Month: July 2024

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Burial Gowns for Stillborn Babies

The death of a loved one can be a traumatic and confusing time for those who are left behind. In addition to coordinating funeral or memorial services, the grieving family must also decide on clothing for the deceased. This decision is based on a variety of factors, including the person’s wishes and cultural traditions. Traditionally, people have dressed their dead in nice clothes. The choice of apparel can also be influenced by the environment in which the body is buried. Some families choose traditional clothes, like suits and dress shirts, while others may opt for more casual clothing that is meaningful to their loved one. For those who prefer a natural burial, there are burial shrouds that resemble a light linen cloth, ideal for the type of earth-friendly funeral that is popular in some regions. These garments are typically crafted from ecologically produced fabrics and feature buttons made of nacre, a material that is naturally biodegradable. The gowns are available in a range of colors, sizes and styles, and can be worn by both men and women. Some of the most heartbreaking cases involve infants who die at a very young age, often before their first birthdays. For these infants, a special kind of gown is designed to help with the dressing process and offer a dignified cover for the tiny bodies. One Wisconsin mother is using her sewing skills to honor the life of her own stillborn baby by repurposing wedding dresses into burial gowns for babies who were born too soon. Hazel Jones’ workshop used to be part of her living room, but now she uses it to cut down formal gowns that she uses to make burial wraps and gowns for babies who die too soon. She is among a group of volunteers called Little Angel Gowns who sew these garments for mothers who have lost their children. The volunteers collect wedding dresses, prom gowns and First Communion dresses from friends and neighbors, aiming to make around 35 burial gowns each month for families who need them. Many of these families are unable to afford a traditional funeral dress or shroud for their loved ones, but the volunteers try to make it as accessible as possible. They offer different color and style options, as well as a unisex gown for larger babies and a range of sizes from two to eight pounds. They also make burial blankets and memory kits for those who have lost a child. The organization has helped more than 3,800 families. The Little Angel Gowns project is supported by donations from the public and local churches. Its volunteers are also grateful to the community for donating the dresses and other materials. To donate a dress, contact the local chapter of Little Angel Gowns. The group has a Facebook page and website. They accept a wide variety of fabrics, including silk, lace and velvet. Each garment takes a few hours to create, and the volunteers work in pairs to ensure that each is completed on schedule.

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Where to Donate Wedding Dresses

Many brides save their wedding dress as a keepsake or pass it down to the next generation, but some opt to donate it. The best part about this option is that it gives the gown a second life rather than simply sitting in a box in a closet somewhere, taking up valuable space, or being artfully destroyed by social media (it’s okay, we’ve all seen those). Plus, you can claim your donation as a tax deduction. While reselling can be an option, it’s important to keep in mind that the process can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. You’ll need to clean and repair the dress, find a reputable retailer and take high-quality photos. In addition, some retailers only accept dresses that are in good condition and less than two years old. If you decide to go the reselling route, Chapman recommends starting the process within one to six months of your wedding. “This will give you enough time to find a buyer and negotiate pricing,” she says. There are a number of charities and thrift shops that accept donated wedding dresses, including Brides for a Cause, which sells the gowns to raise funds for women-focused causes, and Forever Angels of Virginia, which turns the gowns into infant burial gowns for families who have lost babies in the NICU. Other organizations, such as Adorned in Grace, which resells bridal accessories and gowns to help fight human trafficking, accept donations year-round. If you’re interested in donating your dress, it’s important to do some research to ensure you pick a reputable charity with a mission that aligns with your own. Some organizations only accept dresses that are in good condition and not more than five years old, while others may charge an additional fee for cleaning or alteration services. When deciding where to donate your dress, keep in mind that many of these groups are local. This can make the difference between your wedding dress being used by a bride in need and being sent to landfills, where it contributes to harmful environmental impacts. For instance, the Albany, NY-based nonprofit Shared Dream Dresses is a great option for New Yorkers. The private Facebook group connects people who have unwanted wedding dresses with potential brides who are looking for a dress at a discounted price. Shared Dream Dresses has already connected more than 19,000 brides and has a 100-percent success rate in matching brides with the perfect dress. Other local options include the Albany-based nonprofit Adorned in Grace, which uses proceeds from the sale of donated bridal gowns to help fight human sex trafficking. You can also donate your dress to a local thrift store, such as the People’s Place in Kingston, NY, which accepts dresses throughout the year. Be sure to label the box with helpful information about your dress, including the size and brand/designer name, to save the charity volunteers’ time and avoid confusion.

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Angel Gowns For Infants Who Lose Their Lives Before They Leave the Hospital

In a lifetime full of joy and heartbreak, there are few experiences more difficult than losing a child, especially in the neonatal intensive care unit. For grieving families, it often feels like one more cruel blow. But one selfless bride-to-be is using her wedding dress to help a very special cause. Lisa Grubbs of Fort Worth, Texas, collects bridal dresses and turns them into angel gowns for infants who pass away before leaving the hospital. Her efforts are a beacon of hope for families in their darkest moments. “I feel like it’s my calling,” she told KHOU. Grubbs founded NICU Helping Hands, which is collecting dresses from all over the country and turning them into gowns for babies who lose their lives before they leave the hospital. She and a handful of seamstresses have been sewing the gowns for about a year, but they’ve had a tremendous response since a news story on the effort was published in March. A man in Puyallup, Washington, who read the story saw himself in Sarah’s shoes. He retrieved his late wife’s dress from the attic and donated it to the project. Grubbs has even had people from as far away as California contact her, wanting to contribute to the program. Each gown takes about 12 to 20 hours to make. Grubbs’ team is making more gowns as fast as they can, but they need more to meet demand. She’s hoping the news story will spur more women to donate their wedding dresses, and she also hopes the program will encourage others to become seamstresses and make these gowns themselves. The gowns are being donated to hospitals in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, but the program is growing nationwide. Last week, it was announced that UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital will start receiving the gowns this summer. The hospital specializes in pediatric oncology, pediatric neurology, pediatric critical care and more. It’s the largest children’s hospital in the country and has an unwavering commitment to family-centered care and the comfort of every patient and their family. The gowns will be used for all tiniest patients, from newborns to infants and young children who lose their life before they leave the hospital. Families can choose to keep the gown or have it returned for another use. The hospital extends its heartfelt thanks to the seamstresses who volunteer their time to make these precious angel gowns.

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Panduan Terlengkap: Live Draw Toto Macau & Data Keluaran Tercepat Hari Ini

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How to Honor a Child Funeral Without Forcing Them To Attend

When a child passes away, parents are often confronted with the difficult decision of whether or not to invite their children to the funeral. Forcing children to attend can cause great distress, and if they are not prepared it may be hard for them to cope with the day. However, a funeral service is a time of mourning and closure, and there are ways to honour the deceased that do not involve forcing your children to attend. It is important to talk to your children about the funeral before the event takes place, and to explain what will happen. This will help them to decide whether they want to go or not and will also give them an idea of what to expect if they do decide to attend. Children take in information at their own pace and can only cope with a small amount of detail at any one time, so it is best to keep the explanations short at first. If they ask for more, you can always come back to it later. Depending on your children’s age and level of understanding, you can ask them to participate in the funeral service in any number of ways. This could include reading a poem or song, writing a message on a memory board or matted picture frame, singing a song with the rest of the guests, or letting them use a microphone to share their memories and thoughts. Alternatively, you can have a special memorial service at home and encourage friends and family to attend. A visit to the funeral home or other sites before the service can be a good opportunity to familiarise your children with what will happen. If they know what to expect it will be less intimidating for them on the day, and it will allow you to focus on your role as host. It is also a good idea to assign a buddy to each child, a trusted adult who will stay with them during the services and who they can turn to for reassurance or support if needed. Some children will decide that they do not want to attend a funeral service at all. This is not unusual, and you should respect their choice. However, it is a good idea to talk with them about how they would like to honor their sibling if they do not want to attend formal services. It is also a good idea to record the funeral so that you can play it for them at a time of their choosing. If you do decide to include your children in the funeral, you can make sure they have a good time. You can provide them with fun and unique mementos such as a balloon release, a cake made in their favorite flavor, or a photo montage that displays their smiling face throughout. You can also hire a fire truck, police car or other vehicles to escort them to the cemetery and line the driveway with luminaries.

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How to Select Baby Clothing For Comfort and Well-Being

With an affluent consumer base, a focus on sustainability and growing markets, kidswear has become one of the fashion industry’s most lucrative sectors. But it is also one that can be fraught with design challenges. With their small bodies, tiny feet and sensitive skin babies are particularly prone to irritation from rough seams, tags and fabrics. This makes the selection of soft, durable clothing essential for their comfort and wellbeing. And with parents constantly on the lookout for the next best thing to keep their children happy and comfortable, it is a challenging market for baby brands. Baby clothes are a hot trend and with good reason – they’re cute, well made and come in all sorts of adorable patterns. While it is tempting for parents to buy every super-cute piece of kidswear, this can be a costly and wasteful exercise. Newborns grow faster than weeds, and it’s not uncommon for them to outgrow clothes even before they’ve had the chance to wear them. Buying clothes that are too small for their babies can lead to discomfort and restrict movement, which isn’t good for their physical development. On the other hand, loose-fitting clothes allow for flexibility and promote healthy muscle growth. Keeping this in mind, the best quality baby clothes are made of natural fibres such as cotton and bamboo that are grown using sustainable methods. This means less pesticides and other harmful chemicals are used, which is better for the environment. The natural fibres are also gentle on baby’s delicate skin. When it comes to selecting a wardrobe, it’s important for new parents to start with a basic wardrobe of essentials. This should include bodysuits and onesies (sizes 6-8) in a variety of colours, prints and patterns. They should be sturdily made and designed to withstand being worn often, and the many tumbles and spills that are inevitable. Rompers are another key staple. These are one-piece outfits that snap at the legs, and they can be paired with shorts or pants, for play or dress up. They also pair well with tights for cold weather. Other basics include hats and mittens. Hats protect babies from the sun and help them stay warm in winter. These can have a drawstring at the bottom to tie under the chin so they won’t fall off. And mittens are essential for young infants to prevent their hands from freezing and becoming itchy. In addition to the basics, it’s a good idea for parents to have several pairs of each item of clothing for their newborns. This is because newborns are prone to spit-ups and blowouts, which means they’ll need to be washed frequently. Having an extra pair of each type of garment can make laundry day less stressful for parents.

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How Burial Gowns Can Reflect a Loved One’s Personality

When a loved one passes, it can be difficult to know what clothing to choose for their viewing and funeral. But what many people do not realize is that the outfit they are dressed in for their final resting place can hold a great deal of significance. Burial gowns, which are also called funeral attire or casket apparel, can serve as a way to pay tribute to the deceased person’s personality and style choices in life. If a person has made their wishes known, then they may have indicated what kind of clothing they would like to be laid to rest in. If a person has not done so, then there are several things that can be taken into consideration to help ensure their funeral outfits are in line with their preferences. For ladies, a classic black dress is an excellent choice for burial clothes as it evokes elegance and solemnity. A knee-length or midi dress with a modest neckline and sleeves will provide a dignified appearance that can be completed with closed-toe shoes and minimal jewelry for a refined look. A white ensemble is another popular option for women’s burial clothes as it is thought to represent purity and peace. A tailored suit in a subdued color such as gray, navy blue, or black can be worn with a white button-down dress shirt and conservative tie for a sophisticated and timeless look. Polished dress shoes should be worn to complete the ensemble. Men can also wear a traditional suit for their viewing or funeral. If a suit feels too formal, a pair of tailored dress pants and a matching shirt can be worn instead. A coordinating dress shirt in a soft, neutral color such as light gray, white, or khaki can be used to create a polished and dignified look. If a person was a fan of a particular sport or hobby, then their burial outfit can be a reflection of that. For example, if a loved one was an avid fisherman, then rubber waders and a hat with their favorite fishing lures and flies can be worn for their final farewell. Other options include wearing a cowboy hat and boots, or a favorite motorcycle jacket. In addition to these outfits, there are also several baby burial clothes charities that make handmade clothing for infants to be worn at their funerals. These outfits are designed to aide in dressing the babies, protect their fragile bodies, and provide an attractive covering for them. A selection of sizes are available to suit all types of babies, including premature babies. Additionally, bariatric burial gowns are available for those who were very overweight in life. Some gowns even come with religious motifs for funerals of those who were Catholic.

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Donate Wedding Dresses

Whether you’ve recently tied the knot, or you’re divorced and ready to clear out your closet, donating your wedding dress can help someone else. And, it can also help you declutter and score a tax deduction in the process. A bride-to-be might need a special gown to wear on her big day, or she could be a disaster victim who lost everything and must rebuild her life. In addition, many people are struggling financially during the pandemic and are looking for ways to help, including providing wedding dresses to those in need. One woman who donated her dress did so to support a family who had lost their baby. Through the Emma and Evan Foundation, donors’ wedding dresses are repurposed into infant burial gowns, or angel gowns, and are provided to hospitals, birthing centers, and funeral homes for families to take home after losing their little ones too soon. For those who are considering donating their dress, there are several organizations to choose from that accept these gowns and other bridal accessories. However, it’s important to contact the organization in advance to ask about their specific donation guidelines. Some charities and thrift shops that accept wedding dresses may require that the gowns are designed no more than five years ago, while others might have additional requirements like requiring the dress to be dry cleaned before being accepted. Librarian Adele Puccio has a passion for collecting wedding dresses. She’s been doing so since she was a child, and now runs the Maurice M. Pine Free Public Library in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Despite her busy schedule, she always finds time to clean out her dress collection and give it to a bride-to-be who needs it. When Puccio started her private group, Shared Dream Dresses, on Facebook, she had no idea it would grow into what it has. More than 19,000 members have joined the group, and Puccio has been successful in matching more than 200 brides-to-be with their perfect dress. Another organization that accepts dresses is Brides Across America, which gives them to military brides and first responders who can’t afford to buy their own. The charity recently suffered a setback when a flood destroyed its warehouse in North Andover, Massachusetts, leaving them with thousands of dresses to sell and no place to store them. The group is now raising money on a GoFundMe to help fund its relocation and rebuilding efforts. A third option is to donate your dress to a local bridal boutique. For example, the Northwest-based charity Brides for a Cause has shops in Tacoma, Seattle, and Sacramento. The organization resells donated gowns, and profits from the sales are then given to other charitable organizations that focus on helping women. As of 2020, some of the recipients include Loveland Foundation and Abby’s Closet. Other bridal shops that accept used wedding dresses and other formalwear include Adorned in Grace, a faith-based organization that sells the used gowns to raise funds for anti-trafficking programs and awareness publications. They also accept new and gently-used bridesmaid, flower girl, and mother of the bride/groom dresses as well as bridal accessories like veils and belts.

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Angel Gowns for Infant Bereavement

Every year, thousands of infants are born with severe medical conditions. Tragically, many of those little ones don’t survive long enough to go home with their parents. For families in these situations, there is a simple way to honor their baby and remember them: by dressing them in special gowns called angel gowns. These special dresses are made from donated wedding dresses and then given to grieving parents for their infants who pass away at birth or after miscarriage. Every wedding dress can yield up to 12 to 20 angel gowns, which are donated to hospitals, funeral homes and directly to families. “It’s very heart-warming to see parents choose a gown for their infant and have it become a beautiful keepsake,” says NICU Helping Hands founder Karen Grubbs. “We’re so grateful for the amazing support and donations from people like you that make this possible.” The idea started with a newspaper column written by Sarah Clark, a local mother who lost her baby through miscarriage. The column resonated with readers, including one man in Puyallup who read it and felt compelled to donate his wife’s unworn bridal gown to the project. Since then, Grubbs has collected more than 2,500 donated wedding dresses and more than 300 volunteer seamstresses from all over the world to transform them into gowns and wraps for families of babies who died during or after miscarriage or who were stillborn. Her efforts have inspired other communities across the United States and the world, including a group in North Dakota that is named ND Angel Gowns. Several volunteer seamstresses from Lincoln and Bismarck make infant bereavement gowns out of donated wedding dresses and deliver them to area hospitals. For the tiniest patients, a custom-made gown is especially important to provide comfort and security. During the time spent in the NICU, a gown can help keep an infant’s head elevated and breathing properly, which helps improve blood flow to the brain and prevent clots. In addition, a special blanket can be used to keep the baby warm, which also helps with circulation and reduces swelling. Providing these tiny garments has a significant impact on the lives of families at Dignity Health – St. Mary’s Medical Center Long Beach and throughout the region. “The NICU staff is so appreciative of the beautiful gowns that are provided for our tiniest patients and their families,” says Dr. John J. O’Donnell, NICU Medical Director at St. Mary’s. “These beautiful gowns offer a sense of peace and dignity to the babies and their families in their final moments together.” In addition to making the special gowns, NICU Helping Hands raises funds to donate cooling devices such as the Cuddle Cot(tm) or Caring Cradle to hospitals for use by bereaved parents. You can help us equip more hospitals with these life-saving tools by making a donation here.