FOREVER Stars, the Nottingham-based charity dedicated to supporting bereaved families and raising awareness of baby loss, has revealed details of its 2026 campaign that aims to raise £50,000 for the charity’s funded Serenity Suite at Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) Nottingham, and honour the ten-year anniversary of its opening.
Forever Stars, which was set up by Michelle and Richard Daniels in May 2014 following the stillbirth of their daughter Emily on 19 December 2013, raised £180,000 in its first year and first-ever fundraising campaign. The money was used to pay for the creation of a facility built to cater for the needs of other parents in the same heartbreaking situation as they had been – a Serenity Suite at QMC. The bereavement Suite opened on 28th April 2016, and since then, has been used by more than 2,600 families who sadly experienced baby loss or miscarriage while at QMC.
Now ten years on from the opening of the QMC’s Serenity Suite, it is in need of an upgrade, and so through the ‘Decade of Serenity’ fundraising campaign, Forever Stars is hoping to raise £50,000 by the end of 2026 to pay for an upgrade. The Suite’s refurbishment will include updating the decor, replacing furniture, and providing appliances that meet the requirements of families now and for the future, in terms of comfort, information and technology. The cash will also be used to refit the Suite’s outdoor space.
The campaign and anniversary make for a mix of pride and emotion, says Forever Stars’ co-founder, Richard Daniels:
“As we mark ten years of the Serenity Suite at QMC, I find myself overwhelmed with pride and emotion. What Forever Stars has helped create in Nottingham is something truly special. Knowing that both the city’s major hospitals have dedicated spaces where families can go immediately after experiencing the unimaginable is incredibly powerful. There are still a third of hospitals without a bereavement suite for families that suffer baby loss in the UK.
“The Serenity Suites offer more than just a room. They provide a peaceful, respectful environment where parents and families can spend precious, uninterrupted time with their baby. In those quiet moments, they are able to create memories that will last a lifetime, being able to hold their child in their arms for a few short days before facing the hardest goodbye ever.
“Michelle and I were not given that opportunity when we lost Emily. We realised the critical need for a facility built to cater for the needs of future parents in the same heartbreaking situation as us, importantly, one with a healthy environment that gives the family time to reflect and process the devastating loss of their baby, begin to move forward, and embrace the memory of their baby. This is why we had the idea of a dedicated Serenity Suite, and providing Nottingham families with such an important space became our focus for the charity’s fundraising.
“To know that, because of Forever Stars, other families now have that choice and that space means more to us than words can truly express. It is a lasting part of Emily’s legacy, and one that continues to bring comfort to us both. Both suites play an important role in supporting the mental health and well-being of families after their loss, and so it is our pledge to ensure that these suites remain well-maintained and that Nottingham will always have these facilities in the future.”
Over the last 11 years, Forever Stars has raised more than £900,000. As well as the Serenity Suite at QMC, the charity fundraised £100,000 for a second Serenity Suite at Nottingham City Hospital, which opened on 8th December 2017. The charity’s ‘Forever in Bloom’ appeal in 2018 was used to fund the creation of the baby remembrance Serenity Garden in Highfield Park, Nottingham, which is maintained by the charity’s volunteers.
Forever Stars was awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2025, the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.
To find out more about Forever Stars and this year’s Decade of Serenity fundraising campaign, visit: Forever Stars | East Midlands | Stillbirth & Child Bereavement Charity.
