Amanda Bowles

Mum to 3 beautiful earth children, loving wife, dedicated & driven leader. My entire working career I have elevated to senior leader positions quickly, I see this time with Bears Of Hope my greatest and most challenging and diverse role. When our first son was born I reveled in the joy of motherhood and took 13 months to be with him before returning to work. I had no idea that the path to completing our family would mean a miscarriage followed by TMFR. At 21 weeks our perfect son was stillborn. Jesse was the image of his older brother and is a much loved part of our family. Losing a baby is a devastation that cannot be understood until you’ve been there. I had an incredible network of friends that were super supportive and my parents and other family members amazing every step of the way – yet the isolation and grief was unbearable.
I couldn’t fathom raising other children in a world where such horrific things happen to good people for no reason. I knew that Jesse’s brief life had purpose and I had to live it out for him.
We’re empowering families to seek help and not be afraid, embarrassed or ashamed to speak of their grief or their love for their child. I’m driven by the desire to improve the accessibility to services for bereaved families and often I’m inspired by the people we serve and support. I’m so often moved by the courage of these families to attend support groups or events and trust the services we provide.