Why Awareness Matters Just As Much As Fundraising

When people think about nonprofit organizations and memorial foundations, the first thing they usually think about is fundraising.

Golf outings. 5Ks. Events. Sponsorships. Donations.

And trust me — those things matter. They matter a lot.

The support we receive through fundraising helps us continue honoring Hazel’s life while supporting causes that mean everything to our family. It allows us to partner with organizations like Lifebanc, support safe sleep education through Cribs for Kids, help other families, and continue growing The Hazel Joy Memorial Foundation in ways we never imagined possible.

But if I’m being honest, awareness matters just as much.

Maybe even more in some ways.

Because awareness changes conversations.

Awareness educates people who may have never understood these topics before. Awareness reaches parents before tragedy reaches them. Awareness helps grieving families feel less alone. Awareness creates understanding where there was once silence.

And silence around child loss can be incredibly isolating.

Before Hazel died, I don’t think I truly understood how many families were quietly carrying grief every single day. I didn’t realize how many parents were surviving unimaginable loss while still showing up to work, raising other children, attending birthday parties, smiling in photos, and trying to function in a world that kept moving without their child in it.

Now I see them everywhere.

And one of the biggest goals of this foundation is making sure those families feel seen.

Sometimes awareness looks like education about safe sleep.

Sometimes it looks like encouraging conversations around organ donation.

Sometimes it looks like simply sharing Hazel’s story so people remember that she was here, she mattered, and she continues to make an impact.

And sometimes awareness is just giving people permission to talk honestly about grief.

Real grief.

Not the cleaned-up version people are comfortable hearing.

The kind that changes marriages, friendships, priorities, and identities.

The kind that follows you into every holiday, every milestone, every ordinary Tuesday.

When we share those parts openly, it helps other people feel less alone in theirs.

That matters.

There are also so many people who support our foundation in ways that have nothing to do with money. They share our posts. They tell people about our mission. They attend events. They speak Hazel’s name. They check on grieving families. They wear our logo proudly. They start conversations that maybe wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

That is impact too.

Sometimes awareness plants a seed long before action happens.

A parent may remember a safe sleep post months later.

A family may decide to become organ donors after hearing Hazel’s story.

A grieving mother may stumble across one of our blogs at 2 a.m. and realize she is not losing her mind — she is grieving.

You cannot always measure awareness the way you can measure fundraising totals.

But that does not make it less valuable.

Some of the most important things in this world cannot be measured on a spreadsheet.

At the end of the day, our mission has never only been about raising money.

It has always been about creating impact.

It has always been about honoring Hazel.

It has always been about helping people feel less alone.

And if sharing our story helps even one family, starts even one important conversation, or changes even one life...then awareness is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

Thank you for continuing to listen, support, share, and remember our girl.

Every conversation matters.