Almost 5 years ago, Scott and I were thrown into the devastating task of planning a funeral for our son in a matter of hours, a thousand miles from home. Even though we were stricken by insurmountable grief, we managed to plan a beautiful memorial service to honor our son.
Folks, it was really, REALLY hard. And though it's standard in the industry that parents only pay "cost" for their child's funeral, it was still very costly. Though I hadn't worked in over two months, through donations of friends/family and our savings, we were able to pay for Aaron's funeral without breaking our family financially. That isn't always the case.
Enter Savannah Smiles. http://savannah-smiles.org/
A few days after Aaron's memorial service, we received a lovely note in the mail from Jennifer Scharfenstein of Savannah Smiles, along with a monetary donation to help cover the cost of the funeral. She sent us a devotional book and other materials on grief that were such a blessing at the time. She walked beside us in our grief journey and helped support us in ways no one else could--as a sister who was walking the same path...just a few steps ahead.
Savannah Smiles continues to reach out to grieving families by helping cover the cost of final expenses of children and by providing materials on grief and healing to sad families. It's a beautiful ministry borne out of the loss of the Scharfenstein's daughter, Savannah. Because this ministry is so dear to our heart, we decide to support Savannah Smiles as our 2013 fundraiser in memory of Aaron.
There are many ways to help. First, one may visit the website to learn about Savannah Smiles and make a monetary donation therein. Secondly, we are teaming up with Magdalena's Feet and the Brick Street 5K this year, as they raise money for Savannah Smiles at the April 20th race in Clinton. If you are interested in running or walking, all the profits from your registration will go to support Savannah Smiles (search Brick Street-Magdalena's 5K race on FB). Thirdly, we have decided to sell tshirts for Team Aaron's Heart to wear at the Brick Street race (or any time!). Below is the proof of the back and front of our shirt...
Shirts will be $16 this year, or $20 if you'd like yours mailed. I'll be setting up a paypal link soon for those of you who wish to purchase a shirt that way. Feel free to email me at faith.hill.ms@gmail.com with any questions. :) We thank all of you for your support of Team Aaron's Heart and Savannah Smiles!
P.S. We have loved supporting the March of Dimes for the past 3 years and will continue to do so through personal donation, but will not field a team this year. We just felt led to give back to Savannah Smiles and help support those who may be walking a journey through grief...just a few steps behind us.
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