Gowns for Stillborn and Other Infant Burial, and How Toledoans Can Help

Awhile back, we wrote about an organization, Heavenly Angels in Need, that made gowns for the burial of infants.  Just today, an article appeared in the Toledo Blade about a Toledo area organization, Gabriel's Gowns, that also creates infant shrouds from donated wedding dresses and donates them to local health organizations for the parents of stillborn children and infants who die shortly after birth. Toledoans who wish to donate their wedding gowns can drop them off at March of Dimes offices located at 3450 W, Central Ave. Suite 352 in Toledo Ohio.

Drop off times are Tuesdays from 1-6, and Thursdays from 8-12, or call them at 567-298-4825 to make an appointment.You can also see the website if you wish to volunteer to sew gowns.

For more sources of help when losing an infant, see this site.

Financial Help for Headstones and Monuments for Children

In response to a question in the comments, I went looking for places that offer financial help in purchasing a headstone for an infant.  While most states legally spell out the level of government which is responsible for burying those too poor to afford their own burial, tombstones and memorials are outside the barest necessities, and not covered.  But private organizations in some localities attempt to fill this void.

In Georgia, Children's Burial Assistance will help some expenses for children's funerals in the state, and sometimes outside of it IF--and that's a big if--there are the funds.  In central Florida, the Bradley Summersill Foundation offers financial help for children's headstones.  Their contact information is:

2460 Peterson Road, Apopka, FL 32703,phone: (407) 733-1062.  The Josh Rojas Foundation works to give children in the Rochester, New York area headstones.  The Conner Kirby Infant Memorial Foundation provides help for infants in the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland.

The Northern New York Community Foundation has a fund for gravestones for children in their service area, via the "Forget Me Not" program.     

For more on the program, contact the NNYCF.

On the national level, there is one organization I found that does not seem to have a geographic limit, and that's the Dempsey Burdick Memorial Foundation.  A few families per year are chosen to receive a memorial stone for their loved one.  Again, this is dependent on availability of funds.

A Charity That Helps Preserve the Photo, Memory of a Lost Infant

The number one posting on this blog, day in and out, is financial help for the burial of a loved one.  Many people want a decent burial for those they love, and some want more.  In the case of a miscarriage, still birth, or the death of an infant, some families want a photographic memory of who they lost.

A few years ago, the Duggar Family (of 19 and Counting fame), came in for some controversy when pictures were leaked of a miscarried child of theirs, taken by the nonprofit group Now I Law Me Down To Sleep.  The group will take pictures at no cost of dead, stillborn and miscarried infants, at the request of the infant's families.  The work is done by a network of volunteer photographers, and a CD of the image and a release agreement is given to families so that they can have pictures made of the image (the cost of making pictures from the CD is not covered).  It provides a keepsake by which families can remember their lost child.  For more information, see this FAQ on their services for families. 

As with most websites for people in need, there are links for other types of support and resources for parents who suffer from the loss of their infant.