ECH Foundation 5K Memorial run/walk

Life...is precious. We never know from one day to the next where it will take us. Life can go in one brief moment from great, to mind numbing. From "hey, I got this all worked out," to tingling all over the body with a sure knowledge that all is not well. That sinking in the gut feeling, that - oh, I can’t get enough air in feeling, that - heart racing right out of your chest feeling, that - is this really real feeling, that - if I just play back that last 3 seconds, I will hear differently this time feeling. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about. Some of you have caught glimpses. No one is completely immune to it, unfortunately. After all, it is life.

We have all heard and read that pregnancy and childbirth is a wonderful time... and we have also read that sometimes things don’t go as planned. When you hear the news that everything is not quite normal, many things go through your head. But it seems, for many, the first is hope. Hopefully it’s not as bad as it sounds...hopefully they missed something...hopefully if they run another test, it will be okay...hopefully there’s a chance...hopefully...and sometimes hopefully works. There are many miracle babies out there. I wish every one of them could be.

But, reality is reality. When it comes crashing down, all that we have left are our memories. We have created this foundation to help with one of the final memories that we will have of seeing these babies. In the words of a co-founder...


“Several years ago, some dear friends of mine had a baby boy who died just two hours after his birth. As my friends prepared for his funeral, they discovered that because funeral homes do not invest in infant caskets, their options were to purchase a molded plastic box, or accept a Styrofoam version for free. Their financial circumstances meant that they had to lay their baby to rest in a Styrofoam box that looked like a cooler.

Because of this, my friend asked me to design and build a casket in their son’s memory to be donated and hopefully spare another family the same awful choice.

As I listened to my friend, I watched her hands grasping at the air as if they wanted to hold something that wasn’t there. To me this meant that the casket must do for the baby what his mother and father could no longer do...”


A design has been implemented, and the foundation now exists. We have developed this foundation to help reach out to those families whose only option is to bury their babies in a Styrofoam box. What we need now is your help. Help to reach out to needy families that are going through the impossible. Help for those families who have had lost an infant 0-6 months. It is next to impossible to get life insurance on a baby less than 6 months old, let alone one in utero. What choices are out there? They are limited. But we have created another.

On December 31, 2009, a significant date in the ECH Foundation, we are having a tri-state kick-off memorial run/walk, and we encourage all to participate. Whether you do it in your own home town, with your friends, with a running/walking group, with your kids, with your spouse, by yourself, whatever. We just encourage to get out and, for this time, go 5K. The link to the entry form is found here. You don’t have to run, and if that’s not for you, you do have the option to just donate. Please fill out and return to the accompanying address. The due date is December 11th to ensure a shirt, so hurry!

Stephens Gourmet Hot Cocoa has agreed to donate some of their hot chocolate to us, so if you get enough of a group together, we’ll make sure and send some your way. After all, it is in December!

Take care all, be safe, and remember, we all CAN make a difference.