Samantha Marie Memorial Fund

Did you ever feel the need to express your grief and sadness over the loss of a friend's, family's or co-worker's baby? Did the anniversary of their baby's death come and go and you wanted to do something to remember him or her by? Maybe you just want to let someone know that you miss him or her and care deeply for the family grieving this loss. Variety – The Children's Charity of Northern California knows that a baby's death can touch us all.

Named for our 29th Board President's firstborn: Samantha Marie Vella was born on April 23, 2003 and weighed merely 1 lb 3 oz and 11.5 inches long. "She is probably the smallest person that I have ever known and loved. Her perfect little features are simply miraculous... watching her flex her fingers and toes or just breathe at such a minute scale is humbling and reminds us of the precious frailty of our lives." Roy Vella

After a 13 week struggle, Samantha passed away. As Roy wrote to his family and friends: "The death of one's child is a horrendous event. Having to contemplate it in advance is even worse. The one comfort is how incredible Samantha's life has been and how perfect she still looks externally. Without ever leaving her little bed, she's released more love, hope and genuine spirituality into the world than we've ever witnessed before. She's taught us valuable lessons and brought us closer to each other, our family, our friends and even complete strangers than some people experience in a lifetime. Samantha's story is not over though... her effect has gone far and wide and will continue to ripple through us all as we appreciate our lives and each other just a bit more."

The Samantha Marie Memorial Fund is meant to help very premature infants and their families who are in crisis during the first year of their child's life. We deeply appreciate your donation.