A10
Hood River News, Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Baby blanket drive supports hospital’s perinatal loss program
BY TRISHA WALKER
News staff writer
Cameron Teems, RNC-OB,
Family Birth Center nurse at
Providence Hood River
Memorial Hospital, is orga-
nizing a special collection of
baby blankets April 13-17.
Special, because the blan-
kets will be given to parents
who have lost a baby through
miscarriage, stillbirth or
neonatal death as a memorial
keepsake.
The drive is a collaboration
between the Sweet Pea Project
(sweetpeaproject.org), which
collects baby blankets to give
to grieving parents, and Prov-
idence Hood River Memorial
Hospital’s Family Birth Cen-
ter — and is the first time
PHRMH has collected blan-
kets for this purpose.
Teems has, however,
worked with the Sweet Pea
Project in the past, receiving
blankets for the hospital’s
perinatal loss program. Previ-
ously, the Sweet Pea Project
collected blankets nationwide
to send to hospitals across the
country, but has recently
changed its focus to collecting
blankets at a local level.
As explained on the pro-
ject’s website, “Newly be-
reaved parents will receive
blankets donated by their
neighbors. We hope this will
help foster a sense of commu-
nity for the bereaved, and there. “However, we will offer hearts break for you because
offer connections during blankets to families in our they have also experienced
those awfully isolating first community who have suffered the death of their precious
a loss elsewhere and perhaps baby,” said Teems. “Donating
weeks of grief.”
For PHRMH, it’s another did not receive any type of blankets, or anything else, in
way to care for patients deal- keepsakes or memorial items honor of the baby lost, in
hopes of helping someone
to help them remember their
ing with loss.
else, can be very healing
“Most of our support mate- baby,” she
and part of recovery
rials for our inpatients
from the grief.
are pur-
“The process of going
chased
in to the hospital and
through
giving birth to a child
t h e
you do not get to take
Founda-
home is so difficult,”
t i o n ,
said Teems. “You are
wh e r e
overcome with a mix
they have
of emotions, but most
a special
often are just in a
fund that
state of shock and
was set up
numbness.
specifically
“As nurses, it is
for perina-
upon us to provide
tal loss by a
as many opportuni-
family that
isha Walker
ties as we can for
experienced
Photo by Tr
y
s Famil
l’
the families to hold
their own
a
it
sp
o
H
morial
ir
e
e
M
th
and spend time
loss,” Teems
f
R
o
E
rt
IV
R
s pa
CE HOOD
blankets a
with their baby,
said. “Howev-
y
N
y
il
E
b
a
m
ID
b
Fa
V
w
,
O
e
B
R
n
P
RNC-O
ecting
ll
s,
o
c
and create keep-
m
er, there are
e
is
r
Te
r-
te
n
pa
ero
Cen
many organiza- Birth
gram. Cam kets will be given to or sakes for them to
ro
p
ss
lo
l
the blan
take home. As
tions, like the perinata
ge, stillbirth
nurse, said
h miscarria
g
u
ro
the patient, you
Sweet Pea Pro- Birth Center
th
y
b
a
b
a
st
.
epsake
are not always
ject, that create ents who have lo
e
k
l
a
ri
o
m
s a me
a
th
aware
of
how
important it
ways for families
a
e
d
l
onata
is, yet, to have each and every
said.
who have lost a ne
Each donated blanket will keepsake and photo that was
baby to reach out
to others going through the have a small note attached ex- taken.”
That perspective comes
plaining its purpose: “That it
same thing.”
Because the blankets will was carefully chosen and do- with time. “As you go through
be collected at the hospital, nated through the Sweet Pea the grieving process, each and
most will go to inpatients Project by families whose every little thing becomes a
connection to your baby,” said
Teems. “Having a blanket,
something tangible to hold on
to, that was wrapped around
your baby is so meaningful
and will forever be something
that helps you feel close to the
memory of your baby that
died.”
The drive is for new blan-
kets only because, The Sweet
Pea Project says, “We want
each special blanket to belong
to one child and nobody else.”
Blankets can be of any size —
“Babies can be very small to a
full-term newborn size,” said
Teems — and made from flan-
nel, fleece, cotton or other sim-
ilar material.
“Handmade blankets are
welcome but we request no
knitted or crocheted blankets
because the fibers can disturb
the baby’s delicate skin, caus-
ing tears and abrasions,” she
said.
Teems has a special connec-
tion with the blanket drive,
both as a nurse and as a moth-
er who has lost a child.
“As a nurse, who has also
been a patient and suffered
the loss of a baby, I know how
important it is to have these
keepsakes,” said Teems. “As
time passes, my memories
fade, but I still have these
items that help me to cope
with losing him. My keep-
sakes have become treasures
that help keep the memory of
him close.”
To donate, bring a new baby
blanket to Providence Hood
River Memorial Hospital be-
tween April 13 and 17 — there
will be a large collection bar-
rel in the main entrance. Par-
ents who have not received a
tangible keepsake of a lost
child can email Teems at
Cameron.Teems@providence.
org for more information on
obtaining a blanket of their
own.
SUPPORT GROUP MEETS MONTHLY
Teems has started and fa-
cilitates the Columbia Gorge
Pregnancy and Infant Loss
Support Group, monthly at
River of Life Assembly; the
next meeting will take place
April 7 from 6-7 p.m. and will
f e a t u r e s p e a ke r Pa t r i c i a
Varga, founder of Women
with Wings Foundation, who
will discuss the Create to Heal
program. The support group is
for women, age 18 and older,
who have lost a child from
miscarriage, ectopic, stillbirth
or neonatal death.
Bowl for Kids’ Sake
raises funds, awareness
Big bowlers, Little bowlers and
bowlers in between made a difference
at Bowl for Kids’ Sake 2015 on Satur-
day, March 14. The event grossed more
than $55,000, almost half of the Big
Brothers Big Sisters’ annual budget.
A good time was had by all as more
than 300 bowlers and volunteers cele-
brated in support of Big Brothers Big
Sisters of the Columbia Gorge (BBBS).
Teams from The Dalles, Hood River,
White Salmon and around the region
collected donations in support of
BBBS’s mentoring programs.
Bowlers at Orchard Lanes celebrat-
ed their efforts with a bowling party
complete with cake, pizza and prizes.
Dozens of businesses, agencies and in-
dividuals participated in the annual
event as sponsors and bowling teams.
New teams participating in this year’s
event included Key Bank of Hood
River, The City of Hood River, Wasco
County’s Split Ends, CGCC’s Five Star
Turkey Rackers and Klickitat Lyle
Against Substance Abuse Coalition.
The Beneventi’s Pizza team took top
fundraising honors with a total contri-
bution of $8,100, followed by Hood
River Construction, which raised
$6,320.
Tim Sweeney, owner of Hood River
Construction, was the top individual
fundraiser with $5,285 thanks to dona-
tions from local contractors and sup-
pliers.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Co-
lumbia Gorge currently serves 80 chil-
dren in Hood River, Wasco and west-
ern Klickitat Counties matched with
caring, screened and trained volun-
teer mentors.
■
To find out more about Big Brothers
Big Sisters, contact Justine Ziegler at
541-436-0309 or go to:
www.nextdoorinc.org.
Photo by Ray Perkins
RAY PERKINS PHOTOGRAPHY donated time all day to get photos of every team. Ray’s favorite photo features
one of four Leos teams: Cleo Koerner, left, Hannah Simons, Cayla Sacre, Elizabeth Bailey and Claire Oswald.
© 2015 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 31, No. 18
ario and Maya are selling their toys at a yard sale
to raise money for their local fire department.
Oops! Someone dripped lemonade on the sales slips.
Can you fill in the missing numbers?
Each of these kids need some advice
from YOU. Read each story and write
down your advice. Talk about your advice
with a parent. Do they agree with you?
David is trying to save money
to buy a new LEGO set that
costs $29.00. Each Friday, he
gets an allowance of $5.00
from his mom and dad.
Last Sunday, he spent $8.50, which ate into
his LEGO savings. Now he only has about
$4.00 saved up for the LEGO set.
CAUSE:
TOTAL RAISED:
EFFECT:
David tries to save at least $3.00 every week.
He spends about $2.00 when he visits the
video arcade on Sunday afternoons. But
sometimes he’ll spend more than he
planned to trying to
top his best score.
ALLOWANCE
GROCERY
PROBLEM
FASTER
COUPLE
ARCADE
MUSIC
EARNS
EQUAL
MONEY
SCORE
COST
PAIN
GOAL
BIKE
Evan collects stickers from the grocery store
vending machine. Each costs 50¢. He buys
one each time his family shops, which is
usually three times a week.
E e earns $3.00 a week pulling weeds in his neighbor’s
Evan
y ard, so
s he spends half of his money each week on
yard,
st ticker and saves the rest in his piggy bank.
stickers
T g gr
The
grocery store just replaced the old sticker machine with
a new one. The stickers are bigger, but they cost $1.00 each.
If f he buys three, he’ll spend all his money every week.
Find the words in the puzzle. Then
look for each word in this week’s
Kid Scoop stories and activities.
E M O G N P E E E T
C Y M R R R R K S A
N C T E T O I O E M
A N I T C B C R S O
W S I S O L O E N N
Maria wants a new bike that costs $75. If she saved
all her money each week, she could buy the bike in about two
months. But Maria downloads music from her favorite bands at
$1.30 per song a couple times a week. She also buys a smoothie
for $3.95 on Saturdays with her friend Katie. Sometimes they go
to a movie, which costs $7.00 per ticket.
Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Use the skills and strategies of the reading process to follow written directions. Math: Compute written amounts.
Look through the
newspaper for
prices. Can you
find five or more
prices, that when
added together
equal $100?
Now try to find
prices in the
newspaper that
add up to $1,000.
What’s the largest
amount you can
reach?
Standards Link: Math:
Compute sums up to 1,000.
CAUSE:
O N S A U E U G R E
L A V F P M P O A Y
L A U Q E I L A E N
A R C A D E E L G S
EFFECT:
Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognized identical
cal
words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.
New and Used
Maria walks and feeds her Aunt Meridith’s dog,
Zinger, every day after school. Maria gets $2.00 per
day for taking such good care of Zinger.
Understanding cause and effect
helps improve problem-solving
skills. Read the stories about
Evan, David and Maria. Find a
cause and an effect in each
story. We have done one for you.
Find five items for sale in the newspaper.
nd
Chart the items and their prices. Can you find
the same items for sale used? What is the
difference in price? What are the advantages/
disadvantages of buying new vs. used?
Standards Link: Research: Use the newspaper to locate
My Savings Story
Write about something you’d
like to buy. Why do you want it?
Then write about your plan to
save money to buy it.
CAUSE:
EFFECT:
Now Try This …
Find an article in today’s
newspaper. Identify the cause
and effect. Have your parents
read the article and see if they
agree with the cause and
effect you found.
Standards Link: Research: Use the
newspaper to locate information.