Part of why we started CHF was to be able to support families who may sometimes feel isolated, or who may experience financial hardship due to medical issues that can not be handled locally in Windsor. Some families find themselves on endless drives on the highway going back and forth from Windsor to London, and sometimes Windsor to Toronto. These times can feel desperate, lonely, and scary. These times force people into living a life with no consistency, no routine. It can even force them to take time off work and keep them away from their other family members.
We know, we've been there.
When I was pregnant with Hazel, we left the house at 4am with some complications. We did not return home for almost 8 weeks in total. We spent 2 weeks on bedrest in the hospital in London before she was born, and 5 weeks and 2 days after she arrived. In that time, we felt all the feels: lonely, scared, isolated, confused. If it weren't for the support of our family and friends, it would have been unbearable. Our family was always there. They brought us food, comfort items from home, presents for baby Hazel. Many times just came to sit and visit with us so we knew we were loved. Our friends organized a donation, and handed us quite a bit of money to cover costs, like gas. Since Matt was trying to work as much as possible there were a lot of travel costs. Costs like food. Even though we were at the RMH for that time, we still found we had some extra expenses. Not to mention still paying the bills back home.
Needless to say the kind, and generous gesture was greatly appreciated. It not only helped us in a very practical way, but it reminded us that we were not alone; that we had support, prayers, and people rooting for and supporting us.
That's why we now try to pay it forward with CHF. With the help of our supporters, generous donors, and people who buy our swag, we are able to provide comfort packages that support families, and hopefully make them feel just like we felt when our people reached out to us. Loved, supported, and SEEN.
Comfort packages are available on a case-by-case basis, and vary from family to family. We strive to accurately reflect the individual families needs and make an impact that appropriately suits them. They are available on a reference based system so if you ever know of anyone that needs a little support please feel free to email us here with the subject line: Supporting Families and tell us a bit about the family and their circumstances.