Derbyshire charity appeals for people to be a giver of Hope and raise £30 in June

Melbourne-based me&dee, set up by Maria Hanson MBE, is asking people to get behind the charity’s ‘30 Days of Hope’ appeal in June.

The idea is that families, friends, businesses, schools or community groups come together to raise £30 – that’s just one pound a day during June – to enable me&dee to give more of their cuddly Hope elephants to families facing uncertain futures.

Hope, the elephant, is a special memory gift that has zips in its ears to hold a voice recorder, notepad, and other keepsakes to comfort children and parents in time of unbearable pain. Families can record their little one’s snores or laughter and keep them for a lifetime.

Maria Hanson, founder and unsalaried CEO of me&dee, said: “A Hope elephant costs £30 to send to a family facing the unimaginable and June has 30 days. We thought it would be perfect to tie in a fundraiser and ask our supporters to donate £1 a day to help us.

“Hope the elephant is extremely popular and we want to be able to gift one to every family that reaches out to us in 2025. We already send out hundreds every year, but we would like to do more.”

For June’s 30 Days of Hope appeal, participants could take on a 30-minute challenge a day and have family and friends sponsor them £1 a day. Fundraisers could walk, run or cycle one mile a day in June and raise £1 a day, or community groups or businesses could hold a bake sale with 30 treats priced at £1 each.

Maria, 70, said: “You can do this challenge on your own or join up with friends to complete the 30 Days of Hope campaign. All we want is to be able to raise enough money for the charity to be able to send out more of our Hope elephants.”

The charity can supply groups with a 30 Days of Hope moneybox, a poster to attach the £1 coins to Hope’s balloons, or a sponsorship form, and if you manage to raise £60 – that’s the cost of two Hope elephants, you will receive your very own baby Hope.

A big sister whose brother died very suddenly and unexpectedly, said: “On the day of his passing, my mum came home with a beautiful elephant matching the one my brother has with him and a me&dee bag filled with lots of different things that gave me comfort in bringing him closer to me.”

Maria is affectionately known as Derby’s Fairy Godmother because of the beautiful treats she gives families facing challenging times. She has very few staff and volunteers at the charity but she is always determined to support as many families as she can.

She said: “It is our biggest wish that we can raise enough money in June to be able to send out 30 more Hope elephants. With your help, we can hit our target of £900.

“It would be a dream come true if we could also boost the visibility of our charity during June and find some wonderful people to support what we do. You could even be a Hope sponsor and sign up to support us for a year.”

Maria doesn’t take a salary from the charity and needs around £160,000 a year to fund everything she wants to do for ‘her children and their families’. 

The number of families seeking support from me&dee has risen every year since it set up 18 years ago. Initially, the charity launched to help 100 families a year but already in 2025, Maria says they have supported 201.

The charity helps families where a potentially life-limiting – and often rare – illness is diagnosed, by providing everything from special memory making days out, short breaks and comfort packs containing essentials for people having to rush to children’s wards. The charity also gives sensitive support to adult cancer units, palliative care departments and the children’s mortuary.

To register and receive your fundraising pack, contact me&dee, by emailing events @ meanddee.co.uk