BabyRice is proud to support Precious Hands from Ruby-Jo

BabyRice is proud to support Precious Hands from Ruby-Jo

The story behind Precious Hands from Ruby-Jo -


Ruby-Jo was introduced to us through her mum, Sophie Hollinshead. A funny, kind and loving girl, Ruby-Jo was a gorgeous little girl with a huge heart. It's Ruby-Jo's giving nature and chance encounter with a BabyRice hand and foot casting kit that inspired her mum to set up the charity.

Sadly, we never got to meet her as Ruby-Jo passed away, aged three on 24 December 2017, following a long battle with leukaemia.

Following her passing, a family friend gifted the Hollinsheads with a BabyRice hand and foot casting kit. The kit allowed the family to make life-like replicas of Ruby-Jo's hand and foot, creating a beautiful keepsake for her family to treasure.

The casts brought real comfort to Sophie in the days following Ruby-Jo's passing.

This comfort, and her daughter's generous spirit, inspired Sophie to start fundraising so that she could provide casting kits to other families in a similar situations. And so, Precious Hands from Ruby-Jo was launched.

“When we cast Ruby-Jo's hand and foot, we had no idea how much comfort it would bring our family,” said Sophie. “Now, we can hold these replicas any time we want and I want to be able to provide memorial casting kits for people in similar situations.

“At my daughters funeral we asked for donations rather than flowers,” explains Sophie. “I want to provide local hospices, that are often struggling for funding, with these casting kits for parents. I want to be the person to ensure these kits are on hand so that parents can create hand casts before it's too late.”

To date, Sophie's fundraising efforts have generated over £300 and she's determined to raise more, in order to support even more families through their grief.

How BabyRice is supporting Precious Hands from Ruby-Jo

Sophie reached out to BabyRice at the beginning of 2018 to tell us her story and share how much her casts of Ruby-Jo meant to her. We were really moved by Sophie's story and as we exchanged messages we got chatting about Sophie's idea to launch a charity in honour of her daughter's memory.

In order to support Precious Hands from Ruby Jo, we have pledged to donate a number of BabyRice Hand & Foot Casting Kits to the charity. The BabyRice team is also providing additional support with PR and leaflet design.

Company founder and owner, Emma Rice said, “We were really touched by Sophie's story and we just wish that more people were aware of life casting as a way of creating mementos of loved ones. Not only do 3D casts capture every detail of the hand, including fingerprints and palm lines, they can also be touched and held, providing real comfort for those left behind.”

To find out more about Precious Hands and to make a donation to the charity please contact Sophie at rjsprecioushands@hotmail.com or via the Facebook page, www.facebook.com/RJsPreciousHands