PAST EVENTS
PARENT CARE WORKSHOP 2023
On Saturday, October 21, 2023, we hosted our first-annual Parent Care Workshop. This was a time for adult caregivers to come together and find connection, hope and healing care after the journey of the NICU with a micropreemie. Facilitated by a certified family and trauma therapist, our parents were given the opportunity to work through their shared stories together to find meaning and hope in their past, present and future lives. We were able to provide an intimate and welcoming space that reminded our parents that goodness is possible along the hard road.
Our attendees left our Parent Care Workshop with increased feelings of hope and possibility. They described the experience as "connecting," "healing," and "lightening" of their emotional burdens after the NICU journey. There was a 100% satisfaction rate with the programming and 100% likelihood that they would recommend our 4those Parent Care Workshop to other micro preemie parents and caregivers. I will never forget the privilege of serving our parents and caregivers in such a profoundly loving way. We saw change and impact up close, and it was more beautiful than we could have imagined.
Here are what some of our attendees had to say about the experience:
• There is tremendous power in being able to share your story
• There were so many eye opening moments
• It was an opportunity to grow
• I loved…continuing to bond with other NICU parents and I need this community so much for my continued healing and growth.
• It was great to have an intimate, facilitated environment with others who have experienced similar challenges.
• It was so wonderful to be open and talking among others who understood what I had been through and were willing to relate and be part of my healing process
• Connecting
• Healing
• Wonderful
• Extremely helpful
• It was great!! Hearing a definition of what trauma is, learning about the process to deal with it, and being asked to remember the visceral moments helped a lot
• Hearing about self-care both for yourself and your partner was great
• I really was amazed at how kind everyone was
• Just life-changing
NICU FAMILY DAY OUT 2023
On June 17, 2023, we hosted our first-annual NICU Family Day Out! Though our future 4those campus and programming will be built specifically to focus on micro-preemies and their families, we plan to provide a free yearly gathering for all NICU families to promote our mission of connection, healing and hope after all NICU journeys. This was our first of many, and it was a HUGE success!
We hosted close to 100 people from all walks of the NICU and provided spaces for a variety of abilities and ages. We had a petting zoo, a ride-on train, face painting and balloon animals, coffee and snacks, infant area, art station, indoor playgrounds, corn hole and mini basketball, indoor tricycles and scooters, bouncy houses, and so much more.
Why did we put together an event like this, you ask? One of the biggest challenges after leaving the NICU is medical complexity. Many children face a variety of medical outcomes from physical abilities to lung and heart complications or sensitivities to vision or hearing loss to feeding needs to compromised immunity. Many parents and caregivers (and non-NICU siblings) must make incredibly intentional and careful choices to keep their children healthy and safe in the big world outside of the hospital, which can lead to feelings of isolation or missing out on the fun things life has to offer for our kids (we definitely experienced this when Zev came home, especially after the global pandemic occurred). What we wanted was a safe and hopeful place for these families to connect and start living out a new story that celebrates the journeys they have traveled. We hoped they would feel free and known in our presence.
We witnessed countless beautiful connections between families and siblings, memories being made, laughter and tears of joy, fun being had, and a general feeling of hope and celebration. It was EVERYTHING!!
Here are what a few of our attendees had to say about the event followed by some amazing photos from the day:
This was a blessing
We had a wonderful time
5/5 across the board
Very welcoming
It was awesome
Exceeded expectations
You are amazing
Loved connecting with other families
We saw how our stories overlapped
We got to spend fun, quality time together
Supportive, joyous environment
So many things for kids to do at all levels
We got to see my child just have fun
We got to be with other families who had similar journeys
I hope you continue to do these events in the future
We are inviting our friends to the next one
We could say yes to all the special activities for our kids we can’t usually afford
Life-changing
This was a special treat
Today turned out to be more incredible than I could have imagined
Just thank you
