Welcoming all dinky stars with a little extra sparkle...
We are Seren Dwt (which means Dinky Star in Welsh), and we’re on a mission to celebrate and support families across Wales who have a child born with an extra 21st Chromosome (Trisomy 21 or ‘Down syndrome’).
We are a not-for-profit charitable organisation gifting Welcome Boxes to babies born with Down Syndrome across all Health Boards in Wales. The box celebrates their arrival and signposts families to local and national support groups and charities.
We hold a monthly meet up group in South Wales for 0-5 yr olds and their parents/carers as well as meet ups in the school holidays open to all families with a child with Down syndrome.
World Down Syndrome Day 2024
To celebrate World Down Syndrome Day 2024, some of our amazing Seren Dwt families and friends joined together to create this video, with a very special guest appearance by our friends from Singing Hands.
The focus of WDSD 2024 is on ending the stereotypes associated with Down syndrome, and you can find out more about how we can all do our part here.
About Us
We are 3 mums, based in South Wales, all with 2 children each, whose paths have crossed thanks to an ‘extra’ little sparkle.
We were fortunate to have the love and support of our families when our babies were born, but the support and signposting to relevant, up to date information about Down syndrome in the hospitals was really lacking.
So, in January 2022, Laura (T) and Lou joined forces to create welcome baby boxes to celebrate the arrival of babies born with Down syndrome. The boxes also gently signpost families towards local and national support, and up to date information for if, or when, they needed it.
Initially hoping to fundraise enough to gift these boxes to a local hospital in Cardiff we were overwhelmed with offers of support from friends and family. With the help of local friends with children with Down syndrome, we managed to fundraise enough to make and deliver boxes to ALL of Wales’ birthing hospitals!
After such positive feedback from new parents and medical professionals across Wales, we knew we needed to make sure this project would continue, so we have registered Seren Dwt as a ‘CIC’ – a not for profit community interest company, and we have officially welcomed Laura H to join Laura T and Lou as part of the ‘Seren Dwt Team’. Laura H has been a supporter of Seren Dwt since the day we started the idea and we are so grateful for the ideas, passion and drive she brings to the team.
We have also set up a ‘Seren Dwts in Wales’ closed Facebook group as a place for all parents of children with Down syndrome in Wales to share experiences and ask for advice and support.
We currently host monthly meet-ups in north Cardiff for 0-5 yr olds with Down syndrome and their parents/carers and meet-ups across South Wales in the school holidays for all families.
Laura T, Lou & Laura H x
Are you living in Wales and a parent or carer of a young person with Down syndrome?
If so, we would love to welcome you to our closed group for parents/carers ‘Seren Dwts in Wales’. It’s a safe place to share info, chat and ask questions. Send us an email and we’ll send across an invite to join!
Our Baby Boxes
Following inspiration from other ‘new baby boxes’ around the world, we launched our very own Seren Dwt Baby Boxes, to be distributed to all of Wales’ Health Boards.
We hope these boxes give new parents the comfort and support that they may need in what can be a confusing and upsetting time. The boxes celebrate their new arrival with the love they deserve, and gently signpost families to support available, both locally and nationally should they want it.
We are incredibly grateful to the following people and businesses that provide items for our boxes, as well as a BIG thank you to lots of talented friends and family who make and donate lots of lovely items, such as blankets, hats and boots…
Can you help us?
We’re so fortunate to receive help and support from a wide range of businesses and individuals, whether it be donating items to our Seren Dwt Baby Boxes or people undertaking various challenges and events that help raise funds for our vital work!
From marathons to bake sales, tea parties to triathlons, if you’d like to get involved with Seren Dwt we’d love to hear from you…
Get to know us...
Lou
I think our daughter kept us waiting the extra 2 weeks to make sure she was born in Down syndrome awareness month (October) rather than her due date in September. Having had no prenatal tests it was a shock when I spotted her extra sparkle the day she was born. However, we did not need to be shocked or (yes, a little) scared as she has turned into my fearless, determined little mini me who is attending mainstream school and enjoys kickboxing, rugby and swimming just like her big brother.
It is thanks to her that we are involved in this amazing community and have met and made friends with people we may never have crossed paths with.
I can’t believe we only started this adventure just over a year ago and I already have so many amazing memories. From just planning to introduce a few boxes to Cardiff and Vale and Aneurin Bevan UHBs we launched across all of Wales and I will always remember Laura’s comment after we had filmed for the BBC Wales news and were sat with a bottle of ‘Nosecco’ outside the University Hospital of Wales…”this is going to be more than just welcome boxes isn’t it…” And it has been so much more already. I cried meeting our first baby in North Wales to receive a welcome box and still feel very emotional every time a new family connects with us.
We always had the same vision as to what we wanted the boxes to look like and contain and we have some amazing Welsh businesses who offer ongoing support to keep our costs down and quality high but my favourite items will always be the handmade ones. I appreciate the time, effort and love that go into the little knitted hats, mittens and patchwork blankets. We have friends, family, women from the WI and complete strangers willing to use their own time to keep the boxes stocked with cuteness!
Laura T
Our ‘dinky star’ arrived 3 weeks early and brought a little surprise with him. Despite having the usual screening in pregnancy, we didn’t find out about his extra chromosome until a few hours after he was born! He has brought a huge amount of love and fun to our family since he made his early arrival, and we could not imagine life without him. A very much loved little brother, he is full of fun, mischief and determination. He is thriving in school, has lots of friends and enjoys several clubs outside of school as well.
It’s been a whirlwind of amazing experiences so far, but one of the most special moments was probably when we were surprised in Bangor (North Wales) with meeting the first baby to receive one of our boxes in North Wales. Lou and I had driven from South to North Wales to deliver the boxes for the hospitals in North Wales and when we got there, the most precious little face was there to greet us! That was a very special moment.
This is a tricky one as everything in the box has been chosen to go in there with so much love, thought and purpose. However, I think the handmade items are probably my favourite because people have chosen to give up their time and resources to make these gorgeous items for the boxes. They’re all unique and you can tell so much love has gone into making them for the babies!
Laura H
I have two gorgeous boys. Charlie, my eldest and Tomos. Tomos has Down syndrome. I can honestly say that Tomos fills our household with mischief, fun and so much love. I truly believe that because of his extra chromosome he adds that extra little sparkle and magic to our family. Charlie adores his younger brother and the household is filled with noise, mainly consisting of them play wrestling, kicking balls, singing or giggling together. Tomos has a zest for life and has a huge passion for singing, dancing (… mainly bum wiggling) and animals. He attends mainstream school and loves it.
There have been a few and I am sure many more to come! Our monthly meet ups provide lots of memories and giggles, but one of the best ones was having our first new Mum and Dad walk through the door with their daughter, Bella. It was amazing to hear that she had received the Seren Dwt box and had a more positive post-natal experience. It is always so wonderful to see new parents who initially walk through the door feeling, understandably, tentative and leave with big smiles, knowing that they are not alone and there is always support for them.
My favourite item in the Seren Dwt box is the #NobodyToldMe book. When Tomos was diagnosed, I was desperate to find out what life might look like living with a family member who had Down syndrome. I entered the ‘rabbit-hole’ of googling and found that most of the information was out-of-date and negative. Then, I stumbled across the #NobodyToldMe book and felt comforted and connected with it straight away. It made me smile and cry with the personal stories from all family members. To me, it was like a pocket of positivity and made me excited to think about what Tomos’ future could look like and the love that he could bring to others. I ended up buying 4 more copies to share with family and friends.
"Receiving the Seren Dwt Box meant so much..."
“It was a massive congratulations from people who I felt an instant connection with. All my pregnancy I was left to research and defend for myself and my baby. Now I have a group I can go to for advice, support, and place to celebrate the small milestones that our babies reach (ones where the professionals say our little ones will be delayed with) and social meet ups where us DS Mammies can share stories and feel we not alone. The kind box and the group is just amazing”
Useful Links
"Being able to connect with other families was so important to me...
…and they have been a vital part of my parenting journey. By the time my son was 3, I felt so strongly that I didn’t want any other families to feel as ‘lost’ as I did when he was born, so I was keen to make a positive change and help signpost families to positive, current, up to date information and support, both locally and nationally.”
Laura T, Seren Dwt Co-Founder
