Touching Lives.... Healing Hearts.... Giving Hope....
In Northeast Louisiana
Share of Northeast Louisiana, Inc. Partners With Monroe Bass Fishing for Fundraiser
It is with great pleasure that I can announce that this year Monroe Bass Fishing will be working with Share of Northeast Louisiana, Inc. I have had the privilege to sit down with this group of ladies and learn what Share is about. We have always wanted to use this tournament to make a difference in a child's life. Share goes a lot further than this tournament has ever gone before. This year we will be working with Share to help get their message out.
The birth of a child is life's greatest celebration of itself. Yet, when a child dies by miscarriage, stillbirth, or as a newborn infant, the parents and family are often encouraged to respond as if the loss is less painful and has less meaning than the death of an older child or an adult loved one. It is upsetting to realize that the people upon whom we depend may not be able to respond in a helpful manner because of the extreme anxiety felt when there is nothing "to do" which will change the reality of death so close to birth. Statements such as "You can always have another baby," or "It is God's will," are most frequently offered as comfort, but when a baby dies there is no comfort. There is no way we can have another Melissa, Ayden, Tristen or Deacon.
When a baby dies, so does a large part of us. How do we go on? How do we carry on and live? I don't have the answer. A baby is the most precious thing in life.
Below are moving stories of love and loss. Please take a moment to share and remember their short lives.
~Bob Allen, Founder of Monroe Bass Fishing
Share Walk for Remembrance & Hope
Share of Northeast Louisiana held its first Share Walk for Remembrance and Hope on June 2, 2007 at Forsythe Park in Monroe, LA. Although the crowd was small and consisted of mostly family and friends, it was a success. It was a very emotional day for our members and those touched by the deaths of our precious babies. After the Walk, there was a memorial service and balloon release. During the release of over 100 white balloons while the song "Who You'd Be Today" by Kenny Chesney was played, there wasn't a dry eye in the crowd.
Our Walk was held in conjunction with the 6th Annual Celebrity Challenge Bass Tournament, hosted by Bob Allen, for which our group was sponsored in order to bring awareness of pregnancy and infant loss and ourorganization. Almost 80 men and women fished this tournament, and the response from them about Share was overwhelming. Randy Allan from Shreveport, LA won the tournament and donated half of his winnings to us. Keith Skinner of Keith Skinner Photography donated three beautiful wildlife portraits. Two were given away as door prizes and one was auctioned off for over $200. We are very grateful to these men and everyone who helped promote Share that day!
