When parents lose a child, the pain can be unbearable, and some of the recent tragic accidents we have uncovered seem to make it feel worse.
Symone Steward was a mother in her darkest hour after a tragic accident. She had accidentally backed over her 10-month-old baby girl Jada with the family car.
Dawn Lafferty proved to be a ray of light for the grieving mother and her family. Lafferty is the woman behind Angels Above Baby Gowns LLC, a non-profit she started on Facebook and in her basement 2 1/2 years ago.
She creates tiny custom gowns and suits for little ones who have left this earth far too soon.
"The hospital gives the family the gowns in the package when there is an infant death," Lafferty said. "If there is someone in the community, we get calls from the police department and just people in the community will contact us."
The group dismantles donated wedding dresses, and re-does every stitch with love to remake the miniature version.
So far, it has created more than 10,000 burial packages for ailing families. Angels Above Baby Gowns are also in 123 hospitals across the country, six other states, and 60 drop off locations across Michigan.
When you ask why the group works with such passion, often putting money from their own pockets, you quickly learn the bond behind the organization binds most all of them.
"When I lost my song, 40 something years ago, they brought me to him in an old holy receiving blanket, I was devastated," Joy Reith, a volunteer said. "I'm hoping someone doesn't go through what I did. This way all parents have a little bit of peace at least knowing that there is a whole group out there that cares about them.
So, for the gentle way you provide families a final moment of peace, Angels Above Baby Gowns Founder Dawn Lafferty, you are our Person of the Week.
