Skylar's Closet was created in 2007 after our daughter, Skylar Anne Green, was stillborn at 7 ½ months. Metro Health Hospital in Wyoming, MI took wonderful care of us as well as our extended family. Having a stillborn baby is not just a physical event but a very emotional one as well.

These babies are so small (usually between 1 and 6 lbs) that baby clothing from a store wouldn’t fit. We discovered that the 3 hospitals in the Grand Rapids area only had a few outfits small enough. Skylar's original dress was too big for her, it came up around her ears and hung way past her feet and that bothered me. So after the funeral 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 than any other child and they deserve the respect of having clothing that fit.

When Skylar died, we asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Green Light Foundation/Skylar’s Closet. The response was quite overwhelming and we knew that we had to do something for other people who experience the nightmare of losing a child.

A nurse 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. My husband and I were able to help through the Green Light Foundation. I immediately offered to provide the fabric, yarn and other materials necessary. Things have now evolved and we are creating full packages that we put together during Craft Day [LINK TO CALENDAR/EVENT].  The packages include not only the clothing, but several mementos for the family.

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.