Hospital 'beyond words' after bereaved Kettering couple hand over £11,000 to appeal

A Kettering family who went through the devastation of losing a child have raised £11,000 for KGH s Twinkling Stars appeal.

Georgia and Sam Holland's daughter, Libby, was born 18 weeks prematurely at the Rothwell Road hospital on March 13 last year and died shortly after.

KGH had launched their appeal to improve bereavement care facilities for families like the Hollands, so that they don’t have to share facilities with families who are experiencing the joy of childbirth.

And when the Holland family found out about the appeal – which aims to raise £1m to fund a new bereavement room, family room, quiet room and office separated from the Labour Suite – they wanted to help.

Georgia said: "Whilst in hospital at KGH we were treated so well, however no-one could change the fact that we could hear crying babies knowing we would never hear our little girl's cry.

"You have to go through the same entrance and you know you’re losing your baby, yet there’s nothing you can do about it.

"You hear babies crying and I looked over to my husband and there were tears rolling down his face. We were determined to help improve facilities for families like ourselves who face these tragedies.”

Georgia’s mum Dawn Horne, a seamstress, also from Kettering, made more than 200 masks and sold them to raise money for the appeal.

The family also appealed for raffle prizes through social media and had an amazing response from hundreds of individuals and companies.

Prizes rained down on them between August and December 2020 and in the end the raffles raised thousands of pounds.

And on Friday, March 26, the couple handed over the money raised to KGH’s maternity and fundraising team.

KGH’s head of strategic and corporate fundraising, Jayne Chambers, said: “Sam and Georgia and Dawn have done an amazing job and we are blown away by what they have achieved during lockdown.

“They have done such a positive thing following their personal tragedy – I am just beyond words.”

KGH delivery suite manager Heather Silver said: “Our plans to improve bereavement care facilities will make a major difference to those families, like the Hollands, who face this very difficult situation.

“They have done an amazing job in raising so much to support the appeal and we very much appreciate the efforts of everyone who has helped them to achieve this.”