Heaven’s Cradle is a Community Project Fund at the Community Foundation of West Tennessee. The fund’s mission is to provide assistance and comfort to families suffering from perinatal loss and to support staff training on perinatal grief. We sat down with Rosy Griffin for a Q+A to share the impact the fund makes for so many families in our community.

Q: What is your roll with Heaven’s Cradle?

A: I am the Community Liaison & Fundraising Coordinator for Heaven's Cradle. I support the group in fundraising, event planning, and community relations. I also serve as a fund representative for the Community Foundation, overseeing grant proposals, dropping off donations, and submitting payment requests for the fund.

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Q: How does the Community Foundation support Heaven’s Cradle and its work?

A: The Community Foundation supports Heaven's Cradle in many ways. They manage our accounting and donations, and they assist us in different areas to make our fundraising efforts more efficient. The staff are always happy to share ideas with us as well as make custom pages and QR codes for individual events. Plus, they always try to help us promote our events and initiatives in their newsletter and on social media.

Q: What is the Twilight Run?

A: Our largest fundraiser is the Twilight Run & Downtown Rendezvous, a 5k fun run/walk, online auction, dinner, and live music in downtown Jackson. This event provides a special way to honor the life of their child. Many families participate in memory of their child and decorate the race route with tributes to their loved one. At the end of the race, we hold a special ceremony for the families as another opportunity to remember their babies. All funds raised from Twilight go directly to serving our families.

Q: What are some of the services provided by Heaven’s Cradle?

A: We provide support for West Tennessee families experiencing the loss of a child along with the healthcare and funeral professionals who take care of them. Our goals are to assist all families in finding meaningful and affirming ways to make memories with and honor the life of their child, ensure every family has the financial support needed for expenses for their child, provide access to mental and emotional support services, and support caregivers in our community.

In 2023, Heaven’s Cradle provided $54,720 in support to families and caregivers.

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Q: What impact does Heaven’s Cradle have on our community?

A: In a family's greatest time of need, Heaven's Cradle is there to alleviate some hard decisions and unexpected financial burdens that the family was not prepared for or expecting. Another example of our impact for families and care givers are the caring cradles we purchased for Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, Martin Hospital and Dyersburg Hospital. These special cradles allow the family to spend time with their loved one after a loss.

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To learn more about Heaven's Cradle, visit their website at https://heavenscradle.org/.

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Author:

Haley Fortune
Community Impact Manager

Haley joined the Community Foundation team in October 2020. She manages community relations, events, marketing, and public relations for the organizations and coordinates special programs.

haley@cfwtn.org | (731) 984-2146

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