noramadelynfund

Remembrance Walk

Featured by noramadelynfund, posted in Remembrance Walk

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Check-in opens at 1:00 pm | Walk starts at 2:00 pm

October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss month. Join us for the 11th annual Remembrance Walk in honor and memory of our babies and children.

The 1.6 mile route starts from the Providence Newberg Medical Center Healing Garden, site of the Nora Madelyn Fund for Infant and Child Loss glass butterfly memorial. The route is stroller and wheelchair accessible. No dogs, please.

Fee: There is no fee to participate in the walk.

Advance Registration is Now Closed

Day of Walk Registration: You can register onsite on the day of the walk to participate in the walk without receiving a t-shirt or yard sign. We will do our best to accommodate day of walk registrations in the reading of the names before the start of the walk.

Register by 9/15 to:

Receive a 2025 Nora Madelyn Fund for Infant & Child Loss Remembrance Walk t-shirt, if you choose to register for a t-shirt.
Have your baby’s name listed on the back of the walk t-shirt.
Have a yard sign with your baby’s name on it posted on the walk route.
Have your baby’s name included in the reading of the names before the start of the walk.

Donations: Support of the Nora Madelyn Fund is appreciated to help us continue our outreach and community support programs, including this Remembrance Walk, as well as the annual Remembrance Ceremony and butterfly release in July.

Questions? Contact noramadelynfund@gmail.com.

Note: We custom order the t-shirts you indicate specifically for you and your group so we appreciate you choosing to receive a shirt only if your plans to participate in the walk are firm. T-shirts cannot be held for pick-up at another time or shipped. Our event is run entirely by volunteers and we are only able to offer what is noted here in the scope of the in-person event. Thank you for helping us use the fund’s resources effectively to serve as many families as possible.

Sponsors: Thank you to our sponsors for their support of this community event.

and Providence Newberg Medical Center

All participants must register and acknowledge the waiver.

Photo courtesy of Darci Vanden Hoek

Remembrance Ceremony

March 13, 2025July 21, 2025 by noramadelynfund, posted in Remembrance Ceremony

July 2026 | 7:00 pm * Providence Newberg Medical Center Healing Garden

On July 13, 2025 the Nora Madelyn Fund for Infant and Child Loss and the Providence Newberg Medical Center’s Perinatal Loss Committee hosted the 17th annual remembrance ceremony for families who have lost a child or children in pregnancy or as an infant.

The ceremony was held in the Providence Newberg Medical Center’s Healing Garden. Families were able to release a butterfly in memory of their child or children.

Families will receive an e-mail in the next few weeks with a link to the ceremony photos, including their butterfly release.

This is an in-person event. The ceremony will be photographed, but not recorded. Butterflies will not be available for pick-up. If you are unable to attend the event, your butterfly will be released by a volunteer.

Why do we release butterflies?

Since the fund’s inception, the butterfly has been the symbol of the Nora Madelyn Fund and is the artistic inspiration for the memorial in the Providence Newberg Medical Center’s Healing Garden.

Butterflies and Souls

from International Butterfly Breeders Association

Releasing butterflies at funerals or memorials not only takes away the sorrow of the event but gives great hope that one day their loved one will return with brightly colored wings just to let them know that “all is well.”

For over 8,000 years many societies felt that our souls left our bodies in the form of a butterfly and many religions still subscribe to the belief. The first actual depiction of this phenomenon was found in Turkey as a cave painting dating back to 6,000 BCT and many religions still subscribe to the belief.

Aristotle gave the butterfly the name Psyche, the Greek word for soul. To the indigenous people of ancient Mexico, the morning star was a butterfly that represented the soul of the dead. In Germany and Ireland, it was a long-held belief that butterflies were the souls of departed children. In Japan all departed people returned as white butterflies, while in Chinese mysticism, butterflies symbolize long life, as the word for butterfly in Mandarin also means “70 years.” The custom in Spain was to throw wine over the ashes of the deceased as a toast to the butterfly that would escape with the soul.

The Christian religion views the butterfly lifecycle not only as a symbol of resurrection of Christ but as the lifecycle for all. The caterpillar symbolizes an earthly life where people are preoccupied with taking care of their physical needs. The chrysalis becomes our tomb until the butterfly emerges into a new life free of material restriction.

A Buddhist saying is “What the caterpillar perceives is the end, to the butterfly is just the beginning.”

Welcome

Featured by noramadelynfund, posted in Welcome

If your child has died, we are very sorry for your loss.

We know we can’t take away your pain, but we can offer understanding and comfort.

The Nora Madelyn Fund for Infant and Child Loss provides support and resources to bereaved families who have experienced pregnancy loss or the death of a infant/child in our community.

Learn more about how we can help:

Learn more about our events:

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