The recipients of this award will have led by example in creating environments helpful to grieving families. These individuals or organizations understand the various needs of those experiencing perinatal loss and implement practical methods to support these families. These awards are available to individuals in North America
Empty Cradle is a non-profit organization serving San Diego and S. Riverside counties in California. Empty Cradle serves area parents who have experienced the loss of a baby through early pregnancy loss, stillbirth or infant death. Volunteer parents have offered emotional support, friendship, and community education since the group was organized by bereaved parents in January 1982. Empty Cradle offers support through three monthly meetings at different locations, telephone support, a lending library, a private Face Book group, literature for new members, a memory box program in some area hospitals, in-service meetings for the health care community, information about local and internet support, and a website. Â The peer-to-peer nature of the support is vital because no one can understand this type of loss as fully as someone who has suffered it. The non-judgmental support and acceptance of the leaders and other group members is healing. Empty Cradle is well-known among health care providers in San Diego who frequently refer newly bereaved parents, and has developed a positive relationship with the healthcare community in our area. Empty Cradle’s longevity, as well as the number of families it has served, make it an invaluable resource to the stillbirth community.
HUGS has established a peer support program with their local (Madison, WI) hospitals. They are an asset to these bereavement programs and have brought great comfort and support to area families. They continue to raise the standard of care in our communities and are determined to prove their value.
Face 2 Face Rochester NY began in June 2012 after JennRose, Stephanie, and Melissa met at a remembrance mass. Together, the three of them were able to rely on each other and begin to heal. Realizing they could not be the only ones in our town that could be facing such an unimaginable tragedy, they created a website and facebook page and invited other families of loss to join them twice a month to talk, cry, laugh and share. In the almost five years of Face 2 Face’s existence, they have helped over 500 families in meeting rooms, restaurants, over the phone, via email, living rooms, and in hospitals with bedside support. Their children, Ethan, Ryan, and Hayden, live on each and every day, as does every child’s legacy. The families they help – their children become a part of Face 2 Faces legacy as well. They also donate books to area hospitals. The largest and most looked forward too event held each year is their Remembrance Ceremony. “I can not say enough about this remarkable group or these three remarkable women that took their pain and not only survived their loss, but continue to use their loss and reach back into it week after week to help others survive their own.
Halos of the St. Croix Valley is an organization based in New Richmond, WI that supports families experiencing the loss of a child.  They help with the funeral, the cost of the funeral, photographs, memory cards, homemade gifts and so much more. They have helped so many families in some of their darkest moments.
HEALing Embrace has changed the way Omaha cares for families healing from loss. Healing Embrace supports families who have lost a child through miscarriage and stillbirth. They assist with the grief process, funerals, and more following the death. Shawna and Jennifer are amazing support to these families. They are two amazing women who have lost babies of their own and want to support other families who go through the same.
