Camille's Cause
A multifaceted initiative dedicated to supporting bereaved families, neonatal care,
and healing journeys.
Camille's story:
On April 11th, 2023 we welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Camille Stevi-Lu Kotack into the world. Unfortunately, from the moment she joined us, our brave, strong girl was born facing insurmountable obstacles. After 6 days in the hospital, hanging onto hope that tests would give her beautiful, perfect body a chance at a quality of life, our beautiful baby girl, Camille, left us.
This April will mark Camille's first birthday. To celebrate her birthday and enduring, powerful (and oh-so-bright) presence, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our long-awaited fundraiser: Camille's Cause.
Introducing: Camille's Cause—a multifaceted initiative dedicated to supporting bereaved families, neonatal care, and healing journeys.
Since losing Camille we have borne witness to the immeasurable love and support that is available within the neo-natal world and the baby-loss community while also experiencing shortcomings in the care system that could have eased our post-loss journey.
Knowing the strength of Camille’s community and eagerness to commemorate and memorialize her beautiful, brave spirit (we swear it was like no other!!), we have spent the last year, carefully observing our experience through loss, trying to identify where and how our family could contribute meaningfully to the neo-natal and baby loss community.
After much contemplation and extensive research, we realized we couldn’t just pick one cause. The more we thought about Camille and her already colourful impact on this world, the clearer it became that she was calling on us (and her strong community) to take a multi-faceted and unique approach to bringing impact to the baby and child loss community.
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Camille's Causes:
1. neo-natal care:
To increase the likelihood of giving every baby a fighting chance.
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Establish a scholarship in Camille's honour to support nurses in obtaining NICU training.
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Provide essential funds to NICUs in both Canada and under-resourced third-world countries.
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Launch a peer-to-peer support program for families navigating heart-wrenching decisions in the NICU.
2. family bereavement & healing journeys:
Losing a baby is a devastating and isolating experience. No matter how supportive the community, every family struggles to cope with the emotional, physical, and financial burdens that come with such a loss. By coming together as a community, we can offer much-needed support and solidarity to those in need by:
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Establishing a compassionate peer-to-peer support program built on love, hope and glimmers.
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Providing funding for counseling services, support groups, and educational resources lacking in the bereavement community.
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Bolstering & contributing to already existing robust bereavement care programs.
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Offering assistance to families grappling with overwhelming challenges.
Camille's (very cool and oh-so joyful) t-shirt
Camille was (and is) the strongest, bravest, coolest, brightest little soul we've ever met. To kick start the funds we hope to raise through Camille's Cause, we thought it would be cool to create & sell a t-shirt that embodies her qualities & undeniable presence that we feel everywhere we go (Camille's dad also happens to be a big "t-shirt" guy if that's a thing?).
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Through the help of an amazing designer, Spencer Pidgeon, we created a t-shirt that reminds us SO much of her and the special "place" she now holds in our hearts and so many others.
"Camille's Place" is technically a fictional "place" but it's also whatever you think it is. To us; "her place" is in our hearts, it's the mountains, the ocean, the warm breeze! She's everywhere.
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We hope you love it as much as we do and will proudly rep Camille's shirt and spread the word about her story and cause.
100% of proceeds will go to Camille's Cause!
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DONATE 💸Every donation, no matter the amount, helps us support Camille’s chosen causes. When you generously donate, you'll join Camille's Community. We will update you on the progress of our initiatives, how the funds are being allocated, and the significant gaps we’ll be collectively bridging. https://crowdfunding.mcgill.ca/ui/main/p/camillestevilukotackfund
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BUY A T-SHIRT 👕You can extend your support and commemorate your contribution by purchasing a T-shirt we have designed alongside Spencer Pidgeon. 100% of proceeds will go directly to Camille’s Cause.
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SPREAD THE WORD ✨Please spread the word about Camille’s story & campaign with your friends, family, and social networks so we can meet our mission and make a real impact on Camille's chosen causes.
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GET IN TOUCH 💛If you or someone you know has faced baby, infant, or child loss, we welcome hearing about the causes and communities that have been instrumental in your journey, as well as the gaps you've encountered along the way. Your insights will empower us to enhance existing incredible initiatives and bridge those gaps more effectively. Please reach out via email HERE.