Purple Turtle Foundation
Donation protected
My son Little Blake Shaw, 3 years old, died on 22nd of August after a shelving unit fell without warning on top of him whilst he played near by on the floor. He couldn't be saved even with the desperate efforts by his mum Kirstie, who is a neonatal nurse and midwife with neonatal and paediatric advanced life support training and the Mica Paramedics. My little man and light of our lives passed away at home. Blake's two older brothers Eli 13, Alex 10, my partner Kirstie and I are truly suffering.
In 2013 after the birth of Blake, Kirstie became permanently disabled and finds it hard to do everyday tasks. I am unable to work as I need to stay home and care for Kirstie, the boys and the house. We are relying on a very small income from centrelink to live on. We have no vehicle at this present time and live 50km out of town and we are finding it hard to access services . No public transport out here.
In relation to immediate grief and loss counseling and support, there are no SID'S & KID'S counsellors in the Wimmera District, with the only option of travelling to Geelong or Melbourne to see them as they don't travel. This is something that Kirstie wants to address.
I know that any money that I can raise will not bring Blake back but I am hoping to change and implement different safety standards for securing furniture.
I am currently designing a metal wall unit drop lock, adjustable to the size of the base of the unit in order to give you a perfectly secure and level wall unit. This design is in the early stages but I should have a prototype made by 31st of October. I am working with a prominent reporter to get this patented and get Standards Australia to make this PURPLE TURTLE CLIP mandatory to come with all wall units over 1.2m in height. Furniture Australia Standards have also expressed interest into this clip and are looking into amending safety standards.
Some of the funding received will be allocated toward grief counseling and the cost of travel to see them. We would also like to do something with Eli and Alex as they have been as they have just been home with us. The boys have expressed that the grief is easier to deal with when they have distractions. I would love to able to take them to the movies, bowling and little excursions but don't have the funds.
In the future we hope to set up support services for parents whom have lost a child within the Wimmera. We are looking into providing supermarket and fuel vouchers, tickets to the movies and bowling etc and hopefully one day excursions or camps for children with other children who have lost a sibling. We also hope we can provide the family with some time away from home for a weekend.
There is a Facebook page called the PURPLE TURTLE FOUNDATION, that is in the process of being set up. It describes our aim for the foundation and contains all the newspaper articles regarding Blake's tragic accident. It also shows the statistics of furniture injuries to children. We would invite parents who have had young children that have been injured or fatally injured by household furniture to share their stories, support other family's (mainly my own at the moment ) and reveal hidden dangers for children that you have noticed around the house.
Please if u can help me get this off the
ground, Kirstie and I will be forever grateful. If Blake's tragic departure can raise awareness and save one child's life it may help ease our pain. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanking you,
Tim Shaw
In 2013 after the birth of Blake, Kirstie became permanently disabled and finds it hard to do everyday tasks. I am unable to work as I need to stay home and care for Kirstie, the boys and the house. We are relying on a very small income from centrelink to live on. We have no vehicle at this present time and live 50km out of town and we are finding it hard to access services . No public transport out here.
In relation to immediate grief and loss counseling and support, there are no SID'S & KID'S counsellors in the Wimmera District, with the only option of travelling to Geelong or Melbourne to see them as they don't travel. This is something that Kirstie wants to address.
I know that any money that I can raise will not bring Blake back but I am hoping to change and implement different safety standards for securing furniture.
I am currently designing a metal wall unit drop lock, adjustable to the size of the base of the unit in order to give you a perfectly secure and level wall unit. This design is in the early stages but I should have a prototype made by 31st of October. I am working with a prominent reporter to get this patented and get Standards Australia to make this PURPLE TURTLE CLIP mandatory to come with all wall units over 1.2m in height. Furniture Australia Standards have also expressed interest into this clip and are looking into amending safety standards.
Some of the funding received will be allocated toward grief counseling and the cost of travel to see them. We would also like to do something with Eli and Alex as they have been as they have just been home with us. The boys have expressed that the grief is easier to deal with when they have distractions. I would love to able to take them to the movies, bowling and little excursions but don't have the funds.
In the future we hope to set up support services for parents whom have lost a child within the Wimmera. We are looking into providing supermarket and fuel vouchers, tickets to the movies and bowling etc and hopefully one day excursions or camps for children with other children who have lost a sibling. We also hope we can provide the family with some time away from home for a weekend.
There is a Facebook page called the PURPLE TURTLE FOUNDATION, that is in the process of being set up. It describes our aim for the foundation and contains all the newspaper articles regarding Blake's tragic accident. It also shows the statistics of furniture injuries to children. We would invite parents who have had young children that have been injured or fatally injured by household furniture to share their stories, support other family's (mainly my own at the moment ) and reveal hidden dangers for children that you have noticed around the house.
Please if u can help me get this off the
ground, Kirstie and I will be forever grateful. If Blake's tragic departure can raise awareness and save one child's life it may help ease our pain. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanking you,
Tim Shaw
Organizer
Kirk Shaw
Organizer
Wombelano VIC
