Harry is snap happy in new calendar

The fundraising calendar, starring children from across Northern Ireland, aims to raise money for the premature baby charity TinyLife.

And Harry Grain - who was born 10 weeks early weighing just two pounds two ounces - has been chosen as the face of October. His proud dad Mark said that his son’s very premature arrival was a complete shock to him and wife Mary.

He added: “Harry spent three weeks in the neonatal Intensive care unit before being transferred to Antrim Area Hospital to spend a further five weeks on the special care baby unit, so it was a very tense and stressful period for the family.

“It was a constant juggling act between spending time at home looking after our other child Emily, who was only 19 months old, and visiting Harry in hospital. As parents of a premature baby, we had a lot of questions that needed answering. TinyLife have a fantastic resource library and their volunteers gave us some great advice in the weeks following his birth.

“Harry is a very special boy to us and knowing that he will be able to help other vulnerable babies through his involvement in the calendar is fantastic. He loves playing to the camera, which makes him ideal for a calendar boy.”

The calendar, shot by Venture Photography, features babies, toddlers and children who experienced a difficult start to life having been born severely prematurely.

Around 24,000 babies are born in Northern Ireland each year and of these over 1,800 are born too soon – that is five premature babies arriving each day on average. The calendar tells the stories of families with premature babies and celebrates those who have gone on to lead full and normal lives with support from TinyLife.

Julie McBride, manager at Venture Photography Northern Ireland, said her team were pleased to be able to support the calendar for the fourth year running.

She added: “We’re determined to beat last year’s calendar fundraising total of 10,000 by selling as many as possible to ensure that TinyLife can continue to help families with sick or premature children. It’s been a great opportunity to involve all of our photographers in a truly inspirational project, and I think everyone involved would say how privileged and proud they feel to be part of something so special.”

TinyLife is Northern Ireland’s only premature and vulnerable baby charity, dedicated to reducing illness, disability and death in babies and providing support for families who have been affected by these circumstances.

The calendar is available buy from Venture Northern Ireland by calling 02892 662 742 or by visiting 2 Market Place, Lisburn. To order from TinyLife directly call 028 9081 5050.