Angel gowns are a way to provide comfort to families who have lost a baby. These dresses are used for baptisms or burials and can also act as a keepsake for the baby who is no longer with them. They are made from wedding dresses that are donated or purchased for the purpose of making these gowns.
Many hospitals around the country offer angel gowns to grieving families. These outfits can be a big help to those who are struggling with grief and can make their experience in the hospital much more comfortable. They are often the first thing a family sees after the loss of their child and can act as a reminder that the baby is still with them, even in the most traumatic situations.
The Williamsons were given an angel gown when they lost their son, Eli, at just 20 weeks. The gown helped them through their grieving process, and they wanted to pay it forward. They now sew these dresses for other families who are in need, and they have been helping people since 2015.
Tom Williamson said he was on maternity leave at the time, and the angel gown he received from Levine Children’s Hospital gave him hope. He knew that if he could help others who had lost their child, he would feel better about his own experience. He volunteered with the American Sewing Guild in Fort Wayne, and his local chapter coordinator, Barbara Kramer, said she’s happy to help out.
Moore says she’s seen a lot of the women in her group take up sewing as a way to help others in their community. “They have such a wonderful heart for helping others,” she said. She said she knows how difficult it can be for a family to get a gown after the death of a child, so she wants to keep that stress down.
She also said she’s happy to see the Angel Gown program at Akron Children’s Hospital getting more exposure in the news. She was once a patient herself, and she says she knows how special it is for the hospital to be able to give these gowns to families in need.
There are several charities that make these dresses, and they are all based on the same principles: a need, an old wedding dress and a good cause to support. Some charities accept donations of the dresses, others only buy the wedding dresses and then sew them into gowns, and others are entirely funded by volunteers.
Some organizations even pay women in developing countries to sew these gowns for the babies who need them. That’s a great idea, and it’s a good way to help a woman gain skill that she can use to help herself or her family in the future.
For more information about the Angel Gowns Project, visit their website or Facebook page. It’s a volunteer program that has helped hundreds of families.
The Angel Gowns Project was founded by Alisha Neal, a former nurse who has seen the pain of losing a child. She’s now a national leader in this program, and she’s been providing these gowns to bereaved families for more than three years.