These special gowns help families heal when babies die
7:32 PM CDT May 27, 2015 By Kim St. OngeA West Des Moines woman said it was her calling to help grieving families coping with a death.
Jacki Cohoon got involved with Angel Gowns last year. It's a nationwide effort to help with the painful process of saying goodbye to a loved one.
She has hundreds of tiny gowns made for families that she's never met.
"It's all donations and there's no charge to the families at all, in any way," said Cohoon.
She spends hours taking apart donated wedding dresses and sewing them into angel gowns.
"Nothing gets wasted, I use every bit of the dress that I can," said Cohoon.
The gowns are given to families with premature babies who passed away some as young as 16 weeks.
"There's no clothes for preemies. You can't buy them and it just makes me feel really good to know that these babies are not... the service is not.... they're not in bits of cloth of diapers or things too big for them that they have something.... It is dignity," said Cohoon.
Losing a loved one is a tragedy that hits home for Cohoon.
Her twin brothers died just 10 hours after they were delivered.
"I'm doing it for my brothers and my mom," said Cohoon.
She wants to give back to mothers like Rebecca Bruce whose precious baby was still born at just 39 weeks. "It just makes you feel good to know that for one as a mom you don't have to worry about having go out and find the garments, but for two that your little baby is just cloaked in something so beautiful for all of eternity," said Bruce.
It's a selfless passion that Cohoon said is her true calling.
"I will never give it up. I'll do it forever as long as I can," she said.
One wedding dress can make about 12 angel gowns.
LEARN MORE:
http://www.angelgownsbyjacki.blogspot.com
DONATE A DRESS IN CENTRAL IOWA:
Grimes Community Center
410 SE Main Street
Grimes, Iowa
NOTE: KCCI did a wonderful job helping me through this very emotional interview. Not only did I cry during the filming, but my mom, who was present, cried, and Kim St Onge cried, as did the camera woman. But we persevered and we completed the interview with only a few breaks to allow us to compose ourselves.
My only regret is that references to those that support me were not included in the information provided in KCCI's news reports. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who help me in both small and large ways... the donators of the gowns, friends and family who spread the word and/or collect dresses, those that sponsor the cost of supplies and/or postage for shipments of gowns to funeral homes and hospitals, those that knit or crochet the tiny blankets that are included with the gowns, those that encourage me through their kind words, and those that help drive me with shared stories of their own Angelbabies. Thank you and bless all of you.
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