Avery’s Angels Gastroschisis Foundation has made a commitment to inspire hope this September. One of the greatest gifts you can give families of critically ill infants is hope; hope in the darkest of hours helps us endure.
Avery’s Angels Gastroschisis Foundation is founded on the single principle, Hope. Meghan Hall and Jared Rauen had been inspired by the “angels” that had been present during the short life of their son, Avery, from April 14th through July 30th, 2009. In this time, members of their community had stepped forward to help with meals, gas cards and support without hesitation. Inspired by the hope Avery had provided, Meghan began blogging about forming a foundation to promote that community of support, education and awareness for others affected- providing the same angels they had, for others. With the encouragement of “Avery’s Angels” the team at UNC Chapel Hill, their family and community, Meghan launched Avery’s Angels September of 2009.
Prior to the efforts of Avery’s Angels, there had not existed an organization for support, information and advocacy for gastroschisis families, patients and researchers. Between Meghan’s first blog post and Avery’s Angels acceptance as a registered 501c3 nonprofit on April 29, 2011, some amazing individuals came together and worked collaboratively to make the dream of a gastroschisis nonprofit possible. The initial core team was Meghan Hall, Herb Richter, June McDowall, Sheila Palus, and Kayte Thomas. The core team worked hard on planning, advocacy, legal work, and logistics to make the foundation possible. Added in soon after were Lea Krutel, Megan Turcotte, and Autumn Hernandez who further contributed to the founding efforts. These passionate pioneers were all impacted by having a child in their family born with gastroschisis – a combination of parents, grandparents, and great grandparents who wanted to make the world a better place for others who were dealing with the same experiences. Each of them brought a unique perspective to the budding organization because of their specific outcome with gastroschisis; they brought with them the knowledge of life, death, short bowel syndrome, divorce, advocacy, heart break, and love beyond measure, amongst other things. It is to this committed group of people that the world owes gratitude for the existence of the first nonprofit in the world dedicated to supporting gastroschisis families.
To this day, we are founded on that initial cause of providing support to families as being our primary purpose, funding the needs of the cause above all else, and encouraging research to discover the causes and promote prevention. Avery’s Angels is committed to joining the efforts with other similar foundations to furthering hope for those affected, recognizing we are all in this together.
Avery’s Angels services over 5,000 world-wide families from 200+ volunteers. The foundation is 100% volunteer run and exists due to 100% donations from our families, survivors and fans.
Neonatal Intensive Care Awareness Month from Project Sweet Peas.