This year marks a very special milestone for Once Upon a Smile, as the charity celebrates 15 years of supporting bereaved children and families across Greater Manchester. As the only dedicated child bereavement centre in the North West, the charity has been providing a safe space for children to express their feelings, explore emotions, and begin to make sense of experiences that can be difficult even for adults.

To celebrate this landmark year, Once Upon a Smile is delighted to announce the generous business partners supporting the 15th Anniversary Grand Ball, an evening dedicated to raising vital funds for the children and families the charity supports.

Partners for the Grand Ball include:

• Headline Partner: Sprayed Concrete Solutions and Roydon Group
• Event Partners: Leasing Options
• Instant Win Partner: TRM Domestics

And a huge thanks to: Sadie Sumner, Green Contract Services, Think! design and Hickling & Squires

The Grand Ball will take place on Saturday 9th May at the iconic The Point at Emirates Old Trafford. Guests can expect an evening of entertainment, delicious food, laughter, and the opportunity to take part in a raffle and auction with incredible prizes. Tickets are £120 per person, including an arrival drinks reception, a three-course meal, and entertainment throughout. Limited seats are available.

Our newsletter is back this Spring. This issue is full of updates, stories, and exciting news about what’s been happening at Sidley House and sharing how we support bereaved children and their families. You’ll find a warm welcome from our team, a spotlight on one of our amazing supporters, and a sneak peek at upcoming events-including our 15th anniversary Grand Ball, a brand new Golf Day and more! Most importantly, it shows the difference your kindness makes for bereaved children and families every single day. Thank you for your support.

We’re delighted to announce the success of our annual Christmas Ball, which brought together supporters, sponsors, volunteers and performers for an unforgettable afternoon in support of bereaved children and their families.

The festive event raised much-needed funds to help us continue providing emotional and practical support to families following the death of a loved one across Greater Manchester. Guests enjoyed a magical day filled with entertainment, generosity and community.

We were honoured to be supported by a range of talented acts who helped make the event so special, including Jane Relph, Elm Arts Company, Kelly Llorenna and Manchester band The Middletones, whose performances kept guests entertained throughout. We also had the wonderful magician Daniel Maze and Santa providing laughter and fun during the event.

A massive thank you to the the dedicated volunteers who gave their time and energy in the preparation to the delivery on the day and to our friends at Mercure Piccadilly, Think!, Green Contract Services, Hickling & Squires and KeyTeq.

The event raised £16,600!

Dan Jillings, CEO of Once Upon a Smile, said:

“The Christmas Ball was a powerful reminder of the kindness and compassion within our community. We are deeply grateful to everyone who attended, sponsored, volunteered, donated, and performed. The funds raised will make a real difference, allowing us to continue supporting children and families during some of the most difficult times of their lives.”

As we reflect on the year, we want to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported Once Upon a Smile throughout 2025. Your kindness, generosity and belief in our work truly mean so much to us, and we are incredibly grateful to have you as part of the Once Upon a Smile family.

Every day, our mission remains the same: to provide support to children, young people and families following the death of a loved one. With your support, we have continued to offer safe, welcoming spaces and specialist support that help children feel understood, supported and less alone during some of the most difficult times in their lives.

This year has been one of growth and impact. Together, we have delivered thousands of support sessions for children and young people, continued to offer bereavement support to all primary schools across Greater Manchester, and expanded the activities and spaces available at Sidley House to better meet the needs of the families we support. We have also been proud to see our work recognised locally, reflecting the dedication and compassion of our small but mighty team.

2025 also saw the exciting launch of our refreshed brand. This rebrand, created by our friends at Think!, helped us better reflect the heart of our work and the families we support. We were incredibly proud that this work received two gold design awards, recognising the impact and quality of what was delivered.

None of this would be possible without you. These achievements are a direct reflection of your compassion, encouragement and trust in what we do.

Looking ahead, 2026 marks a very special milestone as we celebrate 15 years of Once Upon a Smile. To mark this occasion, we have an exciting range of events and activities planned throughout the year, and we would love for you to get involved and celebrate alongside us.

Thank you for standing alongside us and for helping us make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and families when they need it most. We are so grateful for your continued support and look forward to sharing more stories of impact with you in the year ahead.

From all of us at Once Upon a Smile, thank you once again.

Danny & Dan
Co-Founders, Once Upon a Smile

Watch this powerful video and help raise awareness-share it with your school, colleagues, and community to support children navigating grief.

Created by a young person supported by our bereavement team at Once Upon a Smile, the video shares their personal experience to highlight how schools can better support children and young people after the death of a loved one.

This young person’s message is a powerful reminder of how much kindness and understanding matter. His experience invites us to listen, learn, and continue building schools where every bereaved child feels seen, supported, and cared for.

We would like to thank all the schools and educators who continue to make a difference every day through their care, empathy, and commitment to supporting bereaved children and Once Upon a Smile.

For more information and for resources on how we support schools, please click the button below.

As Christmas approaches, we are asking our community to come together and support children and young people facing the heartbreak of life after the death of a loved one.

This time of year can be especially difficult for the families we support. At our dedicated bereavement centre in Trafford, we provide a safe, welcoming space where children can explore their emotions through play, creativity and conversation, helping them rebuild confidence and find moments of comfort when they need it most.

A brand-new downloadable Christmas resource has been created to help you easily get involved-whether you’re fundraising at work, organising a festive challenge, or simply spreading awareness online. Every action helps us be there for families when it matters most.

If you would like to make a donation instead, please click the donate button.

Thank you so much for your continued support.

We’re delighted to share the second edition of our Once Upon a Smile Newsletter!

This issue is full of updates, stories, and exciting news about what’s been happening at Sidley House and our impact this year. You’ll find a warm welcome from our team, a spotlight on one of our amazing supporters, and a sneak peek at upcoming events-including our Christmas Ball.

Most importantly, it shows the difference your kindness makes for bereaved children and families every single day. Thank you for your support.

Enjoy!

The language used when taking about death and dying to children can make such a difference in the way they process what has happened. Words can confuse children and potentially cause additional fears. Unless you know the family well and understand their circumstances, wishes and beliefs, we encourage you to keep things simple.

For anyone supporting a bereaved family, we urge you to consider the language you are using when having conversations.
We want everyone in our community to model safe and compassionate language so our children can begin to grieve in a healthy way.

With your help we can put out a powerful message to educate and encourage people to do what MATTERS.

Please remember

• Children often understand language and phrases much more literally than us adults!
• When we use clear, honest words about death, we help children make sense of their world, their grief and their feelings.
• Being honest with children about death and dying isn’t cruel-its kind.
• Clear words, safe spaces-that’s what children need when a loved one dies.

Such conversations may be difficult to have, please do reach out to us if you would like some guidance.

We’re delighted to announce that our annual Christmas Ball will take place on Saturday 13th December 2025 at the beautiful Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel.

Time: 11:00am – 4:00pm
Hosted by: Our charity Co-Founder/CEO Daniel Jillings with Hits Radio Drivetime host Mike Toolan.
Tickets: £70 per person (minimum 2 tickets)
Tables available: 8 or 10 guests

See our video of last year’s event below!

Guests will enjoy a delicious four-course meal, incredible live entertainment, and plenty of festive fun–all in support of the vital work we do with bereaved children and families across Greater Manchester.

This year’s event headline partner is Sentinel Security One Ltd. -Thank you to this business for their support!

Sponsorship opportunities are still available-a fantastic way for businesses to show their support while gaining visibility at one of our most exciting events of the year.

To secure your tickets/tables or discuss sponsorship, please contact us today by using the form below.

 

Join us this December for a day to remember, while helping us continue to bring smiles to those who need them most.

We’ve had another successful summer programme, bringing comfort, joy, and practical support to bereaved children and their families across Greater Manchester.

The packed summer schedule included our much-loved annual residential trip to the Children’s Adventure Farm, where children came together to make new friendships, enjoy muddy messy play, and take part in a range of outdoor activities.

Back at Sidley House, the Schools Out Summer Group created a safe, fun space for children to play, imagine, and share experiences together. Families also enjoyed unforgettable days out at Gulliver’s World and Manchester City Football Club, helping create happy memories at a difficult time.

Alongside these activities, the charity provided grocery vouchers and school uniform financial contributions, easing the pressure on families during the summer holidays.

We’ve provided:

• 5 activities over 6 weeks for children as young as 4.
• Supported over 180 bereaved children and their parents.
• Over 60 families supported through grocery contributions.

And seen an increase of referrals for our support from last year by 38%

We want to say a huge thanks to the BUPA Foundation and Cash for Kids for making these opportunities possible, ensuring children and families feel less alone and more supported during the summer.