CHARLOTTE, NC — In the US alone, 626,000 babies are born each year through still birth and miscarriage. When Tom and Deanna Williamson lost their baby son, Eli, at just 20 weeks, Levine Children’s Hospital gave them a gown for him to wear. That was the beginning of a journey to help other families going through the same tragedy.
The gowns are made from repurposed wedding dresses. Those dresses are transformed by seamstresses, who give them back to grieving parents so their tiny one can be dressed in something special for their final farewells. The nonprofit, Angel Gowns of WNY has helped more than 18,000 families and continues to grow.
“When a family comes in with a child who will not live long enough to come home, we give them the opportunity to take photos and bring their little angel in an outfit that is specially designed,” says founder Missy Ray. “It gives them some sort of comfort, so they know that their child is not forgotten.”
As a nurse practitioner at University of Michigan Health-West, Judi Gaber sees firsthand the grief and sorrow that accompanies such a loss. She has also seen the power of a simple dress. The hospital’s Helping Hands Angel Gown program accepts donated wedding gowns and turns them into burial garments for NICU babies who will not live. It’s a service that’s desperately needed.
But it’s a labor of love for the volunteers who sew the beautiful, delicate garments. Many of them are retired and active members of their local church. They’re also mothers, grandmothers, wives, sisters and friends. Some even work full-time, but they find the time to give the gifts of their hearts and hands to others.
Diane Wright is among them. The Grandview United Methodist Church member is a seamstress who saw the request for gowns on Facebook from Hillary’s Cherished Gowns. She had four generations of wedding dresses hanging in her closet, and she knew they could be put to good use.
Her husband’s grandfather passed away in the NICU when she was a child, so this cause was close to her heart. She’s since provided angel gowns to the NICU at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission and to hospitals across the country.
She’s also seeded other ministries in places like the UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock and Ouachita Memorial Hospital in Camden. And she’s reached out to hospitals in Africa, too.
She’s currently working on gowns for a couple in Oklahoma and has also sent them to families in Texas. For more information on how to make a donation, you can visit the group’s website and Facebook page. Angel Gowns of WNY is always looking for donations of wedding gowns and monetary contributions to purchase embellishments, yarn, blankets and other sewing supplies. The organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. All proceeds are given to help families in need.