Happy 4 month birthday, little guy. Feels like an eternity in some ways. You've changed my life immensely, and I'm quite confident the work is just beginning.
Part of what you've done for your dad and me is illuminate a big ol' need for support in this area, starting at Day 0. You've inspired everything about The Kyler Project, and I'm excited to know your quick little Earthside life will continue making an impact in Kingdom-focused ways. I hope you and Jesus high-five each other :).
The Kyler Project
It may no longer be a surprise, but there are many important decisions - that must be made very quickly- in a time when you're least prepared to do so. It's kind of luck-of-the-draw for most couples on if they get any guidance on these decisions (I have a blog post coming on many of them). Unfortunately, these seemingly split-second decisions are ones that can greatly affect the healing process going forward. And alot of women I've now spoken with carry guilt related to what they wish they had done in that short time they had.
Therefore, our mission is:
To provide resources, community, and support to bereaved parents in their deepest hour, and to walk alongside them in an effort to alleviate the burden of guilt and regret, with an ultimate goal of aiding in spiritual, emotional, and physical healing.
In brief, we will make resource boxes to stock at St. Thomas Midtown Hospital and Centennial Women's Hospital in Nashville. They will be passed out to families and couples going through delivery of a stillborn child. We have communicated with the L&D departments there, and all is approved.
We are making these boxes as practical and easily digestible as possible, and purchasing/producing items in bulk. You can see exactly what's in these boxes by visiting our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheKylerProject/about/?ref=page_internal.
If you have a specific name of a woman who could use one, please let me know.
The most vital info will address things to be done prior to leaving the hospital-- decisions to be made and important facets to consider, all available resources you can take advantage of in the hospital, ways to make memories with your baby in a short time. These boxes will also include accessible resources (to minimize the effort of searching) after returning home. Most of this information is designed in brochure format and will be given to the most 'coherent' person present.
The Kyler Project has been filed with the IRS as a 501 (c) 3 organization. You may take your donations as a tax deduction.
$42 will purchase an entire box, but any amount donated is greatly appreciated and a huge help in buffering the storm experienced after loss.
We are set up to process donations via:
+ PayPal at a reduced transaction rate (https://paypal.me/TheKylerProjectTN)
+ Venmo (@TheKylerProject)
+ Check or Cash
100% of funds go to providing resources and support to these families. Shay and I are committed to honoring every bit of support entrusted to us and distributing it honestly.
A Final Thought...
Asking for money is weird. But truly, what Shay and I hope to do is provide a way for our community to BE the community of believers we want to be. When can you make a bigger impact in someone's life than when they're at their most vulnerable?
Just like after any death, when you're reeling back and forth, looking for something to anchor you, and the "big questions" of life get much bigger, beliefs about God are called into question. Help us remind these women and their families of the real and massive HOPE there is in what Jesus has provided for us, and the new heaven and new earth where we'll see our babes again.