Abbeville, La. - On the corner of North State Street in Abbeville, you will come across an organization trying to make a difference for families in crisis.
Steps of Heaven, a non-profit organization caters to families who have an infant in the NICU or those who have experienced the loss of a child through miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death.
The organization transforms donated wedding dresses into little gowns by recycling the fabric.
“There’s a connection that occurs every time a gown has been chosen by a family,” Founder Phyllis Berberich said.
In 2015, retired Vermilion Parish School Teacher Phyllis started this organization from her living room.
Phyllis tells KATC with just one wedding dress, the organization can make up to 27 burial gowns ranging in different sizes. “We try to make sure that the baby will be comfortable in whatever is being created, that it will not scratch the baby’s skin by the type of cut or how the family is. So, when a donation comes in, we sort of go through a process of what we can use this for,” she said.
Volunteers from across Vermilion Parish come together on one Saturday of the month to sew, crochet, and piece these items together.
For volunteers like Eileen Boudoin, crocheting blankets for grieving families hit home. “I’ve suffered miscarriages myself and I felt like this was a way to give back and pour my grief into helping others who are going through the same thing,” she said.
Bringing families a piece of comfort, the organization uses fun fabrics like hearts, mickey ears, and trucks to help parents during this difficult time.
Steps to Heaven currently helps out several hospitals across Acadiana, Haiti, St.Louis, and a monastery in New York.
“This is a blessing to have these ladies come together. Everyone has their special talent, everyone has their special connection and when we come together on a sew days, it’s a beautiful fellowship of women who love children,” Phyllis said.
The group meets every Tuesday and Friday. If you’re interested in volunteering, you can contact Phyllis at 337-654-1781. At this time, they are not in need of wedding gowns.
Steps of Heaven is having their annual fundraiser on March 22nd and 23rd.
