Awareness Events & Other Upcoming Events

October is an important month for me.  Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness, as well as Domestic Violence Awareness are very personal to me.  Yesterday, October 15th, there were 2 big events that happened in remembrance of many, many babies that have gone too soon. 

My friend, mentor, and the founder of Stillbirthday, Heidi Faith, released hundreds of little floral seeded hearts (each had a beloved baby's name handwritten onto it), at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.  I am honored that my baby's name was included on one of those tiny hearts.  There was also the international Wave of light.  People around the world lit a candle in remembrance of their (or a friend's/loved one's) baby (or babies) that they lost too soon.  My Facebook newsfeed was filled with beautiful candles!

Today I was able to take my daughters to a 'Take Back The Night' event.  We heard an amazing speaker talk about sexual assault that she's personally experienced, and the lasting effects that it has had on her.  We made signs, marched, and raised awareness in our community. 

Tonight, I am so proud of my actual community, as well as my Facebook community.  I'm honored to know many caring, selfless people!  I'm looking forward to the upcoming months!

Additionally, A Joyful Journey will be hosting a number of classes from now through December in our community!  This is a great opportunity for anyone interested to get to know our doulas better!

Here's what we have scheduled so far!   Each class is $10/person.

In addition to this, I will be hosting a Breastfeeding Basics class, as well as a Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support group soon.  Keep checking back in for updates! 

Warmly,

Andrea

Fundraisers

It's been a wild, crazy couple months at A Joyful Journey.  We have been busy with school, fundraisers, clients, and of course lots of beautiful babies.  Andrea and I have been super busy at Joliet Junior College and Midwives College of Utah.   Andrea is working tirelessly full time and making excellent grades.  I too have been enjoying immersing myself into school.  I'm proud to say that halfway through my first trimester and I've got straight A's! We are enjoying our studies and have been getting quite a few new, amazing clients.

We recently hosted our 2nd Annual Parenting Fair in New Lenox.  We were able to raise $1000 for Guardian Angels in Joliet!!  The money will go to Groundworks programs to help women and children who are victims of domestic violence.  This program is near and dear to our heart. Andrea herself, has benefited from these programs as a child.  Sadly, it was a rainy day on the day of our event but the limited amount of people who came out, really surprised us with their generosity.  We are so grateful to all the volunteers and participants who helped make this fundraiser a success!  A special shout out to my Mom, Donna who has volunteered many hours both years to help us.

In addition to our Guardian Angels fundraiser, I hosted an online fundraiser for the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery.  We had our "party" on Facebook and it was a HUGE success. I never realized how much fun an online party could be!  You can play hostess in your jammies, ooh and aah over fun clothes with friends, and raise a lot of money and awareness! We sold $2700 worth of LuLaRoe and our fun party was able to donate about $500.  I am so proud of this.  I could not have done it without all my wonderful friends and fellow birth professionals who shared the event, and bought some adorable leggings.  I even got my sister-in-law from Singapore to donate. (Love you Becky) In case you were wondering about how to donate or for more information:  The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery is an umbrella organization.  This includes the Illinois Friends of Midwives consumer group and the Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives. We are trying to raise funds/awareness for a Bill to be passed that would legalize Certified Professional Midwives in Illinois.

Check back on A Joyful Journey's blog in a couple days for more information about our Fall/Winter classes we will be offering!