ST. PAUL, Minn. – (Oct. 22, 2015) – At Hamline University, on a brisk fall evening inside the Klas Center, their is the warmth of caring and generosity. “Our annual fundraiser and all proceeds that are raised this evening go to Eden’s Garden to support our mission,” said Eden’s Garden co-founder Amanda Hedin. A fundraiser to give new families help and hope, A Night in the Garden is a gathering for those who want to make a difference for families in the NICU. “Our mission is to provide resources and support to families going through the journey in the NICU, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,” said Hedin.
Amanda and Scott Hedin started their non-profit Eden’s Garden to honor the memory of the tragedy and triumphs they experienced just a few years ago. “In 2011 actually our daughter Eden passed away. She was born prematurely and struggled for eight months in the NICU and we wanted to do something to honor her and to keep her legacy alive so we created Eden’s Garden where we help other families going through the journey in the NICU and that’s really creating a legacy for her but then in the same breath helping families and that makes it all worth it,” said Hedin.
An example of how the work of Eden’s Garden helps families was present. A family with triplets, who just a few months ago found the non-profit to be incredibly helpful in the NICU process now have three healthy babies at home. “They had triplets that were born early and one baby is a lot but three in the NICU, that’s tremendous. So they really needed some support to get through that hump of going back and forth from the NICU and home and we were able to step in and provide them with the resources they needed,” said Hedin. “Just at such a time in our life when to say we were at crisis, we were in survival mode, could not even capture what the time in our life was,” said Sarah, an Eden’s Garden recipient.
Funding and support comes in many forms and to have an event like A Night in the Garden brings awareness and a reminder of why it’s important. “As a parent I cannot even imagine watching my child in the NICU and standing there and being there day to day. Not just being able to birth your baby and take them home two days later like normal parents do. So from a parents stand point I just feel like it’s so important to support those families that are not able to do the regular things,” said Gold Sponsor Lacy Vreeland.
Eden’s Garden was built out of the worst circumstances and now will continue to pull families through their own unique yet similar circumstances in the NICU thanks to the giving of others. “This really makes a difference to families. I talked to someone tonight who had received a gift from Eden’s Garden and said you have no idea, it came right at the right time when we needed it. That was tremendous to hear,” said Hedin. More information on Eden’s Garden can be found here.
