For the first time, supporters can get involved with the Teddy Bears’ Picnic wherever suits them throughout the month of July

Trustees at Simpsons Special Care Babies (SSCB), the official charity of the Simpsons Neonatal Unit at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, are offering their heartfelt thanks to the businesses that are backing the charity’s Teddy Bears’ Picnic campaign.

The month-long Teddy Bears’ Picnic campaign launched across the country on 1 July and already four businesses have agreed to raise much needed funds for the neonatal unit’s ongoing work to care for babies born prematurely or sick.

The Pantry, The Pastry Section, Salt Café and Honeycomb & Co. are all kindly donating profits from their teddy bear bakes to the SSCB at the end of July. 

SSCB is also asking children and their families to host a Teddy Bears’ Picnic and raise funds by hosting a picnic of their own, inviting friends and their favourite bear, raising money for SSCB in whichever way they choose or sharing a picture of the picnic on social media using the hashtags #SimpsonsBabies and #SimpsonsPicnic.

Charlotte Thompson, owner of The Pantry, said: "We're so glad to be part of the Teddy Bears’ Picnic campaign this year along with other local businesses. With the event having a new spin on it, we hope that means more people will get involved throughout the month of July."

The Simpson Neonatal Unit looks after around 850 premature and sick children from across the country every year, with the charity raising vital funds for state of the art equipment, ground-breaking neonatal research and support for the families in the neonatal unit. 

Simpsons’ trustee, Gemma Springford, considered the unit her home when her twin boys were born 10 weeks early, said: "We were disappointed that our annual Teddy Bears’ Picnic fundraising event in 2020 was cancelled, but we hoped that this year would be different. 

“Along with other charities and businesses, we’ve had to adapt our strategy. We hope that encouraging friends and families across the country to host their own Teddy Bears’ Picnic will be a fun way to get together while adhering to the current guidance. We’re asking people to host an event, raise money and donate to the charity – while enjoying some much needed time together.”

For the first time, supporters can get involved with the Teddy Bears’ Picnic wherever suits them throughout the month of July. 

Teddy Bears’ Picnic social media packs are available to download from the SSCB website and donations can be made to the campaign at sscb.org/teddy