End-of-Year Charity Requests

One request comes from the MISS Foundation, with this:

"2011 has been a tremendous year of growth for the MISS Foundation. A new board of directors, a new executive director, a new national office, a new accounting system, new database, new interns, new policies, new procedures, new volunteers, and sadly, and most importantly many, many, many new MISS Families needing support after the death of their beloved child....

The MISS Foundation serves these families and thousands of other bereaved families around the world without the help of federal funding or grants. The MISS Foundation is able to care for its families from individual and corporate donations. Not unlike many nonprofits in this depressed economy, donations have not kept pace with the need for services, so much so, that in 2012 some of our programs are at risk of being discontinued because of the extreme lack of funding. We desperately need your help!  Remember: No one does what we do to help families facing infant and child death: counseling, advocacy, research, education, and support. 

In the spirit of holiday giving, gratitude, and loving precious children gone too soon, please help save MISS Foundation programs and consider a $100, a $50 or a $20 donation. Every dollar helps the MISS Foundation save families, families like yours, on the most unthinkable journey...

We can’t save every child. Please help us save their families…"

*Donations can be made online here.


Another funding request comes from Big Buddha films, which is working on an independent film about a couple who lose three children. The trailer is powerful and a bit heartbreaking. Imagine something like this being screened at one of the big film festivals, like Sundance. For more info, see here.

Traumatic Experiences and Resiliency Study (T.E.A.R.S.)

Joanne Cacciatore, a leading advocate for stillbirth families and founder of the MISS foundation, is looking for individuals who have experienced the loss of a child, whether they be parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, or friends, to participate in a study about resiliency.

From the T.E.A.R.S. website:

"We are a team of researchers from Arizona State University,  University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Austin College. We are exploring the experiences of those aged 18 and older who have experienced the death of a child.  The second wave of the study will explore the experiences of those who have experienced the deaths of other significant people such as partners, parents, siblings, grandchildren, and others.

The purpose of this study is to determine the individual, familial, and societal effects of significant loss and to improve standards of care to the bereaved and a model of compassionate caregiving and intervention that fosters resiliency at every level.

You can now participate in the T.E.A.R. Study here!"

A Statistic Worth Repeating

Yes, I'm still on a blog break - but came across a video on Joanne Cacciatore's blog this morning, with a statistic worth repeating:

Approximately 120,000 children die in the US every year.

Around 80% of them will die before their first birthday.