All Community created Funds

Eleanor Marcell Cuddle Cot Memorial Fund
1 nonprofit
Eleanor Marcell Cuddle Cot Memorial Fund
"Even the smallest footprints can leave an imprint on this world" We are devastated by the passing of our daughter Eleanor Diane Ruth Marcell. On Sunday, November 1st, Jason and I went to the emergency room. After monitoring, no fetal movement or heartbeat was detected. I delivered our daughter stillborn at 9:20 am on Tuesday, November 3rd. Our little miracle measured 17” and weighed 5 lbs 4 oz. Her gestational age on November 1st was 34 weeks, 6 days. We are so grateful for the outpouring of love and support of all that have surrounded our family in the last weeks. During the unimaginable grief we experienced during our hospital stay from November 1st through the 5th, we were comforted by the ability to spend time with our daughter in our room through the use of a Cuddle Cot. Cuddle Cots are a sort of small refrigeration system used in a bassinet that helps slow decomposition, thus allowing bereaved parents like us the gift of time with our baby. Jason and I took solace in the fact that our precious baby did not need to spend any time in a morgue because of this device. Instead, she was with us and our nursing staff until the funeral home came to pick her up. Unfortunately, Cuddle Cots are not available in all hospitals in Louisiana, and the overall number of Cuddle Cots in Louisiana is extremely low. To honor our beloved baby, we are seeking to raise funds to donate a Cuddle Cot in her memory and pass on the gift of time to other parents experiencing the gut-wrenching loss we experienced. We are partnering with The Ardent Foundation to acquire and donate a Cuddle Cot to Ochsner Kenner’s birthing center, which currently does not have any Cuddle Cots. And if our Go Fund Me is so blessed we might be able to donate more Cuddle Cots to additional hospitals all over the state of Louisiana. Links: https://flexmort.com/cuddle-cots/ https://www.theardentfoundation.com/cuddlecot-campaign "The CuddleCot™ cooling pad is placed in any Moses basket, crib, bed, or another receptacle. It is connected by a specially insulated hose and is quietly cooled using the CuddleCot cooling unit. The CuddleCot system comes in its own carry case with two sizes of cooling pad for premature and full-term babies. The CuddleCot cools to an ideal temperature for preserving baby without being too cold for the parents." One of the best ways you can honor Eleanor is to hug your children close to you and tell them how much you love them - whether they are 3, 23, or 43.
From Silence to Hope: Transform lives of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, Fund
1 nonprofit
From Silence to Hope: Transform lives of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, Fund
You can help us transform lives of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, teaching them to listen, speak, and learn through: proven spoken language and cognitive development curriculum family-centered education innovative technology Our intensive education and therapy program teaches listening and spoken language to children who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) so they can close the gap with hearing peers and succeed in mainstream education starting in the first grade. A child who misses this window of neurological development will probably spend his or her school days in special education classes, falling progressively further behind, which is the outcome for up to 90% of children who are D/HH. Technology Opens the Door: Cochlear implants and advanced hearing aids give babies and children access to sound, and those technologies are continually improving. Babies are being implanted before the age of one. However, access to sound is not enough for children to acquire language. Language Requires Early & Intensive Intervention: Optimal age for acquiring language is 0 - 3. After that, the developing brain prunes unused neural pathways and it becomes increasingly difficult for children to listen, speak, and learn as they get older. These babies and children need intensive language instruction and therapy and they need it early, when they are 0 - 3 Our Programs: We operate a Center of Excellence in Redwood City that serves families throughout the Bay Area. Our BabyTalk Teleintervention Program, a partnership with the Stanford School of Medicine, provides in-person speech and language therapy via video link to families of children ages 0-3 who are D/HH throughout California. BabyTalk offers service in English and Spanish. Our Results: We make a difference! From our survey of alumni spanning our 53-year history, 81% of our adult alumni are college students or hold a bachelors degree or higher. This compares with the national average that includes the 90% of children who miss the window: 50% of children in the U.S. who are D/HH finish high school at a fourth grade level of literacy or below (Traxler). COVID and Need: Distance learning and masks create even greater challenges for children who are D/HH. Our specialized distance learning program served 100% of our families during stay-at-home, allowing them to maintain pace of learning. Now we are back on-campus, following COVID protocols. This year is financially challenging because school district budgets are tight, in-person fundraisers are cancelled, and more families are requesting tuition assistance. Your support will make a difference!