EXPLAINING WHAT THEY DO … Pictured from left: Barb Britenriker, who arranged the program; Kelly Gerken, founder and executive director of SGM; and Ellen Boyer, event and creativity coordinator of SGM.
The grief of losing a loved one is a difficult thing to work through, though most people will be faced with this a number of times throughout their lifetime.
However, losing an infant during pregnancy or soon after birth is much harder, and all too often the family has little time for closure or connection to the family member who was lost.
However, since 2004 an army of caring volunteers has enlisted to help families in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan who have experienced such a loss make memories of a life too short and articulate the hopes that they, as parents, had imagined for the son or daughter they only knew briefly.
Kelly Gerken, the founder and executive director of Sufficient Grace Ministries (SGM) in Deshler, told Archbold Rotarians how her family’s loss of twin daughters and a son ultimately led to the creation of a 501c3 organization that has helped more than 15,000 grieving families.
With the assistance of 150 volunteers, SGM has both an in-person and on-line ministry. Originally, the outreach focused on northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan by making connections with area hospitals that contacted SGM to support families who either had or would soon experience a loss.
Now, the ministry has connections throughout Ohio, central Michigan and with their on-line presence (www.sufficientgraceministries.org) — all 50 states and worldwide.
In-person support can include going to the hospital to be with the family, arranging for a professional remembrance photographer to take pictures of the family with the infant, presenting the family with a Memory Book that includes a “Dreams of You…” section, creating memory keepsakes and presenting hand-made “comfort bears” to the family — all at no cost.
Volunteer crafters create baby blankets, wraps, gowns and outfits to fit babies of all sizes.
Kelly explained that they offer monthly in-person support groups throughout Ohio and a private on-line support group as well. SGM has also developed a CEU-approved perinatal loss support training for pediatric nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals that they provide.
Even during COVID, Sufficient Grace volunteers were allowed to mask up and provide in-person support to families in hospitals. In fact, during the last 18 months SGM assisted 229 families (151 in northwest Ohio and 30 in southeast Michigan) with in-person support and shipped items to 1,200 additional families in all 50 states and 25 countries.
SGM has an annual operating budget of $480,000 with nearly 40 percent of that represented by in-kind donations and the remainder as monetary donations.
About 61 percent of the monetary donations come from families and individuals, 35 percent is hospital support (primarily the Promedica Health System) and the remainder comes from local grants. The Sufficient Grace website (www.sufficientgraceministries.org) has information on how to donate.