Alexander's Charity Ball 2017 raises over £19,000 for the Lullaby Trust

A local mother whose twin son died of sudden infant death syndrome ten years ago, raises over £19000 in his honour.

Last night, Nicola Richardson raised £19306.84 for the Lullaby Trust at the seventh 'Alexander's Charity Ball' in honour of her late twin son, Alexander. The charity event has been held annually since 2010, and this year commemorated the tenth anniversary of his death.

[Image: This years ball took place at Magna on Saturday 11th February. The theme was 'Circus'.]

Nicola and her husband Ian lost their son Alexander to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which is more commonly known as cot death, in February 2007 when he was just 17 months old. His death was unexpected and ten years on, there is still no explanation as to why he passed away.

Nicola said: "No one could answer the one question we wanted answering: Why?

"When you consider it's the 21st century, why do babies and children just die in their sleep?"

[Video: Nicola and Ian talk about losing their son, and why they continue to raise money for the Lullaby Trust's research.]

SIDS and the Lullaby Trust

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexplained death of infants where no cause is found after post mortem. Approximately 250 babies and toddlers in the UK die in this way every year. Between 2005 and 2014, SIDS claimed the lives of 266 babies in Yorkshire alone. In the UK in 2007, 7.4% of infants who died from SIDS were between 12-24 months old, including Alexander Richardson.

[Graph: shows the rate of infants dying from SIDS in Yorkshire and the Humber between 2004 - 2014, compared to the average UK rate.]

Three years after Alexander's death, Nicola and Ian became more involved with the Lullaby Trust. They began raising money to help the charity fund further research into why these infants die so suddenly. The family have 'refocused their grief into fundraising and trying to create a future, a legacy for Alexander now that he cannot create his own.' The Lullaby Trust has spent over £11 million conducting research projects to identify the mechanisms and risk factors to SIDS. This research has led to a significant reduction in the number of babies dying suddenly and unexpectedly each year.

Raising funds

For the last seven years, Nicola and her family have organised 'Alexander's Charity Ball' in memory of her son to raise money for the Lullaby Trust. Through the ball and other fundraising events, Nicola has raised over £200,000 for the Charity. This money is helping to fund research led by Professor Neil Sebire of Great Ormond Street Hospital into sudden and unexpected deaths of children over one.

This years Circus themed charity ball was held at Magna Science Adventure Centre in Sheffield. Comedian Jed Stone hosted the event, while a number of local acts provided entertainment; including circus acrobats, musicians Vibetown and singer Jake Woodhams.

Alexander's father, Ian Richardson stated: " The important part for us is that any money that goes directly to the Lullaby Trust, there's a very good chance it's going to go directly to research, which one day will save somebody's life."

[Pictures: This year Alexander's Charity Ball was held at Magna Science Adventure Centre in Sheffield. The Richardson family raised over £19000 for the Lullaby Trust, in memory of their son Alexander Robert Richardson.]

Click here for more information about Alexander's Charity Ball and the Richardson's story.

Click here to donate to the Lullaby Trust.