My Nonprofit Reviews

In April of last year, when I was 38 weeks pregnant with our daughter, Lisa Grace, my husband and I learned the devastating news that her heart had stopped beating. I gave birth to a beautiful 9 pound, 21-inch baby girl who looked just like her Daddy. Due to some complication during delivery, I wasn't able to see her until several hours later (my husband chose to wait to see her so we could see her together). The first time we saw our daughter, she was dressed in a beautiful purple dress, wearing a purple crocheted hat, and wrapped in a purple blanket. We had no idea where these items came from. They weren't anything we had or brought by family or friends. We later learned that a local organization had donated these items.

When we laid her to rest, Lisa was wearing the dress and hat. In fact, the only way we ever saw her was in that dress and hat. We never saw her undressed or wearing any other outfit. We had considered leaving her blanket with her. It was hers, after all. It was suggested to us that we may want to keep her blanket, so we have something that was hers. We decided to do just that. That blanket is all we have that was hers. That blanket has helped comfort us during some of our darkest times.

When we were leaving the hospital, I asked for the name of the organization who had donated her dress, hat, and blanket. The nurse gave us the business card for Southern Grace Angelic Gowns. We later learned that they take donated wedding dresses and transform them into burial garments for babies who are stillborn or pass away shortly after birth. In our case, it was a donated bridesmaid dress.

A month later, during my first Mother's Day weekend, my husband and I met Sophia, the founder of SGAG, and donated my own wedding dress in my daughter's name. That weekend was just the beginning of our relationship with SGAG. I am proud to volunteer my time with this wonderful organization and, as of March of this year, to serve as SGAG's Vice President.