Foundation

Okay, it seems that more than one person out there is wondering why/how the entire foundation came into being, and what I have to do with it.  I'm going to try to answer it.  And since the money for the fun run/donations are due on Dec. 8th, I thought this would be a good time to explain.  And, yes, I am posting it over on this blog, because I'm still not sure what I should include on the ECH Foundaiton blog.  So, here it goes.

Anyway, I have a really good friend who is, among other things that she fills her resume with, a furniture designer.  She has been around for a while, though not during the time that we lost our little boy.  I had told her at one time how funeral homes do not invest in infant caskets, and that the only ones that were availabe were molded styrofome, or a molded plastic pink or blue marbled thing.  Both of which were typical of a shoe-box design.  The styrofome one was free, and the molded marbled thing was $100.  Also, in case anyone was wondering, it is impossible to get life insurance for an infant less than 6 months old, so therefore, everything comes out of pocket.  The funeral home that we went through did do the small service free of charge, but expenses also include the burial plot, renting of chairs, etc. at the cemetery, a headstone...things like that.   As anyone knows, burying someone is not cheap, hence life insurance.

Back to the story...so, my friend knew of our baby, and how the entire process was a little distressing, and even though it had been over 5 years since we lost our boy, she came to me a little over a year ago and asked me if she could design an infant casket, make it, and donate it to our local funeral home in our sons name.  I thought it was a fantastic idea.  So, she did.  It took her the better part of 2 months to come up with a design that, would "do for the baby what the parents could not". 

So, she came up with this beautiful casket that was just amazing.  She was talking about it to her home teacher, who also is a professor in the business college here on campus.  He really thought she had something there, and so that's where the discussions between all of us began. How could we take such an agonizing experience and turn it into something good. 

Subsequently, the ECH Foundation was established.  It is a non-profit foundation that, through us, we hope to ease the suffering of as many parents as we can.  Our plan is, through different types of funding, establish a way for bereaving parents, or family/friends to contact us through our website, and apply for a casket that we can then send to them.  The casket can also be purchased through us, and any profit is then used directly in the creation of more caskets. 

Unfortunately, I cannot put a picture of the casket here, nor can I describe the unique components in it until our patent is finished.  Just trust me when I say that it is absolutely amazing, unique, and there is nothing like it out there.  But, applying for patents, trademarks, and a few other things involving in the manufacturing of the casket are not cheap.  So, we are having this fundraiser run at the end of December in hopes of being able to speed things along. 

Now, what do I "offically" have to do with it?  Besides the cheerleader?  My hubbie is on the board of directors, as is the designer, and the marketing professor.  I am not, because that would be unfair, since my hubbie and I are, well, married, and therefore would probably back each other up, making an unfair advantage.  We both want to be a major part of it because this wouldn't have come to fruition if it weren't for us and the experiences that we had.  We both believe in this, and really hope that it will work.

There you have it.  Hopefully this answers some questions that some of you have been having.