By Hayley Fedor
Grounded in compassion and reinforced by kindness, Addison Foundation offers a place to find love and support for those in the community impacted by pregnancy loss and stillbirths.
On December 30, 2019, Hope Springs decided to create Addison Foundation in honor of her daughter, Addison Marie, who sadly passed away during pregnancy, before making her beautiful entrance into the world. Prior to the creation of the foundation, Springs worked with a similar organization supporting families through loss; however, she truly desired to forge her own path and begin a nonprofit that would allow her to serve the community more openly and build a foundation more personal to her.
“I decided to start Addison Foundation on the basis that we can start small and work up to grief counseling and then provide help to others,” said Springs.
Through Addison Foundation, families are supported not only emotionally but also materially with gift baskets. The staff at Addison Foundation know that managing loss is different for all members of the family, and in light of this, gift baskets include items such as spa accessories for moms and dads, coloring books for children and gift cards for food.
“Our overall goal for the foundation is to provide support with grief counseling and provide an outlet to families that have suffered the loss of their baby,” said Springs.
Springs and the staff at Addison Foundation persistently work to find counseling methods that best help each individual on a personal level, expressing understanding for mothers, fathers, siblings, friends and even grandparents through their experience of losing a baby.
“We want to show them that we understand, we have been there and we want to show compassion, care and support,” said Springs.
With the goal of providing relief, Addison Foundation hosts events to give back to those in need. Each year, the foundation participates in Brandon Regional Hospital’s annual Remembrance Ceremony in observation of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. Currently, in precaution of the pandemic, events do not take place in person, but are still being held through other platforms.
In addition, Addison Foundation provides encouragement and support through its website, which features a blog and highlights fundraisers going on throughout the year.
To explore volunteering opportunities and find out more information about Addison Foundation, visit addisonfoundation.com or call 400-0701.
