Help Grace Love Moms & Babies

Hello! My name is Grace and I am an aspiring birth doula. A doula is someone who supports a mother through the awesome journey of bringing a child into the world. Because a doula is a non-medical care provider, she is able to give her full attention to loving, encouraging, supporting, and assisting a mother during the pregnancy, labor, birth, and post-partum periods.

After witnessing the birth of my youngest sister, my heart caught fire with a desire to spend my life serving women and their babies. I began to think about all of those courageous moms who deliver without anyone to support them through their decision to choose life and the desire to serve those women grew even stronger.

My greatest hope for my training is to be able to use it to support moms in the greatest need of support who probably can't afford a doula. Since I plan on donating much of my time and work, I realize that this will not bring much (or any) money so I am planning now for ways to 1) fund my education, and 2) find ways to meet the need for supplies once I begin serving. 

Here is a list of some of the needs I will have over the next couple years. Our goal amount above reflects the costs for a solid educational foundation, basic supplies, and additional funds to begin donating to loss families immediately:

* A professional camera to provide quality birth and baby images to families
* Training/mentorship with a professional birth and infant loss photographer
* Training fees for certification as a doula, including various workshops
* Training fees for ongoing education such as lactation consultion, birth education, and bereavement care
* Training materials and books
* Supplies that will be used for pregnant and laboring mothers such as a birth ball, education materials, heat therapy, rebozo, essential oils, etc.
* Start-up funds to develop a website where I can provide resources for mothers and families.
* Gifts and support materials for families who have experienced loss through miscarriage and stillbirth
* Supplies to make handcrafted goods to sell in order to sustain my long-term goals and needs.

Thank you so much for considering a donation to my education! I promise that I will work hard to become the best doula I can be. This is more than a "career path" for me -- it is a response to a call to be Jesus' hands and feet to others and to help build a Culture of Life. 

I will offer a Holy Hour in prayer for all benefactors and your intentions.

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One more thing...
Please contact me if you have material goods that you can donate to moms and babies in need -- who are either in crisis pregnancies, have babies in the NICU, or are going through loss. Examples of items happily accepted:

* New fabric for use in sewing blankets, layettes, and small gifts.
* Gift cards for families in challenging situations (restaurants, grocery, etc.)
* Paper and cardstock for printing resources and educational materials
* New stuffed animals for NICU and loss families
* All prayer is welcome and gratefully accepted!! :)