Sands Manawatu-Horowhenua

08/10/2026

So many landmarks around Aotearoa are lighting up for babyloss awareness week and wave on light, its incredible to see! Thanks Horowhenua District Council for jumping on 🩷🩵💜

💗💙 Lighting Up for Baby Loss Awareness Week 💙💗

From 9-15 October, the Foxton Water Tower will be illuminated or purple in support of Baby Loss Awareness Week.

This week provides an opportunity to remember and honour babies who have passed during pregnancy, birth, or infancy, and to acknowledge the whānau who continue to carry their memory.

On 15 October, the tower will join the Global Wave of Light, a worldwide tribute where families and communities light candles in remembrance of their babies.

💗 Every baby matters. Every loss matters. 💙

To learn more, visit: https://www.sands.org.nz

02/10/2026

This Baby Loss Awareness Week, landmarks across the Aotearoa will glow pink, blue and purple in remembrance of the babies who are loved, missed, and never forgotten.

We are so grateful to all the councils and businesses supporting their bereaved communities. We are still waiting on some confirmations, but this is who is confirmed lighting up so far this year:

-Ashburton: Clock Tower
-Auckland: Eden Park, Aotea Square, Mission Bay Fountain
-Blenheim: Clock Tower
-Christchurch: Airport Terminal and Sign, ONE NZ Stadium, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
-Cromwell: Welcome Sign
-Dunedin: Tūhura Otago Museum, St Paul's Cathedral, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum
-Feilding: Clock Tower
-Foxton: Clock Tower
-Gisborne: Clock Tower
-Hamilton: Victoria Bridge
-Matamata: Town Clock
-Nelson: Clock Tower, Cathedral, Top of Trafalgar St
-New Plymouth: Clock Tower
-Ōamaru: Opera House
-Palmerston North: Hopwood Clock Tower
-Taupō: Great Lakes Centre
-Tauranga: Wharf St Lights, Trunks Reserve, Masonic Park, Beacon Wharf, Waterfront Playground, Waterfront Park-North
-Te Aroha: Clock Tower
-Upper Hutt: Fantail Welcome Sculpture
-Wellington: Cable Car Tunnels, Michael Fowler Centre, Carter Fountain, Queens Wharf Sails
-Westport: Clock Tower
-Whanganui: Royal Whanganui Opera House, War Memorial
-Whangārei: Victoria Canopy Bridge, Laurie Hall Park, Cameron St Canopy

🧡💜

11/09/2026

We're all set up at The Lychway Funeral Home in Palmerston North for their open day! Come on down for a look around, chat and a sausage sizzle ✨️🌿

06/09/2026

Ngā mihi me te aroha nui mō te Rā o Pāpā - Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers walking this Father’s Day road without their children, we see you. Today, we hold space for those whose hearts are carrying a silent ache—fathers who have lost a baby, whether in pregnancy, at birth, or in infancy. Your love and grief doesn’t go unnoticed 💜🧡

11/06/2026

We are so pleased Sands New Zealand can offer this space for whānau experiencing pregnancy after loss. PAL is a whirlwind of emotions and can be an incredibly scary time for expecting parents after loss. If you'd like to join this space follow the instructions to email our Sands secretary below ✨️❤️‍🩹

Kia ora koutou, you've asked, and we've heard. We are delighted to announce that we will be commencing Pregnancy After Loss online support meetings this month. We extend our immense gratitude to Vicki Culling of Vicki Culling Associates and Sands Wellington for facilitating these.

The meetings will occur on the third Wednesday evening of each month at 7:30pm-9pm. The first meeting will occur on Wed 17th June.

This is a supportive space to kōrero, offering support to those parents who have experienced loss and are pregnant, or their partner is pregnant. Also for those who have had their baby very recently (3-4 months) and are experiencing parenting after loss.

If you would like to join us, please email our Sands NZ Secretary at [email protected] for details. Please note, to register you will need to provide your contact phone number and location in NZ.

We know experiencing pregnancy after loss can be challenging, so this is a space to talk about your feelings and how you are doing.

09/06/2026

Kia ora koutou, tomorrow night at 8pm we have our monthly online Empty Arms support group. This is to support bereaved whānau who have no living children. If you would like to join, please email Tania at [email protected] for further information 💜🧡

17/05/2026

What an absolutely incredible weekend at the Women's Lifestyle Expos NZ Palmerston North!

We are feeling so incredibly grateful and humbled after spending Saturday and Sunday connecting with so many beautiful mamas, families, and long-time supporters.

Seeing so many of you stop by to say hello and look for your precious babies' names on our beautiful footprint display means the world to us. It is an honor to carry their names with us every year.

🎉 Raffle Winner Announcement! 🎉

A huge thank you to everyone who purchased a ticket for our "family games night pack" raffle to support our mahi. We are thrilled to announce our winner:

Ticket Number: 65
Winner: Zoe 🥳

This weekend wouldn't have been possible without some very special people:

Again a massive thank you to Gardenview Funeral Services and Phil Cottle for your incredibly generous donation that secured our space at the expo.

Thank you to The Warehouse for gifting us the awesome prizes for our raffle.

And finally, to everyone who stopped by, donated, bought a ticket, or shared a story—thank you for your kindness and ongoing support of Sands Manawatu-Horowhenua.

15/05/2026

We are all set up and ready to go for the Woman's Expo Palmerston North this Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th✨️❤️

If you're looking for something pretty cool to do this weekend, the Woman's Expo is certainly a great day out with so much to see and loads of really awesome products to treat yourself with-and you so deserve it! 💕

If you're coming along be sure to look out for the team at Sands Manawatu-Horowhenua, stop by and say hello and as usual we have your beautiful footprints on display. We get so many people come through looking for their babies names from previous years and we also get more names added every year.

This year we have a really cool "family games night pack" raffle on offer at $2 per ticket. A massive thank you to The Warehouse Palmerston North for gifting this awesome pack to support our very special mahi.

Our Sands Manawatu-Horowhenua team would also like to say a very heartfelt thank you to Gardenview Funeral Services for securing us a space at Woman's Expo this year, we are deeply grateful to Phil Cottle and his team for donating us the funds to get us to the expo and see all the beautiful mamas and families over the next two days. Thank you so much! 🥰

11/05/2026

Thank you to everyone who entered our competition to win a double pass to the women’s expo congratulations to our winner Bexz Larrington🎉
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10/05/2026

Ngā mihi me te aroha nui mō te Rā o Māmā.
Happy Mother’s Day to those who carry their child/children in their hearts rather than their arms.
Thinking of all these special Mum’s today 💜🧡