‘Having people say her name and remember her is how we knew we could start grieving’ - Northamptonshire family launch fundraiser fun day to remember

01 May 2025

A Northamptonshire family has launched a fundraising community day in support of the Northamptonshire Health Charity’s Twinkling Stars Appeal - a day to remember, reflect and support parents and families who have lost children.

Carmen and Chris Smith, parents to Esmé Smith who passed away at 38 weeks gestation, are hosting a family fundraising day on Tuesday, 27 May to raise money to support the build of the new maternity bereavement suite at Kettering General Hospital.

We heard about Northamptonshire Health Charity’s Twinkling Stars Appeal whilst we were still in hospital with Esmé. We were inspired by our incredible midwife who has taken on multiple challenges to raise money for the appeal, and now we want to do our bit and support more families with similar grief and loss that we have experienced.

The idea for the day came about by thinking about Esmé being 3 this year and the party that we would be throwing for her. Keeping her name and legacy alive is our way of parenting her, so we knew we wanted her name at the forefront of everything about the day.

When experiencing the loss of a child, it’s difficult to comprehend being in that space in the delivery ward, so by having a separate, bespoke suite for families to grieve in their own time and have access to bereavement midwives makes a huge difference. Having people say her name and remember her is how we knew we could start grieving - so we hope families in similar circumstances can come down to Esmé Day and feel safe to grieve and a sense of belonging.
Carmen Smith, Esmé’s mother and organiser of the event

Esmé Day will be hosted at The Chester House Estate, on what would be Esmé’s 3rd birthday. Activities including raffles, tombolas, games, children’s theatre entertainment, and a dedicated moment of reflection for those who have lost babies will take place in celebration on Esmé’s birthday. 

Local and national businesses, including NNBN, Stu Vincent Photography, Laugh Out Loud Theatre, Pebble Play, Pink Octopus, and Massive Hits Radio, are supporting the event. Businesses and individuals interested in supporting can contact Carmen or Chris to see how to get involved through the contact form on The Chester House Estate’s website.

Admission to the event is free for the whole family, but a donation is appreciated on arrival, and donation buckets will be dotted around the Estate throughout the day.

The Estate urges visitors to park at their main visitor car park at Claudius Way. Accessible and disabled parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the onsite Lime Avenue car park (NN29 7EZ).

For more information about the day, to reserve your free ticket and to find out how to make a donation, please visit Esmé Day on The Chester House Estate’s website.