit your charity?

Unfortunately, we don’t have an office in Scotland for you to visit. If you wish to talk to someone to ask further questions do e-mail us [email protected] and our Scotland Fundraising Officer can arrange a time for you to do a phone interview or video conference with your group. We may also be able to put you in touch with volunteers who represent Bliss Scotland in your local area.

Please be aware that as a small charity with limited resources, we will only be able to visit school groups who are already doing some fundraising for us.

What have pupils done to help Bliss Scotland?

• Created an animation to tell the story of how Bliss had helped their family
• Knitted items to donate to their local neonatal unit
• Organised bake sales in their local community
• Organised a charity football tournament at their school
• Encouraged staff, pupils and parents to take part in the Kiltwalk for Bliss Scotland
• Contacted their local MSP to make them aware of Bliss campaigns
• Choreographed a dance to tell the story of a child's journey after being born premature