According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 65 babies are stillborn each day in the United States. "That's almost 25,000 babies a year," said Carolyn Ogilvie. "The chances are great that you know someone who has experienced this."

With that in mind, Ogilvie formed Selah's Heart, an organization dedicated to helping honor women and their families who have experienced pregnancy loss.

Selah's Heart will hold a community event on Sunday, April 28, beginning at 6 p.m. at Hope Community Church, 1806 Harrisburg Ave., Mount Joy. It will be an opportunity for fellowship and sharing while participants pack care boxes to donate to women in hospitals across the country.

In 2021, Ogilvie's best friend, Lauren Walker, experienced a full-term stillbirth. As she helped her friend through the grief process, Ogilvie realized how common stillbirth is.

"I learned of all of these people in our inner circle who had experienced baby loss," she recalled. "I thought, 'Why didn't you say anything to us?' No one wants to talk about it. Women think, 'No one wants to hear about our sad story.'"

Ogilvie, who lives in Elizabethtown, knew she could lend a listening ear. Selah's Heart, named after Lauren's baby, began as a phone line. "I told women, 'I'll talk about your baby with you,'" she said. The phone line grew so rapidly that she couldn't keep up with the number of women calling or texting her, she shared.

As Selah's Heart grew, Ogilvie noted a common thread among the women's stories: They all wished they had been better prepared for their time in the hospital. "That's the only time they're going to be with their baby in their whole life," she said. "Oftentimes, people can be with their baby for multiple days. We want every single hour to be purposeful." So, the organization began to provide care boxes to families in hospitals.

Each box is full of items intentionally chosen to help moms and dads make a lifelong memory together with their baby, Ogilvie said. Contents might include kits for handprints and footprints, postpartum care items for mothers, items to help fathers connect with their baby and even support for nurses who work in bereavement.

Putting together the boxes is a costly enterprise. The first year, Ogilvie assembled 10 boxes. The second, she made 20; this year, she's aiming for more than 80. She started out packing the boxes herself in her free time while she was a stay-at-home mother of four, but she soon realized she could use some help.

She invited people from the community to help her pack the boxes a few months ago, and more than 50 people showed up to help. She hopes for a great turnout again at the April 28 event.

"We've partnered with a worship ministry, and we'll include a time of worship," she said. "Before we send out the boxes, we pray over every single one. We put our hands on them and pray over the mom in her dark time. We pray that she would feel the love of Jesus."

Above all, Ogilvie hopes Selah's Heart will provide the comfort of a friend even though the women who receive the boxes have never met the donors.

"We like women to know, 'We're thinking of you,'" Ogilvie said. "We're not going to let their baby's life go unnoticed."

There is no registration required for the box-packing event. Taylor Chip will provide refreshments. For more information on Selah's Heart, visit http://www.selahsheart.org.