Elizabethtown townlively.com
APRIL 17, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
Sending love in a box BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Mothers, daughters invited to Craft Night BY CATHY MOLITORIS
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ccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 65 babies are stillborn each day in the United States. “That’s almost 25,000 babies a year,” said Carolyn Ogilvie. “The chances are great that you know someone who has experienced this.” With that in mind, Ogilvie formed Selah’s Heart, an organization dedicated to helping honor women and their families who
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L ast fall, G E A R S held a mother/daughter paint night, and the event was so well received, the organization decided to host a similar event to celebrate Mother’s Day. Mother/Daughter Craft Night will take place at the GEARS
Community Center, 70 S. Poplar St., Elizabethtown, on Friday, May 10, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Participants will complete a guided craft, led by the staff from Twisted Easel in Elizabethtown. “People are invited to bring in pictures and Mod Podge them onto wood blocks that will spell out the word ‘love,’” explained See Craft Night pg 3
have experienced pregnancy loss. Selah’s Heart will hold a community event on Sunday, April 28, beginning at 6 p.m. at Hope Community Church, 1806 Harrisburg Ave., Mount Joy. It will be an opportunity for fellowship and sharing while participants pack care boxes to donate to women in hospitals across the country. In 2021, Ogilvie’s best friend, Lauren Walker, experienced a full-term stillbirth. As she helped her friend through the grief process, Ogilvie realized how common stillbirth is. “I learned of all of these people in our inner circle who had experienced baby loss,” she recalled. “I thought, ‘Why didn’t you say anything to us?’ No one wants to talk about it. Women think, ‘No one wants to hear about our sad story.’” Ogilvie, who lives in Elizabethtown, knew she could lend a listening ear. Selah’s Heart, named after Lauren’s baby, began as a phone line. “I told women, ‘I’ll talk about your baby with you,’”
People enjoy getting creative at a previous mother/daughter GEARS event.
Lauren Walker (left) and Carolyn Ogilvie
she said. The phone line grew so rapidly that she couldn’t keep up with the number of women calling or texting her, she shared. As Selah’s Heart grew, Ogilvie noted a common thread among the women’s stories: They all wished they had been better prepared for their time in the hospital. “That’s the only time they’re going to be with their baby in their whole life,” she said. “Oftentimes, people can be with their baby for multiple days.
We want every single hour to be purposeful.” So, the organization began to provide care boxes to families in hospitals. Each box is full of items intentionally chosen to help moms and dads make a lifelong memory together with their baby, Ogilvie said. Contents might include kits for handprints and footprints, postpartum care items for mothers, items to help fathers connect with their baby and even support for nurses
Through getaways, PA Family Travel Fair brings people together BY JEFF FALK
Sometimes we try too hard. Sometimes we overthink things. Sometimes the answer is right in front of us. The PA Family Travel Fair has a unique way of simplifying things. The lively event focuses on recreation, on Pennsylvania, on family. “Recreation is so important to your well-being,” said Wendy
Royal, organizer of the PA Family Travel Fair and editor of Where & When Pennsylvania. “It’s crucial to your health to check out of your job. It can just be a long weekend. But it’s time with kids too. It’s important for families to spend time together. It’s important to get away and make those memories. You only get 18 summers with your kids.” The sixth edition of the annual PA Family Travel Fair, hosted by See Travel Fair pg 4 R105450
See Selah’s Heart pg 3
Let us show you the difference a caring neighbor can make. Rothermel-Finkenbinder Miller-Finkenbinder Fager-Finkenbinder Smedley-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. Funeral Home & Crematory Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. Palmyra | 717-838-9211 Elizabethtown | 717-367-1543 Middletown | 717-944-7413 Marietta | 717-426-3614 Travis S. Finkenbinder, Supervisor Kala M. Smith, Supervisor Alaina A. Ace, Supervisor Megan S. Waters, Supervisor
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“We’re not going to let their baby’s life go unnoticed.”