Nora’s mother, Raina Dey, was honored to receive a 2025 Hearts of Gold Award from the Providence Newberg Health Foundation at its annual fundraising gala, held August 14, 2025. The 2025 Hearts of Gold event raised over $234,000 for the Birth Center.
Here are the remarks she shared in gratitude for this award:
Thank you to the Foundation for this recognition. I am humbled and grateful.
Doug said I could make a few remarks and I never shy aware from sharing the story of Nora and her legacy….
First, I want to recognize Jeff Mildenberger, Nora’s father, who was the co-founder of the Nora Madelyn Fund for Infant and Child Loss. Thank you for being here tonight.
Nora was born and died on July 24, 2002 when a routine delivery took an unexpected and tragic turn. Of course, we were stunned and devastated. As you can see, she was beautiful.
The outpouring of support we received from family and friends was comforting. Thank you to my aunt Carolyn…..friends Jennifer, Erica, and Alexandra….my fiancé Brad…..and my son, Miles, who are all here tonight. You are among those who have steadfastly supported me over the years and who continue to remember Nora. It means a lot to me that you are here.
We established the Nora Madelyn Fund with three goals:
- We wanted to provide funds for the resources that the care providers were paying for out of their own pockets, and to enhance these resources….Today, we provide funding for resources for loss patients in the hospital and community clinics, memory making mementos, a bilingual lending library for the extended family, two community events each year, and much more. And thanks to a generous donor, we are now able to offer financial assistance with funeral expenses to perinatal loss patients who are cared for in the Birth Center.
- The second founding goal was to provide loss and grief education for the care team…..Today, Nora’s Fund is able to offer hospital staff from the Birth Center and other departments the gold standard in perinatal loss and grief training through the Resolve Through Sharing organization. Four team members from the Birth Center, Spiritual Care and the ER will attend this training in the fall.
- Our third goal was to create a place of reflection in the hospital space. Supporters, including the late Rev. Gregg Selander, advocated for a space in the new facility’s Healing Garden, and, in 2006, the glass butterfly memorial was installed with a plaque reading “Dedicated as a place of love and healing for all those who have lost children.” Today the memorial is the gathering place for our events.
The Remembrance Walk in October and the Remembrance Ceremony in July are open to the community. Pregnancy loss can feel like an invisible loss, and through our events, we make space for families to be present with each other, and for their loss to be acknowledged.
Nora’s Fund supports the work of the Providence Newberg perinatal loss committee, currently co-chaired by Lecia Boyd and Karen Plata of the Birth Center. Lecia, specifically, has been a champion for elevating the standard of care for our perinatal loss patients. In fact, Newberg’s perinatal loss program is a model for others in the Providence system and beyond. Thank you, Lecia, for your commitment and dedication.
Thank you also to Samantha Gilbertson of Spiritual Care, who has led our Remembrance Ceremony for many years with grace and genuine empathy.
The first fundraiser for the Nora Madelyn Fund was an extended family garage sale in 2003, and now, 22 years later, thanks to employee giving and donations from the community, we are nearing our endowment goal — which will be a tremendous legacy to help our community for years to come.
When you are next at the hospital, I invite you to visit the memorial in the Healing Garden to see a tangible way we remember and acknowledge these losses in our community.
I will close with a short writing by Zhang (Jahng) Li, about her deceased daughter that resonates with me:
“No need to worry about me, my dearest and beloved daughter, as I am trying to live my life to the fullest. It’s not easy without you here, but I’ll try. I promise I won’t let grief stand in the way. In the next life, I hope I can still be your mother, and you my daughter. When you lean against me once more, I’ll hold you as tight as I can, as long as I can, never letting go.”
In this life…I am grateful to support others who have experienced pregnancy loss….in memory of Nora. Thank you again.
Read more about the Nora Madelyn Fund’s work in our community.
noramadelyn.org 