Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Touching Little Lives
Every eight seconds a baby is born. Every hour four babies die. Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality. One in five infant deaths is due to birth defects. Every two minutes a low birth weight baby is born. Every year more than 5,500 babies are born weighing less than one pound. Every minute a baby is born to a teen mother. One in nine infants is born preterm - less than 37 weeks gestation. The U.S. infant mortality rate is higher than 24 other nations.*
Cold facts and hard figures. To bring it closer to home, according to one research group as reported in an August 2000 issue of the Columbus Dispatch**, the child poverty rate increased in Ohio by 50% in the past 20 years, much higher than the national rate during the same period. It's a simple fact that many of Ohio's newborns lack the basic necessities to assist them in developing and sustaining good health. A warm blanket and clothing are vital to a newborn to retain body heat. These simple items can make the difference in an infant's ability to ward off other illnesses which could develop, necessitating return hospital stays that could have been prevented and adding to the already high cost. Our mission is to 'touch the little lives' of needy premature and newborn infants in Ohio, to do all that we can to give them, free of any charge, the necessities that every newborn needs. Our volunteers hand make quilts, blankets, caps, booties, gowns, undershirts, afghans, bibs, sleepers, and other articles as well as provide diapers, hygiene products, formula and bottles when possible.
Unfortunately there is one additional need that we sadly meet within our communities. Imagine, if you will, a young couple eagerly awaiting the birth of their new child. For reasons known only to God, this tiny angel is called to join its Heavenly Father. Instead of being able to rejoice at this new life, the sad reality is that this family must now provide for a single outfit in which to lay their precious child to rest. Many of these children arrive into this world prematurely, weighing less than one pound. At this difficult time, when a family member should be happily shopping at toy stores for rattles or toys for their child, they are instead there looking for doll clothing small enough to fit. Our volunteers respond during this time of grieving by providing burial layettes to these families for their child, a tear sewn into every stitch. A tear of sorrow for the child, a tear of love and compassion for the family.
Each year literally hundreds upon hundreds of premature and needy babies are admitted to our local Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). The extremely small size of many of these infants makes it difficult to find clothing that fits, and when it can be found, is often beyond the affordable range of many families. Every item which we provide is completely free of charge and no one in our organization receives any salary or compensation for their work. Every penny donated is spent on providing for these little lives. This is truly a charity of the heart, our reward being the personal satisifaction of helping those too young and fragile to help themselves.
In addition to providing clothing and necessity items to newborns, we also make and provide neonatal positioning devices(snuggles, snakes and frogs)to area hospitals as well as surgery dolls and stuffed animals. The positioning devices are used in the NICU to support the many tubes and monitoring devices often attached to the newborns. Our surgery dolls are used by doctors and nurses to draw on and graphically explain to a young child about their pending surgery. This helps the child understand what he or she is about to undergo. This doll is then given to the child, something to hold on to during the stressful hospital stay and something to take with when they are finally able to return home. We make stuffed animals and these are provided to various area agencies and emergency rooms. Having something soft to cling to during a time of stress can do much to ease the trauma of a young child.
If you would be interested in becoming a part of Touching Little Lives, or would like further information about what you can do, visit our "How You Can Help" page on this web site.
*Based on 1994 final data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Calculations by the March of Dimes Prenatal Data Center 1997.
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Cold facts and hard figures. To bring it closer to home, according to one research group as reported in an August 2000 issue of the Columbus Dispatch**, the child poverty rate increased in Ohio by 50% in the past 20 years, much higher than the national rate during the same period. It's a simple fact that many of Ohio's newborns lack the basic necessities to assist them in developing and sustaining good health. A warm blanket and clothing are vital to a newborn to retain body heat. These simple items can make the difference in an infant's ability to ward off other illnesses which could develop, necessitating return hospital stays that could have been prevented and adding to the already high cost. Our mission is to 'touch the little lives' of needy premature and newborn infants in Ohio, to do all that we can to give them, free of any charge, the necessities that every newborn needs. Our volunteers hand make quilts, blankets, caps, booties, gowns, undershirts, afghans, bibs, sleepers, and other articles as well as provide diapers, hygiene products, formula and bottles when possible.
Unfortunately there is one additional need that we sadly meet within our communities. Imagine, if you will, a young couple eagerly awaiting the birth of their new child. For reasons known only to God, this tiny angel is called to join its Heavenly Father. Instead of being able to rejoice at this new life, the sad reality is that this family must now provide for a single outfit in which to lay their precious child to rest. Many of these children arrive into this world prematurely, weighing less than one pound. At this difficult time, when a family member should be happily shopping at toy stores for rattles or toys for their child, they are instead there looking for doll clothing small enough to fit. Our volunteers respond during this time of grieving by providing burial layettes to these families for their child, a tear sewn into every stitch. A tear of sorrow for the child, a tear of love and compassion for the family.
Each year literally hundreds upon hundreds of premature and needy babies are admitted to our local Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). The extremely small size of many of these infants makes it difficult to find clothing that fits, and when it can be found, is often beyond the affordable range of many families. Every item which we provide is completely free of charge and no one in our organization receives any salary or compensation for their work. Every penny donated is spent on providing for these little lives. This is truly a charity of the heart, our reward being the personal satisifaction of helping those too young and fragile to help themselves.
In addition to providing clothing and necessity items to newborns, we also make and provide neonatal positioning devices(snuggles, snakes and frogs)to area hospitals as well as surgery dolls and stuffed animals. The positioning devices are used in the NICU to support the many tubes and monitoring devices often attached to the newborns. Our surgery dolls are used by doctors and nurses to draw on and graphically explain to a young child about their pending surgery. This helps the child understand what he or she is about to undergo. This doll is then given to the child, something to hold on to during the stressful hospital stay and something to take with when they are finally able to return home. We make stuffed animals and these are provided to various area agencies and emergency rooms. Having something soft to cling to during a time of stress can do much to ease the trauma of a young child.
If you would be interested in becoming a part of Touching Little Lives, or would like further information about what you can do, visit our "How You Can Help" page on this web site.
*Based on 1994 final data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Calculations by the March of Dimes Prenatal Data Center 1997.
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Labels: Charities, Charity Crafting
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