News : Sing Me To Heaven: Angels on Earth

1st donation Val Reiter & Angie Hutton* donor William Ehlers**, Jennifer Howard & Diane McIntosh***

Jennifer Howard with her daughter, Natalie

--De Frain, 1991

Natalie Trebon blessed this Earth with her presence for almost 6 years. She didn’t experience the milestones that other children did: she never crawled, she never walked, she never spoke. But if you tickled her, she’d laugh. If she was uncomfortable, she’d cry. When doctors said her life expectancy was a few months to a couple of years, Natalie proved them wrong. She was a fighter.

Natalie’s fight with Mitochondrial disease came to an end in January of 2010. Her family was overwhelmed by the cost of her funeral. Funeral homes vary widely in their policies regarding infants and children. Some charge nothing; some charge a percentage of their basic service fee based on age; some charge full price at any age. Natalie’s grandmother, Diane McIntosh, said, “It’s bad enough that a family loses a child, but to then have to worry about how you are going to pay for the funeral can be too much.” With this in mind, exactly one year after Natalie’s death, her mom, Jennifer Howard, along with grandmother Diane, founded the ultimate tribute to Natalie’s memory. With permission from lyricist Jane Griner to use her words from the song of the same name, Sing Me To Heaven was born.

Sing Me To Heaven (SMTH) is a non-profit organization whose mission is “assisting grieving families in Iowa with funeral expenses after the loss of a child.” When Jennifer’s family and friends reached out to help her following Natalie’s death, she knew she wanted to pay it forward. Her idea was grand, yet simple: “Helping is healing. That’s how this all started. I knew there were families out there just like mine, or even worse off.”

In just 14 months, Sing Me To Heaven has helped 7 Iowa families. The first donation the foundation provided happened to be for family friends of the founders. Jennifer said it was a “bittersweet” way to launch the foundation.

Families from Wellman and Center Point were aided when they lost infants, and a family in Ft. Madison was assisted with the purchase of a headstone for their 18-year-old son who died suddenly while working at his part-time job.

Not all donations are monetary. For families who have the means to pay funeral expenses, Sing Me To Heaven provides a cross made by Blacksmith Boutique in Dysart as a tribute to the child they lost. Families of two children from Waterloo and Janesville were given these precious mementos.

Sing Me To Heaven’s biggest donation to date went to a family in Altoona and was a referral from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Seventeen-year-old Sydney had suffered with kidney problems and received a transplant in 2009. She celebrated her 17th birthday on August 28, 2011, and was killed in a car accident on the way to a friend’s house the next day. Since her wish from Make-A-Wish had yet to be fulfilled, the family contacted them to ask for help. The request was beyond the scope of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, so they referred the family to SMTH.

Sydney’s family was so grateful for the assistance that when her father picked up her last paycheck from her part-time job at Culver’s, he called Sing Me To Heaven to ask how he could donate the money back to the foundation. Her family is also planning a fundraiser, and proceeds will be split between a scholarship in Sydney’s name and SMTH. Sing Me To Heaven encourages families to adopt their “pay it forward” attitude. Says Jennifer, “A simple act of kindness can span miles and change lives forever.”

In order to help families with funeral expenses for their child, Sing Me To Heaven needs money. They have earned money through fundraisers like silent auctions, 50/50 raffles at high school sporting events and selling glow necklaces at La Porte City’s Festival of Trails; they also sell t-shirts and sweatshirts with the foundation’s logo on them.

Recently, Sing Me To Heaven was partnered with a non-profit management class at Wartburg College. They will be hosting a fundraiser April 10, 2012, at the Waverly Country Club in support of SMTH.

The long-term vision of Sing Me To Heaven is to expand from serving Iowa to serving the nation. They hope to achieve this by partnering with insurance companies and funeral homes. They would also like the Make-A-Wish Foundation to continue their referrals. Their goal is to be the resource for families who are in need following the death of a child.

As of now, families may apply for assistance on the foundation’s website at www.singmetoheaven.org. Family or friends of a deceased child may call to request help, or the foundation itself may hear of the death of a child and contact the funeral home caring for the family to ask if they may be of service. Assistance is available to children 18 and younger. If monetary help is being provided, a check will be issued directly to the funeral home to be applied toward expenses.

For more information on applying for assistance, making a donation, or volunteering your time, you may contact Jennifer Howard at 319-214-0768; Diane McIntosh at 319-214-0395; e-mail them at Jennifer@singmetoheaven.org or Diane@singmetoheaven.org; or visit the website listed above. You may also find them on Facebook under Sing Me To Heaven Foundation.

To live in hearts we leave behind

Is not to die.
~Thomas Campbell, "Hallowed Ground"

*of Cedar Valley Bank in La Porte City

**Natalie’s great-grandfather

***SMTH co-founders