The St. Louis and St. Zéliè Martin Scholarship Fund
The Martin family experienced the loss of 4 children: Marie-Joseph Louis died at 5 months old on February 14, 1867; Marie-Joseph Jean-Baptiste died at 8 months old on August 28, 1868; Marie-Melaine Thérèse died at 7 weeks old on October 8, 1870; and Marie Hélène died at 5 years old on February 22, 1870.
Ryan and I have adored the Martins for their unfailing love for one another as they carried the heavy cross of child loss four times: two of their children dying the same year. It was also endearing to discover that we share a sacramental wedding anniversary with the Martins on July 13th, a special day for our family. Child loss was hard on our marriage, and we struggled to find a new normal. I can remember the physical and emotional toll we carried and I remember how difficult it was to find support. Even more than just finding people who understood, we couldn’t afford to seek professional help because of the financial impact of our losses. We faced millions of dollars in medical expenses and thousands of dollars in funeral + burial expenses. During this time we sometimes struggled to make ends meet. The financial crisis of our losses left us with almost nothing for counseling and grief support. I really felt like healing was not an option for us, because we couldn’t afford it.
We created the St. Louis and Zéliè Martin Scholarship Fund to help families who find themselves in a similar circumstance as our family. Those who can’t financially afford to attend our grief events now have an opportunity to do so. If your family requests a scholarship for a grief event, please fill out the registration form below.
Please remember that we are a non-profit that raises money to help fund the ministry; we do not have the funds available for burial, medical, personal, or travel expenses, only for the registration cost for our grief events and the resources we provide through the ministry. We look forward to helping you with our time and gifts of support.