Sunset Celebrations - Local Hero Awards

Please join us to celebrate Annabel Bower's nomination in the 2025 Westfield Local Heroes Awards. We would love you to celebrate, vote and share! Help us win!!!

Tickets include a glass of South Australian Sparkling from Deviation Road and delicious finger food prepared by the talented team at 2KW.

Please note the ticket price does not include a charitable donation; this is an optional extra. Ticket price covers food and beverage costs per person.

Winning the 2025 Westfield Local Heroes Award will enable the Miles Apart Foundation to :

>Distribute books to bereaved parents during an incredibly harrowing and heartbreaking time, offering immediate support and solidarity.

>Create accessible resources for healthcare professionals to empower them to provide the best care possible for bereaved parents. Access to educational resources has a huge impact on care and empowers our incredible nurses, midwives and doctors with the insights needed to connect with patients in a caring and constructive way.

>Increase awareness of the huge and ongoing impact of baby loss in pregnancy. 1 in 4 pregnancies are lost to miscarriage, and 6 babies are stillborn each day in Australia.

We know this has a significant impact on perinatal mental health, which is an incredibly vulnerable time for women. The highest incidence of suicide for women is in the postpartum period, and this includes post-loss.

From award reference Vanessa - Midwifery / Nurse Educator

Centre of Education & Training | Women’s and Children’s Health Network

I have had the privilege of working closely with Annabel Bower through the Women’s and Children’s Health Network in South Australia, particularly in bereavement education and support. Annabel brings deep compassion, lived experience, and practical insight to a space that many find difficult to approach. Together, we sat on an advisory board that has developed training resources for healthcare professionals to improve the care provided to families facing the loss of a baby during pregnancy or infancy and compassionately approach the topic of autopsy.

Annabel presents annually at our in-person bereavement training days, sharing her story and guiding staff on how to offer support that is sensitive, meaningful, and enduring. Her presence and words are consistently cited by attendees as an impactful part of the training.

Through her book Miles Apart, Annabel provides immediate and heartfelt support to families in grief, and we are proud to help distribute this resource through our healthcare services when resources allow. Her work fills a vital gap in perinatal care, ensuring that families are not only acknowledged but supported in a way that is compassionate, validating and empowering.

Annabel is a passionate advocate, a generous collaborator, and a positive role model—not just for bereaved families but for the broader community. Her ability to turn personal tragedy into a force for good is deeply inspiring, and her contributions continue to ripple out in ways that uplift others and strengthen care across our system.

Vanessa Tilbrook

Midwifery / Nurse Educator

Centre of Education & Training (CET)

Women’s and Children’s Health Network

SA Health | Government of South Australia