Emmazing Grace Foundation

I haven't talked about this here, but I have so much running through my mind now that I thought I'd blog it a little big.

See, when we went home for Christmas, we got to see Emma's cemetery monument for the first time. I designed it and it was something deeply personal for me. It was like it was one last thing I could do for my Em.


Emma is buried in a cemetery across from my Grandmother's house, a cemetery where members of both side of my family are buried. I've walked that cemetery MANY times, but last Christmas it was different. One difference was that I had a daughter buried there. Another difference was that I noticed things I'd never noticed before. I saw several unmarked graves. Judging by the ceramic figurines they were of children. My heart broke. A family member apparently frequented one particular grave as it had probably 15 little figurines placed on it. After just a little bit of research, I confirmed that they were graves of children and I assumed that the reason for not marking them was financial (although I know that isn't always the case). My heart broke again.

And, so, the idea behind the Emmazing Grace Foundation began. It started with wanting to do some cemetery restoration like marking some unmarked graves and has evolved into helping to ease the financial burden of funeral expenses for bereaved parents. For now, I would like to help address the immediate needs of parents, whether it be a cemetery monument, funeral costs to the funeral home, or burial clothing.

Today I received the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws from the attorney. Those papers will now go to the accountant and he will file for 501(c)3 for us.

So much work to do! My mind runs through a gazillion things....How do I make a website? How do I fundraise? How do I determine "need"? How to I recruit help? Can I really do this? Have I lost my mind? :-)