When Sarah Craig’s daughter, Skyla-Ann, passed away in August 2013 after two open heart surgeries in eight days and six weeks on life support, she chose to channel her grief constructively and help other families who have lost their ‘heart child’ as well.
Heart Angel Memory Boxes are a gift that will help in the healing process, a gift that will help families to create an area of remembrance for their Heart Angel.
How did the inspiration for Heart Angel Memory Boxes arise?
About two months after Skyla-Ann died I heard of another family that were taking their newborn baby girl home to spend her last days surrounded by family and friends… Her heart had so much damage that they couldn’t repair it with surgery.
There is no cure for Congenital Heart Disease and surgery is not always an option or not always successful with up to 50 children a year losing their battles with CHD. I knew I could help those families who were going through what we had gone through with Skyla-Ann, and help keep my precious daughter’s memory alive in the process.
Did you encounter any roadblocks when setting up your charity? If so, how did you overcome these?
I have been really lucky so far with most people wanting to help me in any way that they can. But as time goes by I understand that there will be roadblocks and when they arrive I will just have to remember who I’m doing this for and why.
By what means do you promote your charitable work? How are you using social media to drive your message?
Predominantly through Facebook to start with as we had a Facebook page setup for Skyla-Ann while she was awaiting surgery and that had over 1100 followers. We have had an article in our local newspaper and utilise word-of-mouth. With Facebook I regularly post new images of gifts and feedback from Memory Boxes that families have received as a lot of the people I am working with at the moment are small/medium businesses too who also use Facebook as their main form of networking.
What has been the best advice given to you by a colleague in the charitable sector?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
What was your most rewarding experience in 2013:
Sending out my first Heart Angel Memory Box. It was really emotional for me as it meant someone had lost a child and you never want anyone to have to go through that. But I knew that the Memory Box would help the family with the grieving process. The gifts included in the Memory Box are designed to help create an area of remembrance for the family. And winning the Annah Stretton 10 Days of Christmas Donations was a highlight as well!
What are your goals for the charity in 2014?
To make sure that every family of a new Heart Angel in New Zealand receives a Heart Angel Memory Box. I want the families to know that they are not alone on their journey…
I would also love to start creating a Rescue/Pamper Pack for families of Heart Kids that have spent more than a month continuously in Starship. So I will be looking into that in the very near future as well.
www.facebook.com/HeartAngelMemoryBoxes
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