Christmas is a wonderful time to give to those in need. This year Ben and Marissa Steinbach of Marshfield have gone above and beyond to show the true meaning of Christmas. The family gathered and donated over 450 toys and supplies along with $525 worth of restaurant gift cards, $160 in movie passes and $270 worth of iTunes gift cards and donated them to Ministry Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Marshfield.
On May 27, 2011, Lucilia Hazel Steinbach (Lucy) was born into the arms of angels after a completely normal, healthy 40 week and two day pregnancy. After a series of tests, it was determined that she passed away due to a cord obstruction. Ben and Marisa Steinbach and their five year old son, JJ, miss Lucy dearly and wanted to do something special in memory of her for Christmas. After talking to friends and family they came up with the idea of “Remembering Lucy” by buying a present in her memory and donating it to Ministry Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. “When we were here the hospital staff was so amazing and supportive, we couldn’t have gone through what we did without them and their help,” said Marisa.
The idea started out with an email to family and friends and a Facebook post explaining their story and what they wanted to do to celebrate Lucy’s first Christmas in heaven. Ben who works for the City ofMarshfieldalso sent an email to all employees that generated an abundance of replies from people who wanted to help.
The Steinbachs used the money they received from Lucy’s funeral and established a goal to give $500 worth of gift cards for families and purchase 50 items for the Children’s Hospital. Their email messages and Facebook page motivated friends and family, the City of Marshfield and St. Johns Elementary School kindergarten class to donate toys, supplies and money to honor Lucy. With the generous donations they surpassed their goal. “This was so good for us, it was a wonderful distraction to give to others, especially families and parents with children in the hospital around the holidays,” commented Marisa. “It is so unreal how very giving, kind and generous people are.”
The toys, supplies and gift cards will go to Ministry’s Children’s Hospital in Marshfield as part of the Child Life program to help children and families in need whether it is a gift card for dinner or a toy to help with rehab. The toys arrived in perfect time to be used in Santa’s Workshop that gives parents with children in the hospital a chance to get their child or children presents for Christmas. The Child Life program makes every effort to minimize the stressful and potentially negative impacts of hospitalization and to maximize the opportunities for positive and supportive experiences. “We couldn’t be happier to receive all these items, especially at Christmas time,” said Heidi Giese, Child Life Manager at Ministry Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. “We try to make the child’s and families’ stay with us as easy as possible and we wouldn’t be able to give toys or gift cards or have the equipment if it weren’t for the donations we receive.”
“The kind and generous staff was the reason we wanted to give to Ministry Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital,” said Marisa. “The Together Learning to Cope (TLC) program was so wonderful and really helped in our time of grief. They took pictures of Lucy and had so many materials to help us cope.” The TLC program offered at Ministry Saint Joseph’s is for those lives touched by the loss of a child during pregnancy, at birth or shortly after birth. Those who choose to be a part of the program are offered grief materials, mementos, cards and newsletters, follow-up phone calls and memorial services. We have gone through something horrible, but we are blessed,” stated Marisa. “We wanted to give to those families who are also going through a tough time, especially if their child is in the hospital.”