Meet the Baby Bundles Founders. In the Words of Their Parents and In Laws.

Guest Article by Ken Garfield and BABY BUNDLES

Heartbreak moved Emily Harry, Heather Leavitt and Cat Long to found Baby Bundles in 2010. Emily and Cat each delivered a child who was stillborn. Heather delivered two who were stillborn and a third who died an hour after she was born.

How better to turn grief into goodness than by delivering baby goods to the parents of newborns – 25 bundles in their first year, more than 4,000 going out in 2025. “Those three have a burning desire in their hearts to honor those children and help others,” says Emily’s mother, Martha Ann Wardlaw.

Founders Emily Harry, Cat Long, and Heather Leavitt, THEN and NOW

Those three are not alone. Hundreds of volunteers donate time, money, goods and prayers to transform Baby Bundles into a community jewel. That includes the founders’ parents and in-laws. The founders and staff are fortunate to call them partners. And honored to share their stories with us.

The Wardlaws: ‘She Turns It Around’

Craig and Martha Ann Wardlaw are proud of Emily for many reasons. High on the list is her resolve. “She faces things,” Martha says. “She turns it around.”

Baby Bundles rose from the founders’ vision. Today it grows in size and impact because it is more than a noble idea (which it surely is!). As Martha says, it is organized, accountable and efficient – a crackerjack operation with the busiest, coolest warehouse ever.

The Wardlaws and other parents and in-laws help in every way they can, from great ideas to generous contributions. Emily and David’s twin daughters, Catherine and Anna Day, help, too. Emily, Heather and Cat aren’t the only ones with resolve.

The Harrys: ‘The Dark Days Brighter’

Brucie and Low Harry – David Harry’s parents and his wife Emily’s in-laws – piggyback on the Wardlaws’ point about feeling an immense amount of pride. Like the Wardlaws, they will forever grieve the loss of their grandchild, Low. Mixed in with that emotion is a deep appreciation for what the three founders started. There is gratitude, too, for board members, staff and volunteers who are responsible for Baby Bundles’ growth. Everyone does something. The Harrys donated warehouse space early on. Most humbling for the Harrys is knowing that Baby Bundles helps make the parents of newborns feel welcomed. What a way to create a legacy for Low and the others, offering a bundle of newborn essentials as a tangible expression of love.

“It makes the dark days brighter,” Low Harry says.

The Bergens: ‘Mother, If You’re Going To Cry’

Heather’s mother and stepfather, Rosella and Peter Bergen, do not run from their family’s loss. Besides losing those three little ones – Mary, Joseph and Sarah – Heather lost her brother, Johnny, in a wreck when he was 16. Peter lost a daughter, Mary Beth, in a wreck when she was 23.

The Bergens take comfort in keeping the memories and stories of their loved ones front and center. Rosella and Heather will be together, talking, when mother or daughter might muse, “Mary would be such and such an age.” “It makes you feel better to talk about them,” Rosella says. It also makes the Bergens feel better to be part of the Baby Bundles family. Peter was honored as Volunteer of the Year in 2021. Rosella was invited to speak one autumn at the annual Beans & Bundles fundraiser. That led Heather to (lovingly) warn her mom, “Mother, if you’re going to cry….” As nervous as she was, Rosella reports that she got through her speech just fine. Tears and all.

As it is for many, Baby Bundles is a family affair. Heather and Charley Leavitt’s three children – Ian, Banks and Ella-Chase – are all part of the effort to pack bundles, and in so doing remember the loved ones in whose names they do this.

The Averetts: ‘That’s A Good Way To Put It’

Dan and Jo Averett have faced their share of challenges. They grieved with their daughter, Cat Long, over the loss of her baby, Catherine. Dan deals with the vagaries of health. Who of a certain age doesn’t? Jo has been diagnosed with vascular dementia, another part of aging that shakes a family to its core. You could understand if at times they can’t see the sun shine down upon them. But they can see the sun, and feel its warmth, because their story includes the story of Baby Bundles: Finding hope after heartbreak. Dan and Jo bask in the glow of their two daughters and four grandchildren – Cat’s Charlie and Ben and Anna’s Eleanor and Will. They are thankful for the continuing care community that gives them peace of mind and friendly neighbors and staff.

Then there is Baby Bundles. It is one more part of life that shines down upon Dan, Jo, the parents and in-laws of the other founders and everyone who helps turn our labors into love.

“That,” says Dan, “is a good way to put it.”