The Unforgettables Foundation (TUF) received a $25,000 grant from the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation as the December recipient of the Coachella Valley Spotlight. TUF offers support to financially struggling families to help them afford a dignified funeral, burial or cremation for their deceased child. TUF helps families for all causes of childhood death from 30-weeks gestation to 18 years old, regardless of gender, race or religion.
The organization, which was founded in 1999, aids families with the financial burden during a difficult time and also provides emotional and spiritual direction, as needed. In recent years, the organization has expanded to also educate and equip parents, professionals and students to prevent childhood deaths by hosting the annual Children and Families in Crisis Conference.
“The days following the death of a child are some of the darkest,” said Tim Evans, Chaplain and Co-founder of TUF, which is identified as the most established charity of its kind in the U.S. “This gift from the Berger Foundation and the exposure from News Channel 3 is practically immeasurable in how it will impact families in the Coachella Valley after the death of a child. We are extremely grateful to receive this award.”
TUF has assisted families in these unimaginable circumstances in every desert city from Desert Hot Springs to Thermal, and everywhere in-between. Among the families that request assistance, birth-related deaths are the most common, followed by accidents and cancer.
“We’ve known the great work of the Unforgettables for many years,” said Catharine Reed, Vice President of Charitable Programs for the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. “Tim and his organization step in and give people a hand-up, when they can barely stand on their own.”
TUF has affiliate offices in the Inland Empire and the Hi Desert, but the grant will be used for requests exclusively in the Coachella Valley, where an average of 40 families per year receive assistance for burial or cremation for a child who has died.
“The Unforgettables Foundation’s mission is unlike any other in the area,” said Jerry Upham, General Manager of Gulf California Broadcast Company, which owns and operates KESQ News Channel 3 and KPSP CBS Local 2. “We hope that awareness of The Unforgettables’ mission will help families through an extremely difficult time.”
Through the Coachella Valley Spotlight partnership with the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation and News Channel 3, The Unforgettables Foundation was featured on News Channel 3 programming, in public service announcements and on kesq.com throughout December. For more information about the organization, visit www.unforgettables.org or call their 24/7 help hotline at 760-837-7373.