Desert Sage Auxiliary Supporting Families During Pregnancy and Infant Loss

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Desert Sage Auxiliary of Assisting Lives in Las Vegas partners with six local hospitals to assist families who have lost an infant at birth by providing Memory Boxes to Labor and Delivery Departments.

Memory Boxes contain a burial garment, bonnet, blanket, book on grief written in English or Spanish,  an infant loss awareness pin, and a small teddy bear. Each Memory Box is customized for the size of the infant with garments ranging in size from under a half pound to eight pounds. Since July, Desert Sage members have delivered 80 Memory Boxes.

Desert Sage Auxiliary also partners with local hospital emergency rooms and free-standing ERs to assist families who have experienced an early pregnancy loss by providing Forever In My Heart bereavement bags. Each bag contains a small teddy bear, an infant loss awareness pin, and a book about grief written in English or Spanish. Since July, 102 bereavement bags have been delivered.

For more information about Memory Boxes and Forever In My Heart bereavement bags, email PhilanthropicDS@ALLV.org. 

Desert Sage Auxiliary, certified in 2001, was formed to complement the fundraising and philanthropic efforts of Assisting Lives in Las Vegas. It provides evening and weekend volunteer opportunities for those who have limited daytime hours to volunteer. For information concerning membership, visit ALLV.org and click on Auxiliaries.