Exciting news!!

Today we met with the NICU Manager and the Meriter Foundation to discuss how we can make this donation drive successful. They had some great ideas, and we are so excited. One of the major things we discussed was the best way for cash or credit card donations to be received is by having it done directly through the Meriter Foundation. Any cash or credit card donations received will be used to help the Bereavement Support Program. This program provides education for Birthing Center and NICU staff as well as supplies for families experiencing a loss.

After a family experiences a loss, they are given a memory box with several items that the family can use to help remember their child by. We were given a cute pink box after we loss Alivia; inside the box was many things that we could use to have in memory of our daughter. When we received the box, it had a small candle, a teddy bear, a small blanket, and several other things to help keep her memory. We now keep the memory box on a shelf in our guest room, and it holds all of the Alivia's special items. We have added several items of our own to the box including a lock of her hair, her identification badges from the hospital, our first family photo, and so many other special things to us. We like having it near by so that when we want to look at it, its right there.

Also the training that the NICU Staff receives is very helpful in assisting a family who have just experienced a loss. Our nurses were so wonderful and made us feel so comfortable, and experienced our loss with us.

We want to be able to help the Bereavement Support Program in any way. So please make a cash or credit card donation in honor of our daughter, Alivia, and assist in the program offered by the Meriter Foundation. It truly is a wonderful and much needed program.

A donation can be made through Meriter's website directly. The link is located on the right hand side of this page. On Meriter's website, you'll find a place where it mentions Alivia's Angel Gift, and make a donation.

Meriter's website is:

http://www.meriter.com/family/foundation/gift.htm

We are so excited to introduce this new addition to the donation drive, and hope we can assist the Bereavement Support Program.