In August 2012, Nicola Graham tragically lost her 23 month old son Reuben to a rare brain tumour.

He showed no serious symptoms prior to his diagnosis and was a massive shock to Nicola and her husband. Despite tremendous grief, Nicola vowed that Reuben’s passing would not be in vain and so Reuben’s Retreat was born.

In 2013, she was joint winner of the IWA Community Award, the first of many awards.

“ It was 2013, life was still very hard without Reuben. Our charity had been in existence for nearly a year and already we were achieving. Our work is extremely blessed. To receive this award back then from the  Inspiring Women Awards was unexpected. I was a joint winner alongside Jo from Millie’s trust, such an honour.

I remember being really touched by the fact that the host had done his research, delicately and with compassion. He [the wonderful Andy Crane] talked of my “miss” my terminology for my grief, it made me immediately feel at ease.

I met some wonderful people at the lunch. Inspiring stories from fellow parents that had made a difference in the name of their children. Some of whom I am still in touch with today.

Our charity is 10 years old now and in that time, we have touched the lives of over 1500 individuals, working with 715 this last year alone and delivering over 4,500 hours of key support.

I am honoured to walk hand in hand with Reuben every day and deliver his legacy. Receiving this award is wonderful for our cause, a great thank you to all those that have been a part of our journey, past, present, and future.

Thank you to the team at inspiring women and the judges too. You can read our story on Reuben’s site, www.reubensretreat.org and see how far we’ve come since 2013”

There are still more remarkable women out there who deserve this recognition and you can ensure that by nominating them.