MADISON, Wis. — The mission of the Alana Rose Foundation is to raise awareness and provide hope, healing and support to families who have experienced pregnancy and infant loss.
On Saturday, Feb. 24, the foundation is holding its biggest fundraiser of the year: The annual Butterfly Ball. It will be held at the Madison Concourse Hotel & Governor’s Club from 5 to 10 p.m.
Kim Whitmore started the Alana Rose Foundation in honor of the daughter she lost at 32 weeks of pregnancy, because of a placenta abruption. She delivered Alana Rose stillborn in 2019.
"She should be here today,” Whitmore said, as she looked through AI-generated images of what baby Alana may have looked as a toddler. "One in four families experience pregnancy or infant loss.”
Whitmore has made it her mission to help other families who go through the same pain. So has Rebecca Markert, one of the founders of Rainbow Pregnancies of Madison, a group that supports women who are pregnant again after experiencing infant or pregnancy loss in the past.
Markert will be a speaker at this year’s Butterfly Ball. She lost her daughter Lily in 2010, after going into preterm labor at 20 weeks pregnant.
"Parenting after a loss journey is very difficult, and that is another area that we try to support,” Markert said. “What does it look like when you've lost a child and you're still raising others. You've lost a child and you're expecting to raise another.”
This year’s theme of the Butterfly Ball is “Over the Rainbow.” Markert and Whitmore will highlight stories of pregnancy after loss, celebrate “rainbow babies” — a term used to refer to babies born after a previous pregnancy loss — and shine a light on the “dark side” of the rainbow, which they said isn’t talked about enough.
Reflecting on the foundation's work, Whitmore shared a poignant perspective about why this effort has become her life's mission.
"I won't have a rainbow baby after Alana, and then I realized that the work of this foundation is my rainbow baby. It's what I get to nurture and continue to grow in her absence,” she said.
The Butterfly Ball not only serves as a tribute to babies who’ve died, but also as a fundraiser to support grieving families. Last year's event raised $16,000 for infant burial expenses. This year's proceeds will assist LGBTQ families facing their own unique challenges when it comes to building a family.
More information about the Butterfly Ball and the silent action can be found, here.