In the grand tapestry of life, there are moments of immense joy and moments of heartbreak. One such heartbreak is the loss of a prematurely born baby. For parents of NICU babies that pass, angel gowns offer them solace and dignity. These gowns are made from repurposed wedding dresses that are lovingly transformed by volunteer seamstresses around the world.
For Brandy, the idea to take her daughter’s final photos in an angel gown came as a gift from God. It helped her family to process their grief and remember the short four days they had together. “She was a beautiful girl, and she deserves to be remembered,” says Brandy’s mother, Judi. “That’s why we want to keep her memory alive.”
Judi is the founder of NICU Helping Hands in Fort Worth, Texas. Her nonprofit organization transforms donated wedding gowns into outfits for babies that have passed away, either in utero or shortly after birth. The dresses are then given to the parents, who can use them for their final pictures or for dressing their baby for burial.
The gowns are handmade by volunteers, many of whom have personal connections to the project. “They know exactly what you’re going through, and it makes you feel like the world is listening,” says a woman who has been sewing for the program for six years. Her husband was a NICU nurse, and she lost two of their sons during delivery. “I was very touched by the way that these gowns were made for our children, and it just made me want to help other families.”
Front Range Angel Gowns, a nonprofit that began in 2021 in Evergreen, Colorado, is another example of how wedding dress donations are transformed into tiny outfits. Its founder, Stacy, a seamstress coordinator, is also a teacher. She moved to the area with her family from Virginia after a divorce and wanted to give back to her community. Her passion for helping others led her to start the group, which soon received dresses from across the state.
As of this writing, the organization has more than 200 dresses stored at Riley’s Children’s Health NICU in Indianapolis. They can only accommodate about half of the requests they receive, but the program has already made an impact on grieving parents and medical staff.
Judi says the greatest assets of her program are the seamstresses and the women who donate their dresses. She explains that most of the seamstresses are women who have experienced a loss themselves, often miscarriages. They make time throughout the week to sew the dresses, and they work hard to ensure each garment is personalized for a particular parent. Judi also gives special thanks to Sparrow Hospital, which recognized her for her work with an award in September. “I don’t need the attention, but I appreciate it,” she says. Judi estimates that there are about 150 volunteer seamstresses across the country working on her project. She has another goal, though: She wants to expand the NICU Helping Hands to all hospitals in Indiana and beyond.