2nd Annual Remembrance Gathering Invitation

Last year, on a mild October evening at the end of a rainy day, over two hundred people gathered together in a grassy field to pause for a few moments and remember the children that all too briefly graced our lives. The only sound was the beautiful music of a gently played guitar and the names of our children being said aloud, one by one. We stood together and looked up at the sky, watching as green balloon after green balloon rose up into the air, passed through a patch of amazing yellow light that illuminated the treetops and disappeared into the distance. Each balloon quietly carried with it a note written on seed paper for a deeply loved and desperately missed little child, and later that evening when the balloons burst, the letters drifted back down to the ground where they were reclaimed by the earth. Eventually wildflowers would sprout from these love letters to our children.

Sweet Pea Project will be holding this event again this year on October 15th, National Remembrance Day for families who have experienced the death of a baby. Just as we did last year, precautions are being taken to make sure that this is an eco-friendly event. We are using only sap-based biodegradable balloons, vegetable dyed raffia and compostable seed paper.

Sweet Pea Project would like to invite you to join us for our 2nd Annual Remembrance Gathering at Long's Park in Lancaster, PA, on Saturday, October 15th at 6pm. Please be sure to arrive between 5-5:30pm to pick up your balloons and seed paper and write notes to insert in your balloons before inflation. This family friendly event is free, but registration is requested. If you would like to attend please email Nicole@sweetpeaproject.org with the following information by October 1:

1. The name of the child(ren) you are remembering
2. The number of balloons your family will need
*Please note: Each guest may receive one balloon per child remembered. For example, if your family of 4 is remembering twins you may request 8 balloons.

Sean Cox & Company will provide quiet instrumentals and Grace Photos has volunteered to capture the beauty of the evening in photographs. This year's sponsors include Spacht Funeral Home, Baby's Silkie, Charles F Snyder Funeral Home & Crematory, Darrenkamps and Herman & Susan Zeager.

Several other Sweet Pea Project affiliated Remembrance Gatherings will be happening across the country on the same day, if you can't make it to our official gathering in Pennsylvania perhaps you can attend one somewhere else. All affiliated gatherings are listed at the bottom of our event page and fliers for each gathering may be viewed in our facebook album: Sweet Pea Project affiliated Remembrance Gatherings 2011.

Please take a minute to visit www.sweetpeaproject.org/remember for more details and to view a video from last year's event. I hope you will join us, either at Long's Park or in spirit, as we stop to remember the little ones whose tiny footprints have made such lasting marks on our hearts.

Please feel free to share this flier with anyone who may be interested. Everyone is welcome.

Click on the image to enlarge

Sweet Pea Project's Family Fun Night at Friendly's

Sweet Pea Project will be hosting a Family Fun Night at the Friendly's on Oregon Pike in Lancaster on Tuesday, September 27 from 5pm until 8pm. A portion of all sales from that evening benefit Sweet Pea Project, so bring your family and friends and come enjoy delicious food for an important cause. Don't forget to print the flier below or mention us to your server! Thanks so much, hope to see you there!

click on the image to enlarge

Sweet Pea Project Granted 501(c)3 Status

Sweet Pea Project Granted 501(c)3 Status!

Sweet Pea Project has been granted official 501(c)3 tax exempt status with a public charity classification by the United States Internal Revenue Service. The approval was received in June 2011, but is retroactive to August 2010. This means that any past donations you may have made to Sweet Pea Project from August 2010 until today, and any donations you make to us in the future are tax deductible.

Sweet Pea Project, which is based out of Lancaster County, PA, provides comfort, support and gentle guidance to families who have experienced the death of a child during pregnancy or infancy. Sweet Pea Project blankets are shipped to hospitals across the country so that parents who lose a baby before, during or shortly after birth are given a soft blanket to cradle their child in and remember their child by. To date, Sweet Pea Project has donated over 2,200 blankets. The organization also donates copies of a book written by Sweet Pea Project founder Stephanie Paige Cole entitled Still: a collection of honest artwork and writings from the heart of a grieving mother. It is Cole's hope that the book will help with the isolation many parents feel during the dark days of grief following the death of their child. Additionally, Sweet Pea Project reaches out to the bereaved families in our community by holding several free events each year. Their Annual Remembrance Gathering is open to anyone who has lost a child at any age and is held on October 15th at Long's Park in Lancaster, PA. A Sweet Pea Sisters & Brothers Picnic was added to the event calendar this year, and offered children who have lost a brother or sister an afternoon to simply play in sunshine with their families and be carefree. Other events include internationally renowned guest speakers.

Sweet Pea Project began in January 2009 and became a full fledged nonprofit organization in August 2010. Founding board members include Stephanie Cole, Richard Cole, Beth Gauthier, Nicole Jackson and Simone Lee. For more information on this organization and the ways in which it strives to help our community, please visit www.sweetpeaproject.org or contact Stephanie@sweetpeaproject.org.

Finally, a Victory for Pennsylvania Parents!

When my daughter was stillborn in 2007, I was offered a death certificate but no birth certificate. A few months later I decided to look into it further, because it seemed so illogical to me. I came across the MISS Foundation and the MISSing Angels Bill and contacted Dr. Joanne Cacciatore, who returned my email with a phone call that same afternoon. Her knowledge seems limitless and her passion is infectious. I learned that my state, Pennsylvania, had already been fighting for years to pass a bill that would offer parents a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth. I added my voice to the already booming chorus by meeting with my Senator and State Representative, collecting names on a petition and speaking out about the need to pass this legislation. A few years later another local mother, Nicole Jackson, decided to get involved after her son was stillborn. She collected over 1,000 names on her petition and opened herself up to the community by appearing in numerous television interviews and newspaper articles to speak eloquently and emotionally about her son, her experience and the importance of this bill. And on July 27, 2011, Nicole and I were able to watch as the Governor finally signed that bill into law. We were a very small part of a very large process, one that took 11 years and the sweat and tears of countless individuals, many of whom worked much harder and longer than us, and it was such an honor to be there together as we witnessed Pennsylvania become the 31st state to adopt this type of bill. All of us here at Sweet Pea Project are anxiously awaiting September 6th so that we can finally apply for something that should have been offered to us a long time ago: birth certificates for our babies.

Please scroll down to view photo highlights from our time at the Capitol and click on the links below to check out the media coverage we received. And to everyone who played a role in the passage of this bill, we are so very grateful. Thank you.

Front page article in the Patriot News: http://www.sweetpeaproject.org/in-the-news/cherishing-the-life-of-a-stillborn
WGAL television news segment: http://www.wgal.com/video/28685447/detail.html

Please visit www.sweetpeaproject.org/in-the-news to view more media coverage and www.sweetpeaproject.org/legislation to learn more about this bill.

PA parents may file for a certificate for their child at this link:
http://www.portal.health.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/fetal_death_and_certificate_of_birth_resulting_in_stillbirth_certificates/14124/certificates_of_birth_resulting_in_stillbirth/608963

Sweet Pea Sisters & Brothers Picnic Pictures!

A few weeks ago, Sweet Pea Project held a new community event for kids, the Sweet Pea Sisters & Brothers Picnic. This year's picnic, presented by Angel Bracelets, was held at Hands on House Childrens Museum on July 9th and was an absolutely incredible event. We are already excitedly brainstorming up ways to make next year's picnic even better, and we hope you will join us there next summer. In the meantime, I wanted to give you a sneak peak into the event by sharing a short video with beautiful images from Molly S. Photography. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGpg0bYsWqw

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the picnic, volunteered their time, made donations or sponsored the picnic. More information about the event and our generous sponsors can be found online at www.sweetpeaproject.org/picnic.

Mother's Day: Not Just a Hallmark Holiday

Last year I wrote a piece about the original intention of Mother's Day, and though many of you may have read it already I think it bears repeating. Mother's Day is so much more than a Hallmark holiday, and it is an especially relevant day for those of us who must carry our children in our hearts instead of our arms. Please take a moment to read, or reread, the following post and feel free to share. I hope this weekend is a gentle one for you.


Well, there is no escaping it. Tomorrow is Mother's Day.

For those of you who lost your only child or who are facing their first Mother's Day since their child's death, tomorrow will no doubt be a difficult day. The memory of my first Mother's Day without Madeline is still heavy in my heart. I wanted to just ignore it, but I was constantly ambushed by junkmail advertisements, displays in stores, and commercials on the radio and TV. I found myself questioning if I really was a mother, if I even deserved this day at all. Of course I knew in my heart that I was a mother, but I felt like society considered me disqualified since I had no little ones to scribble "I love you" on construction paper or make me a messy breakfast in bed.

If I only had known then what I know now. You see, since then I have met Kara LC Jones of KotaPress and MotherHenna, and she gave me a little history lesson. Mother's Day is not just a meaningless Hallmark Holiday. It began as a peace protest in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe, who was sick of seeing mothers lose their sons to war. When I read the line in Howe's proclamation that says, "Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead," I couldn't help but feel empowered. I remembered how I felt that first Mother's Day, when everyone else was off celebrating while I stayed in bed to cry alone and then later when my husband and I hiked through the woods to a little meadow where we planted five saplings for Madeline, thanking her for making me a mother. I had felt like such an outcast at the time, but now I look back and am struck by the fact that I was the one celebrating the true nature of Mother's Day. It is not about going out to brunch, it is about honoring the entire experience of motherhood. Kara puts it perfectly when she says, "I'll celebrate with you as long as you will first mourn with me. It is the combination of the two that lends itself to the true meaning of Mothers Day!"

To read Kara's entire article on this topic, including the speech Julia Ward Howe gave in Boston in 1870, please visit the following page: http://www.kotapress.com/section_articles/holidays/motherFatherDays/jones_realMeaning.htm.
Wishing you all a gentle Mother's Day of Peace tomorrow in honor of every mother of every child, living or dead.

peace,

Madeline's Mommy, Stephanie Cole


--
Stephanie Paige Cole
Founder/ Board President
Sweet Pea Project
PO Box 10351
Lancaster, PA 17605
sweetpeaproject.org
Follow us on Facebook!

Sweet Pea Sisters & Brothers Picnic

We are excited to announce a new community event, and you are invited!

Please visit the event page at www.sweetpeaproject.org/picnic for details.

Hope to see you there!

You Are Invited!

Sweet Pea Project is excited to announce our first community event of 2011

Coffee & Conversation with
Dr. Joanne Cacciatore!

Sweet Pea Project would like to invite bereaved family members to join us in the Mulberry Ballroom at Mulberry Art Studios on Wednesday, April 6th from 6:30pm until 8pm to enjoy coffee and desserts prepared by the Master Chefs of Rettew's Catering and hear the MISS Foundation's Dr. Joanne Cacciatore speak about grieving mindfully.

Seating is limited and registration is required. Please email Stephanie@sweetpeaproject.org to reserve your spot. Registration begins on February 3rd and will end on March 25, as long as seats are available. There is no charge to attend this event. As always, donations are greatly appreciated so that we may continue to offer comfort, support and gentle guidance to families who have experienced the death of a child.

To learn more about Dr. Joanne Cacciatore and her inspiring work,
please visit the following websites:

MISS Foundation
Center For Loss & Trauma

Please contact me with any questions you may have. I hope to see you in April!

peace,
Stephanie Cole

You remembered her birthday

As you probably remember, I recently asked for small donations from family, friends and the community in honor of my daughter's birthday earlier this month. I was completely overwhelmed by the response. Donations flooded in, many from people I've never even met, and we are now in a position to greatly expand our book donation program. If you would like to see Still. added to the bereavement boxes offered at your local hospital at no cost, please contact me for details.

To everyone who made a donation in honor of Madeline's 4th birthday, thank you. You filled a difficult day with so much love and light. I am beyond grateful.

Sincerely,
Stephanie

January

the coldness creeps in

and my body remembers
winter is so hard

In an effort to make it through January, the most emotionally complicated month of the year for me, I have decided to carve out space in my life for honest contemplation and creation. I will write or make art each day. I'm hoping this will allow me to work through the still raw emotions of Madeline's death and birth in a way that leaves open the opportunity for me to experience beauty, discover truth and find balance.

Catherine, from The Lifespan of Butterflies, did this same thing through her Imago Project leading up to her daughter's birthday in October. I participated with her in October and this month she is joining me. If this inspires you to write or make art at all this month, I would be honored to include your work in the Community Gallery at Beauty In The Breakdown. I will be placing many of my own pieces (maybe even all of them, depending on how brave I am feeling) in the Main Gallery, so please stop by and check them out.

Yesterday I created my first piece of the month out of black polymer clay and finished it with a metallic green powder. A peapod for my Sweet Pea.