Years 4 and 5 of Amos’ Anchors (2022 & 2023) have brought about the most significant changes for our organization. We updated our care cards and our logo and revamped our website structure, all in the midst of a move from Indiana to Michigan. We continue to serve our Affiliates in Indiana and have been trying to be present in West Michigan.
In March of 2023, we finally became an official 501 (c) 3 non-profit. It was a lot of work, and a job I could not have completed without the support and advice of other perinatal bereavement non-profits (shout out to Claire of Piper’s Purpose and Jenna of Hannah’s Wish)! The biggest thing this changed for us is our ability to fund-raise and provide our donors with a receipt that allows them to claim their donation on their taxes. We set up our PayPal Giving Fund to provide an electronic means of accepting donations (and our Venmo Charity account, but that charges fees, so we don’t promote that one as much) and completed our first big fundraiser in May of 2023 in honor of Amos’ 5th birthday, raising over $500. Nearly half of that money has already gone to replenishing our stock of Amos’ Anchors cards, which continue to be shipped out to our affiliate hospitals and organizations monthly and as requested. (Learn more here about becoming an Amos’ Anchors Affiliate. Interested in donating? You can do so here. Thank you!)
This summer, I removed and added an additional 45 resources to the website; this is in addition to the Michigan tab and resources added in 2022. Organizations continue to change, nonprofits dissolve, and support groups come and go, but you can be sure that anytime I receive an email from the Bereavement Coordinator on staff at any of our Affiliate Hospitals, I get the information listing updated that same day.
This fall, Amos’ Anchors became the title sponsor of the Baby Steps 5K Run/Walk and memorial event in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I joined as a founding member of The Committee for Better Perinatal Bereavement Care in West Michigan, which is working to put on the Baby Steps 5K event. When I moved to Michigan, I was so disappointed to find that Kalamazoo did not have a memorial walk in October nor a Christmas memorial. We had grown used to having these events as part of our family’s annual traditions for honoring our babies. That’s why I was so excited to join the Committee and help to bring Kalamazoo their first perinatal bereavement memorial walk event! Due to scheduling conflicts, I won’t be able to present at the Indianapolis Walk to Remember this year because I will be present at the Baby Steps walk instead (in future, we plan to choose different dates so I can be present at both). I will however be a keynote speaker again that evening at Riley Maternity Tower’s Light the Night event, and if you attend the Indianapolis Walk to Remember, listen for my babies’ names during the reading. We still registered and requested a program to be mailed to us, and we still ordered a memorial sign to be placed along the walking path.
This winter, Amos’ Anchors will embark on a new adventure as part of our efforts to provide better perinatal bereavement care in West Michigan; we will host a holiday luminary memorial and are in the process of developing our first in-person support group. We continue to host our Over the Rainbow virtual support group once a month via Hannah’s Wish for those who are parenting a living child after loss or pregnant after a loss. We’ve seen this group grow and change a lot this past year, and we hope to continue to serve the PAL community in this way.
Thank you for your support of Amos’ Anchors and please continue to spread the word about the resources available here. We are honored to be considered “the safe Google” for grieving parents after perinatal loss and will continue to do our best to meet the needs of our community.
With the deepest condolences and biggest hug,
~Kristen
(Amos’ Mom)
Amos' Anchors 