Couple Remembers Premature Twins with Donation to Highland Family Maternity Center One Year Later
Highland, March of Dimes Sources of Support for Hayeses
April 23, 2012
Michelle and Chris Hayes Present Donation to Highland Maternity
Michelle and Chris Hayes of Henrietta marked the one-year anniversary of the birth of their premature twins with a donation to the Highland Family Maternity Center. They presented handmade hats, quilts and care packages for parents of preemies and stillborns from Michelle’s non-profit organization, An Angel’s Love.
"It’s been quite a year," Michelle said, "and we’re so glad we can be here on this special day to hopefully provide support to families like ours.
"Highland Hospital has been a great partner with us. We received wonderful support from the nurses here."
Michelle Hayes
Michelle co-founded An Angel’s Love not long after the loss of her twins last April. Through the March of Dimes, she met another local woman who lost her baby at birth last year, and they started the organization to collect and donate handmade items to local hospitals for parents going through similar losses.
Throughout the year, Michelle and Chris have been strong advocates for the March of Dimes. The couple was the ambassador family for the March of Dimes Nurse of the Year and nominated Highland Nurses Amanda Killinger, RN, and Denise Germano, RN, for the award. They also raised $1,800 for the March for Babies, which they participated in just weeks after their loss. The annual walk raises money to support programs and research that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies.
"Prematurity isn’t a well known issue - most people think it could never happen to me," Michelle said. "So one of the reasons we’re so involved with the March of Dimes is to raise awareness and money for research."
Highland Hospital is a sponsor of this year’s March for Babies walk scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday, May 20 at Ontario Beach Park.
Michelle hopes to expand An Angel’s Love to other hospitals in addition to Highland and Strong Memorial hospitals. Michelle also is pregnant again and due to deliver in July.