The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
DRESSES FOR ANGELS
Angel Gowns: Cassidy Thornton, Cheryl Miller donate wedding dresses for baby burials
ONEIDA, N.Y. » Two local women donated their wedding dresses to help support a family who lost their baby.
“Back in 2015, my aunt had a son who was born with a heart defect. He passed away. That’s when I first heard about donating your wedding dresses for Angel Gowns,” Cassidy Thornton, of Vernon Center, said. “My cousin’s outfit wasmade by Caring Hands for Angels.”
Angel Gowns is a non-profit organization that began in 2013 as a way to help support families who lost a baby prematurely, with support resources and mentoring programs, along with specially-made gowns and garments for the child’s final journey.
After getting married herself, Thornton wanted to make the donation and reached out to Angel Gowns by Michelle, one of the several volunteer seamstresses that make up Angel Gowns.
Thornton mailed her wedding dress to Tennessee, but not before her grandmother Cheryl Miller, of Oneida, joined in.
“It didn’t take any convincing for my grandmother. She saw I was doing it and thought it was very inspiring,” Thornton said.
Thornton said for her and her grandmother, their wedding dresses weren’t doing anything
except sitting in the closet. Thornton and Miller mailed their dresses out on July 28 from the Oneida Post Office. While they were both sad to see the dresses go, Thornton said it’s for a good cause.
“Some people don’t have the money to pay for the garments to bury their child in. It breaks my heart to think about the cause it’s going for because nobody wants to think about someone losing their child. It’s a very heartbreaking situation,” Thornton said. “But every little thing helps.”
Thornton still has a small piece of her dress shewas allowed to keep for her scrapbook and encourages anyone out there looking to donate to follow her example.
“Even if you’re not willing to part with your dress, you can still donate money. And they do accept other dresses, like bridesmaid and flower girl dresses,” Thornton said.
Thornton said Angel Gowns has seamstresses all over the United States and abroad, so finding one is not difficult.
For those looking to donate, the trickiest part, Thornton said, is to catch the different Angel Gowns teams when they are accepting donations. Thornton said she heard Angel Gowns by Michelle was accepting donations on their Facebookpage at www.face- book.com/AngelGowns/
Other Angel Gowns groups in New York include Angel Gowns of WNY, Angel Gowns-Capital Region, NY, and Angel Gowns of Long Island by Joan, to name a few.
Thornton said those with questions about Angel Gowns can email her at Thornton.cassidy97@gmail.com