A leading Hull charity has created an emotional online ‘Postbox to the stars’ through which bereaved families can send letters to their lost little ones, to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week. Sam Catanach founded Chasing Rainbows seven years ago, when an online forum she wrote as she struggled with the heartache of baby loss evolved into an in-person support group for women everywhere enduring similar heartbreaking experiences.
Earlier this year Sam, 39, opened the UK’s first and only baby loss and infertility hub in Brough, welcoming in many of the families she has supported over the years. While Chasing Rainbows is based in Hull, it offers vital support and advice to families all over the world, from as far away as Canada and North America, so as Baby Loss Awareness Week approached, Sam and the team at the much-loved charity were determined to create something which could involve everyone.
The result is the Postbox to the Stars, a powerful online feature where bereaved parents can write a messages to their lost little ones, watch it drift into the night and settle on a real star. So far, scores of families from around the region and beyond have penned emotional letters, creating a “sky full of love” they can return to at anytime.
Sam, of Kirk Ella, was one of the first to send a letter into the sky, to the five babies she lost on her painful journey to becoming mum to Ted, 7, and Blossom. The mum, who also owns Flex Dance School in Hull, hopes many more will send Postcards to the Stars.
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She said: “It’s really powerful, because our campaign this year is “all loss matters”. It doesn’t matter what gestation you lose a baby, it’s valid, and it’s heartbreaking. And so this is another way that shows everybody’s loss matters and you can have a star, whether you had a six week miscarriage or a full-term still birth.
“I just wanted to create something for baby loss awareness week this year that included everyone because our reach, although we’re based in Hull, goes worldwide now. I thought it’s really important for everyone that we support to be able to include all of their babies in our sky full of stars, so that’s why we’ve created this postbox to your star in the sky.
“When I worked in the NHS I always wrote during my own losses, on my blog. I always found writing my thoughts and my feelings down helped me. And so I tried to think of a way that people would be able to write a postcard and send it to their star in the sky.
“Me and my husband actually own a giant metal post box and, for a few years, we set up a stall where people could come and find me and write the postcard physically and put it in the post box. We had the idea of making time capsules and burying them each year.
“This is a natural development of that, through the idea of the postbox having such a big reach. I know that often people say that they do talk to loved ones that aren’t here anymore, and think about what they would say in a phone call. And I think it’s actually incredibly special that people can read messages to different stars on the sky.”
Sam explained how, once someone has created their star, they can send it to family members, friends and loved ones, so that they too can attach a message to the same star. She said: “The message maybe says “from mummy and daddy” but then grandparents and aunties and uncles can also write little messages and it’s all attached to the same star. The shape of it is really beautiful. If you start to zoom in, you go through the constellations and see more and more stars.
“Everybody’s been really overwhelmed with it and involved all of their family. It’s just felt really special to do, and really unique and because it’s free as well, anybody can do it, it’s accessible for everybody. You don’t have to pay or anything. It’s just so that everybody can feel included and validated.”
Baby Loss Awareness Week runs from October 9 to 15. To send a message through the Postbox to the Stars visit the Chasing Rainbows site here.
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