Yasmine McClory Foundation’s first annual ‘Yasfest’ in Sutton-on-Trent raises hundreds in memory of daughter and sister

Friends, family, and even those who didn’t know her but agreed with what she stood for all came together to celebrate the life of a much-loved Sutton-on-Trent young woman.

The Yasmine McClory Foundation was launched earlier this year in memory Yasmine McClory, of Sutton-on-Trent, who passed away suddenly earlier this year aged just 20 years old of a pulmonary embolism likely the result of her being 10 weeks pregnant.

The Foundation supports causes Yasmine was passionate about, including food poverty, LGBTQ+ mental health, children with learning disabilities, and medical conditions affecting quality of life, with her mum Annelie, dad Jason, and siblings Jess, 27, and Ev, 17, all on board to keep Yasmine and her legacy alive.

To mark what would have been her 21st birthday on Sunday (September 22), and also poignantly what would have been the week her baby was due, Yasmine’s family hosted the music festival Yasfest at Sutton-on-Trent Sports Club on Saturday.

Among the artists who played on the day, including Yasmine’s friends and alumni from the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, Yasmine's boyfriend and father of her unborn child, Mark Henry, performed for the first time in five years, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when he played Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars. Her sibling Bam, 15, also performed and was arguably one of the most popular performance of the day.

As the night came to an end, a video of Yasmine performing was played on a projector so that she closed the show.

Annelie said: “There were a few tears, but it’s important to show people who what this was all for and it was a nice way to celebrate her birthday.”

She that they’d had some great feedback from those who came during the day, and as they’d been so blessed with the sunny weather there was a steady flow of people, and the room was full at one stage.

Overall, Yasfest raised £530 for the Foundation, and an additional £330 raised at a charity football match by Muskham Old Boys the following day meant that £860 was raised over the weekend.

“As a family, we’d really like to thank everyone who helped make this possible, we couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help as it wasn’t just a family event, it was a community event.”