Big-hearted Chesterfield parents raise a great total for amazing charity - in memory of baby son who died

The first ever Tobyfest was hosted by Crown and Anchor Pub on Sheffield Road in Chesterfield last Saturday, August 3.

The event was organised by Laura Hicklin and Dale Barker, both 31, who were left heartbroken after their baby son Toby was born with a congenital heart defect and passed away at three weeks old.

Laura said: “We had a much bigger turnout than we were expecting. It was the first event that we have ever set up so we weren’t expecting anything big to come from it.”

The event, which saw family fun activities and live music, raised a great total of £1126 set to be donated to The Sick Children's Trust.

The charity supported Laura and Dale when they were at a special ward in Leeds where Toby was receiving medical help – by providing them with a ‘home away from home’ just minutes from their son’s bedside.

Laura said: "The total raised is absolutely incredible. It’s enough to fund a family for a full month’s stay in one of the sick children’s trust houses, which is amazing.

"Thank you to everybody who made the event possible – to the stall holders, to the pub for hosting, to the bands for coming and playing. And a massive thank you to the general public for donating to this amazing charity.”

Laura said that after the success last weekend, the couple would like to organise Tobyfest again in the future.

She said: "We are going to go ahead and organise Tobyfest next year again. If it is successful, we will make it an annual event and over the years it will get bigger and bigger.”

At the event, the couple will also be collecting signatures under their petition to change the bereavement law to allow dads to have more time off work to grieve if their child passes away.

Currently, the UK law allows fathers up to two weeks to grieve their child while mothers can get up to 52 weeks of bereavement leave.

Laura said it was important that more people sign or share the petition, so the matter can be discussed in the parliament ‘to make a change for future parents’.