MAKING MEMORIES: Sarah Craig hopes the Heart Angel Memory Boxes will help bring comfort to parents who lose a baby to a heart condition. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER 240114SP8
MAKING MEMORIES: Sarah Craig hopes the Heart Angel Memory Boxes will help bring comfort to parents who lose a baby to a heart condition. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER 240114SP8
After losing her baby daughter, Sarah Craig admits it would have been easy to let grief consume and destroy her.
But Ms Craig wanted to turn the loss of Skyla-Ann Waters into something constructive - and so the idea for the Heart Angel Memory Boxes was born.
The 6-month-old diedin August after having open-heart surgery twice in eight days and spending six weeks on life support.
Ms Craig said the idea for the boxes to send to parents whose heart baby had died came a couple of months ago. The boxes were filled with items to help parents create memories of their baby, including vouchers for a candle with the child's photo, engraved memory necklaces, vouchers for memorial plaques and word art canvases.
Ms Craig said one benefit was that the boxes allowed parents to create the memorials with the words and photos they wanted: "It's about making the mementos themselves ... so it's part of that healing process. It's hard work but the reward at the end is worth it."
With each box worth more than $150, Ms Craig said she was looking for sponsorship to help ensure they could be sent to all parents who lost a child to a heart condition.
It was one of 10 charities chosen in the recent 10 Days of Donations campaign run by fashion designer and philanthropist Annah Stretton, which will see Heart Angel Memory Boxes receive a share of $30,000.
With more than 2000 nominations for the money, Ms Craig said to be selected as one of the winning 10 was amazing. To find out more about Heart Angel Memory Boxes or to help out email heartangels@outlook.com or visit their Facebook page.