For families experiencing the loss of a baby, some of the most difficult days of their lives can also bring unexpected financial decisions, unanswered questions and a need for support they never imagined they would need.
Heaven’s Cradle exists to make sure West Tennessee families do not have to face those moments alone.
The Jackson-based nonprofit provides assistance to families following pregnancy and infant loss, including funeral and cremation expenses, grief counseling and other programs designed to support families both immediately following a loss and in the months and years that follow.
Each year, the organization’s largest fundraiser — the Heaven’s Cradle Twilight Run & Sunset Rendezvous — brings hundreds of families, supporters and community members together for an evening that is equal parts remembrance, celebration and hope.
This year’s event will be held Thursday, October 15, at Union University, intentionally coinciding with Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.
The evening includes a timed 5K, one-mile walk, dinner, entertainment and a special Heaven’s Cradle remembrance program. But for many of the families who attend, the most meaningful part of the evening is simply seeing their baby’s name spoken, displayed and remembered.
“Every name represents a baby who mattered and a family whose life was forever changed,” said Heaven’s Cradle representative Rosy Griffin. “We want families to know that their baby is remembered, their grief is acknowledged and they have a community surrounding them.”
What began as an effort to help local families with the immediate financial burden following the loss of a baby has continued to grow as needs throughout West Tennessee have been identified.
Today, Heaven’s Cradle helps families with funeral and cremation expenses and grief counseling and also helps fund Caring Cradles in West Tennessee hospitals. The organization continues developing programs and resources intended to provide compassionate care for families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss.
And the money raised stays close to home.
“Our community is incredibly generous to Heaven’s Cradle, and those dollars go right back into helping families here in West Tennessee,” Griffin said. “These aren’t families somewhere else. They are our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends and sometimes our own family members.”
The Twilight Run has also become much more than a fundraiser.
Families form teams in memory of babies they love. Participants carry names with them as they walk and run. Luminaries create a Wave of Light, and families gather together for an evening where pregnancy and infant loss can be acknowledged openly rather than quietly carried alone.
“You can look across the event and see hundreds of people gathered for babies whose lives may have been very short, but whose impact will last forever,” Griffin said. “There is something incredibly powerful about that.”
Funds raised through the Twilight Run & Sunset Rendezvous allow Heaven’s Cradle to continue providing services to families throughout West Tennessee. Because of community sponsors, participants, donors and volunteers, the organization is able to step in when a family needs help — often during circumstances they never expected to face.
“Our goal is for a family to hear the words, ‘Heaven’s Cradle can help with that,’” Griffin said. “Whether that means helping with funeral expenses, providing counseling or simply making sure their baby is remembered, we want families to know they do not have to walk through this alone.”
The Heaven’s Cradle Twilight Run & Sunset Rendezvous will be held Oct. 15 at Union University. Registration is available at twilightrun.raceroster.com.
(PHOTO: The Twilight Run will be held Oct. 15 at Union University; Rosy Griffin, Heaven’s Cradle)
