Grieve Out Loud

Here are some ongoing projects, exchanges and others ways in which you can interact with Grieve Out Loud.

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PROJECT THE FIRST! – a writing challenge

Project The First! is a writing challenge created in early 2012. This writing challenge was designed for all families to participate in with questions aimed towards pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, loss and life after loss. Together we will retell the story and emotions surrounding our children and document how our lives are forever changed, view. When applicable we encourage everyone to share their stories with us by comments, on our Facebook page, on Twitter using #GOLthefirst, or on your personal blog/journal. Here are some of the past writing topics.

The first piece of furniture you bought for the nursery.

Who was the first person you told about your pregnancy (besides your significant other)? How far along were you? How did they react?

What was your first craving? Food or drink? Savory or sweet? Junk food or health food? How long did the cravings last?

What was your baby’s first nickname?

What were your first thoughts of motherhood? Were you actively trying or was your first baby a surprise?

What was your first day back at work like after your loss? Did you return to the same job or find a new one? How did you tell your co-workers/boss what happened? How did they treat you afterwards?

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MONTHLY MILESTONE EXCHANGES – a gift exchange

These monthly milestone gift exchanges are for families anticipating birthdays, due dates, anniversaries and other pregnancy and infant loss related milestones. We are now accepting participants for NOVEMBER!

This exchange was created to help families remember those who are not physically with them, yet give them with a tangible reminder. The exchange was designed to draw upon the power of creativity and community to celebrate our milestones instead of fear them. To fill the days with hope and happiness. Focus on giving. To make new friends. And most of all, to have a reason to run to the mailbox each day to see if our gift has arrived!

Here is how the Monthly Milestone Exchanges Works:

–  If you are interested in participating you must fill out this form. PLEASE sign-up only if your milestone falls inside the month of NOVEMBER (we will be posting new forms for each month). Please utilize the “Special Instructions/Free Space� area for information regarding your specific milestone.

– Serious participants only! This is a get a gift, give a gift exchange.

– Cut off date for this exchange: October 22nd.

– You will be randomly partnered and contacted by the e-mail address you supply. You have 72 hours to reply to our e-mail. If we don’t hear from you, you will automatically be removed from the exchange.

– You are responsible for getting in touch with your partner and mailing their gift. Please contact your partner if there will be a delay in shipping. It is better to say something, then nothing at all. Have your package postmarked 5-7 days BEFORE the milestone.

– We highly encourage this to be a handmade card/gift exchange. The more personalized the gift, the better. Create a keepsake for life. Please keep gifts/supplies between $10-20.

– Have fun and be creative! This shouldn’t be a stressful project. If the thought of creating something is stressful please don’t sign up.

Any questions, feel free to contact us at

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PEN-PAL PROGRAM – volunteer openings

What makes our Pen-Pal Program so effective is our diverse team. We aim to represent all types of pregnancy and infant losses, including the rare and uncommon disorders no one has heard of nor can spell. We want our participants to have one-on-one contact with families who have walked a mile in their shoes and know exactly what they are going through, no matter what type of loss they have experienced.

In 2012 Grieve Out Loud and Faces of Loss joined forces to create Voices Of Loss. Now our program reaches an even larger audience, hence we have ongoing volunteer openings for mothers, fathers, grandparents and other family members who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss.

If you are interested in joining our team please fill out a volunteer application.

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IN MEMORY: – donation support

In Memory: is a special way to remember and support friends or loved ones dealing with pregnancy and infant loss. When making a donation in memory of a pregnancy, baby or family, we will create and send a handmade tribute card to the family notifying them a donation has been made in their baby’s memory. Families are deeply impacted by donations made around their baby’s milestones such as birthdays, anniversaries and due dates.

We also offer custom creative services for families who wish to have donations made to Grieve Out Loud including, but not limited to:

– in lieu of … donation cards for funerals, birthdays or other occasions
– please consider a donation in honor of my baby cards
– today is my baby’s birthday, please consider a donation in his/her memory
– an expression of sympathy donation cards
– donation statement cards
contact for more information

Donations are accepted online through PayPal, or by check. Please for special instructions when mailing a check.