Gown Donations – Bella Sposa Bridal & Prom for NICU Helping Hands’ Angel Gown Program began in 2013. It was started because we recognized the overwhelming need to support families who have lost a baby while in the hospital. Our Angel Gown Program provides comfort for families by providing a beautiful forever gown for final photos and for burial services. There is no greater gift that can be given to a grieving family than affirming the importance of the life of their child by offering this simple gift.
Sewn with love by volunteer seamstresses, donated wedding gowns are used to create beautiful gowns for families grieving the death of their child. For us it is an honor to provide gowns free of charge to any family or hospital requesting our Angel Gowns. Other non-profits providing bereavement services to families can also request gowns. Requests from hospitals and non-profits should be sent to info@nicuhelpinghands.org. All urgent or time sensitive requests from families or hospitals should be made by calling 817-584-1437.
Please note: This program is available nationally. Not only do we accept gowns from around the country, we provide any NICU with these gowns. We welcome volunteer seamstresses in locations outside of DFW.
Gown Donation Information for Shipping: If you would like to donate a wedding gown we request that it be cleaned prior to donation. Gowns can be shipped directly to us at 301 Commerce Street, Suite 3200, Fort Worth, Texas 76102. We suggest that you remove the crinoline from the gown so that it is less bulky and expensive to ship. Folding the gown neatly into a small box is preferred and wrinkling is not a concern as our seamstresses will be pressing the gown during the sewing process.
Donation in Person: If you are local to the DFW area we request that you schedule an appointment day to donate your gown. Appointments can be made by calling 817-584-1437. You can also email us to request an appointment at info@nicuhelpinghands.org. We want to make your donation process as easy as possible and scheduling an appointment is the best way to ensure this.
Gowns We Accept for Gown Donations – Bella Sposa Bridal & Prom: We accept all wedding gowns. Even if there are stains on the gown, we can use portions of the gown that are not stained. We accept pale colored bridesmaid gowns and other ball gowns as these often provide beading and additional silk and satin fabrics that are useful in making the Angel Gowns.
Unfortunately at this time we are unable to personally pick up gowns from donors’ homes. Thank you for your understanding. However you may bring or send your Gown Donations to Bella Sposa Bridal & Prom, 4972 Plainfield Ave. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49525.
If you would like a tax deductible receipt: please include this request PINNED to your gown at the time of donation. We must have your name and mailing address on the written request as well. If you would like a keepsake piece returned to you for a daughter or granddaughter please include this request PINNED to your gown at the time of donation. We must have your name and mailing address on the written request as well. Keepsake pieces are unique items that can be given as a gift to your daughter, daughter-in-law or granddaughter at the time of their wedding. Please specify the number of keepsake pieces needed.
Volunteer Seamstress Information: if you would like to sew Angel Gowns for our program please contact us at info@nicuhelpinghands.org. We will mail gowns to out of town seamstresses or schedule a time for local seamstresses to pick up a gown. Seamstresses who prefer to collect gowns in their local areas for us are welcome to do so. All completed Angel Gowns should be mailed or delivered back to us so that we can prepare them for placement in a hospital or with a family in need. We take special care in packaging each gown individually in tissue and placing it in a nice white box, along with an additional keepsake for the family.
In addition to the Angel Gown box, we provide hospitals and families with additional information so that they can contact us should they need other assistance for the family.We respectfully ask that if you are sewing for NICU Helping Hands that you allow us to place the gowns at hospitals so all necessary steps are taken to make sure the appropriate gown sizes and numbers are provided to hospitals and families. This also ensures that families know how to contact us for additional support that might be needed.
Your gift of love is priceless to grieving families. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts @ Gown Donations – Bella Sposa Bridal & Prom for helping us comfort them through this program. For more information please go to the N.I.C.U Helping Hands Website.
Juliaalert.org
As you may know, Bella Sposa Bridal has a strong commitment to helping abused women and children get out of abusive relationships. To support that cause we accept new gown donations and use the money from that sale to assist these women and their children. We do not actually hand cash to anyone, but we do provide assistance which can often have a monetary cost involved. Further we previously maintained and hosted the Juliaalert.org website which costs several hundred dollars each year. We missed the renewal date and GoDaddy sold the site and we have been unable to regain ownership. Anyone who could help with that would be much appreciated!
We built the site to help find one of our girls who had been reported missing by her husband. We had no idea of the impact and assistance that this site would have. We have worked with hundreds of girls since it’s development and continue to educate and assist. If you would like to donate your new, unworn gown to this cause, we will provide you with a tax deductable receipt for your donation.
Bella Sposa Bridal & Prom is a participating volunteer. We are willing to accept gowns for transformation and to sew for our local community.
