Founders Letter
Looking ahead, we have set these milestone goals for the Luca John Foundation:
Continuing to be the Leader in Providing Grants to Families for Infant Burial Costs
As we enter our 15th year we continue to be one of the only national Non-Profits that help families with funeral expenses for their infant children. We are looking at helping over 200 families annually. Today we receive an average of 5-10 requests per week, and we only see that number growing. Continuing with our method of structured growth we want to continue to provide quality care for each family that comes to us.
Seeking Fairness in Honoring Our Children
We believe funeral expenses need to be more consistent across the nation, and one of our goals is to have a national guideline for this. Families come to us with typical expenses ranging from $1,500 to $3,000 for burial costs, but these can push upward to $10,000. While we understand the need for any business to make money, we also need to recognize the limitations many families have and the lack of insurance for babies in utero.
Central Source for Infant Loss
The loss of an infant child brings many things along with it. There is the emotional support, funeral planning, long term mental health and impacts on marriages. There are many resources that offer assistance, but not a central place to go to and find help. We wish to become that resource to help simplify the journey that parents, grand-parents, siblings and friends take on their grief journey.
We started this foundation after our community showered us with love and generosity at a heart-breaking time in our lives. We wanted to do the same for others, while honoring the memory of our baby, Luca John. We know that the power of love heals, and it’s heart-warming for us to reflect on how many people have supported this cause since its beginning. We set out to heal hearts and provide hope. We didn’t know how much it would give us in return.
Nickie and Kevin Baranowski