Our Objective is Clear: Saving Babies and Supporting Families.

Working with local organizations throughout the country, we are educating new and expectant parents on the importance of providing a safe sleep environment for their baby. And for those families who have tragically lost a baby, we offer bereavement support and counsel.

First Candle provides compassionate bereavement support to families who have experienced the death of a baby from SIDS, SUID, or Stillbirth. Our grief line, staffed by the Director of Bereavement Support, offers immediate comfort and guidance. We connect families with peer-support volunteers who share similar life experiences, ensuring personalized, meaningful support. Recognizing that grief affects the entire family, we provide books to help parents talk to their children about loss and offer resources for teachers, daycare providers, and extended family members. We honor diverse beliefs about death and grieving, ensuring that our support is sensitive to each family’s cultural and personal needs. Through these initiatives, First Candle ensures that no family navigates this heartbreaking journey alone.

At First Candle, we believe every family deserves the opportunity to thrive. To achieve our mission of ensuring all babies reach their first birthday, we prioritize addressing preventable differences in maternal and child health outcomes through accessible, evidence-based strategies.

Our Guiding Commitments:

  1. Advancing Health Equity
    We are dedicated to reducing preventable infant loss by identifying and addressing gaps in healthcare access, education, and outcomes. Our programs focus on outreach to communities facing barriers to care and collaboration with partners to ensure resources meet the unique needs of all families.
  2. Culturally Responsive Collaboration
    First Candle engages with families, healthcare providers, and community leaders to deliver culturally informed education and support. We foster dialogue rooted in respect, compassion, and shared learning to better serve diverse populations. Staff and leadership participate in ongoing training to strengthen cultural awareness and responsiveness in all aspects of our work.
  3. Accountability Through Action
    We continuously evaluate our policies, programs, and partnerships to ensure alignment with our mission. By prioritizing data-driven strategies and amplifying community voices, we strive to eliminate structural barriers to equitable care and empower families with the tools to safeguard infant health.

How We Fulfill These Commitments:

  • Partnering with federal, state, and local stakeholders to expand access to safe sleep education and healthcare resources.
  • Developing community-specific outreach materials and programs tailored to the cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic needs of the populations we serve.
  • Training staff and volunteers to recognize and address structural factors contributing to preventable differences in health outcomes.
  • Adhering to all federal nondiscrimination laws and funding requirements in our operations.