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The founders of the site envisioned a day when all grieving<br />
parents could come together and be surrounded by support<br />
from friends and families, a day when communities could<br />
better understand their pain.<br />
This discovery launched Dana’s mission to go to the N.D.<br />
legislators to get a bill passed proclaiming October 15th as<br />
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in N.D. Her<br />
mission was successful, and Senate Concurrent Resolution No.<br />
4014 was passed. (Ironic side note: October 15th is also the day<br />
Dana went into labor with Lakin.)<br />
Then Memorial Day came, springing a much larger calling<br />
for Dana. When Dana was passing the cemetery, she noticed<br />
all of the American flags marking the veterans’ graves, and<br />
thought, “Why can’t we do that for October 15th?”<br />
Her vision from that moment was to get a white flower<br />
circled with a pink and blue ribbon, a note of what it signifies<br />
and a poem attached, and place them on all of the graves of<br />
children ages two and younger in Bismarck-Mandan.<br />
This idea seemed fairly easy and straight forward until<br />
she found out there isn’t a map of where the babies are in the<br />
cemeteries (with the exception of the N.D. Veteran’s Cemetery,<br />
which is the home of six angel babies).<br />
So, on July 6th, Dana started canvassing the cemeteries;<br />
mapping the sites of each child under the age of two. So far,<br />
they have found 102 at Sunset, 345 at Fairview, and 585 at<br />
St. Mary’s, and are just starting at Mandan Union.<br />
With this discovery, Dana’s vision of marking each grave<br />
by October 15th seems overwhelming as time isn’t on her<br />
side, and she is doing all of this without funding. She has been<br />
reaching out to friends, family, businesses and the community<br />
for help.<br />
These minor details haven’t slowed Dana down and, as<br />
September 10th nears, the one year anniversary of her<br />
daughter's death, her mission strengthens.<br />
Ways you can help:<br />
1) Light a candle at 7:00 pm on October 15th in memory<br />
and honor of infants who have lost their lives.<br />
2) Donate white flowers, pink and blue ribbon, money<br />
or time. If anyone would like to help with this<br />
project, you can contact Dana at 701-220-9791 or<br />
schweitzers@bis.midco.net.<br />
Nicole Morrison-Mathern is assistant director of the Harold<br />
Schafer Emerging Leaders Academy at the University of<br />
Mary, as well as the co-owner of the 100% women-owned<br />
businesses, Moxe In Action, LLC, Entertainment Resources,<br />
and URL (U Rock Lately) Radio.<br />
You've Come A Long Way Baby is sponsored by:<br />
September 2009 17