Loving Arms receives gift to help bereaved families

Christiana Care is the beneficiary of a generous gift from Hank’s Hope Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to helping families through neonatal loss, infant loss and pregnancy after loss. Founded in memory of baby Henry “Hank” Shaffer Mathay, Hank’s Hope donated more than $800 to Christiana Care’s Loving Arms Support Group to fund compassionately written informational literature for families facing loss.

The Loving Arms Parent Support Group is one of the longest continuously running programs in the United States for parents grieving the loss of a baby from ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth or newborn death.

“Hank’s mom attended Loving Arms after the loss of her baby,” said Terri Gilchrist, MSW, senior social worker and bereavement counselor at Christiana Care. Hank was stillborn on Oct. 16, 2012. “After she founded Hank’s Hope, she called us and asked how she could help because the support she received through Loving Arms had been so meaningful to her.”

Loving Arms typically meets the third Monday of every month at Christiana Hospital from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. Call 302-733-4367 to learn more.