Skylar's Closet
Skylar's Closet was created in 2007 after our daughter,
Skylar Anne Green, was stillborn at 7 months. Metro Health Hospital in
Wyoming, MI took wonderful care of us as well as our family. Having a
stillborn is not just a physical event but a very emotional one as well.
These babies
(stillborns) are so small - 1-6 lbs - that none of the regular baby clothing
fit them. We discovered that the 3 hospitals in the Grand Rapids area
only had 1 or 2 outfits among them. Skylar's original dress was too
big for her and it bothered me. So after things settled down and a few
weeks went by, I began to have an urge to do something about what I felt was
a problem.
These tiny babies are no
less human beings than any other child and they deserve the respect of
having clothing that fits.
A nurse named Deb at
Metro offered to sew some clothes for the hospital to have on hand.
She used to sew doll clothes and this would be a relatively easy thing to
do. I immediately offered to provide the fabric and other materials
necessary. My husband and I were able to do this through the Green
Light Foundation. When Skylar died, we asked that in lieu of flowers,
donations be made to the GLF. The response was quite overwhelming and
we knew that we had to do something for other people who have to experience
this nightmare.
Our goal is to organize
people to knit, sew and/or crochet girls dresses and boys outfits, package
them and deliver them to area hospitals. These packages are free of
charge to the hospitals and free to the grieving parents. There are
enough decisions that the parents have to make at this very emotional time.
What to dress their child in should not be one of those decisions.
If you are interested in
volunteering your time to help build Skylar's Closet, contact us at
616.538.3388 or
info@greenlightfoundation.org