‘It’s legacy work for my daughters’: Almonte community initiative offers comfort for families grieving pregnancy and infant loss

When Jen Thompson tragically lost her twin daughters more than two decades ago, she was given a simple wooden memory box from The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus.

Inside, she kept the precious reminders of two lives that were heartbreakingly brief, including photographs, footprints, hospital mementos and keepsakes that became priceless over time.

“Over the years, that memory box became one of my most treasured possessions and a tangible reminder that my daughters’ lives mattered and continue to be remembered,” Thompson told Lanarkist.

Years later, Thompson hopes to ensure other families facing pregnancy or infant loss have that same source of comfort through a unique grassroots community partnership.

The memory box initiative brings together Thompson’s organization, The Souls Nest; Almonte and District High School; and the Mississippi River Health Alliance (MRHA) in a project rooted in compassion, healing and community support.

After the loss of her daughters, Lydia and Ella, Thompson found healing through grief work and eventually founded The Souls Nest, where she works as a death doula and supports people through end-of-life care, bereavement groups and healing sessions.

“I reached out to Almonte High School and the teachers and principals there, and shared this idea of having the students participate in making these boxes,” Thompson told Lanarkist. “I went into the school, and I brought my own memory box, and was able to really share with the students the value and impact and show them how little my girls were. It was very eye opening for them.”

Designed to hold cherished items such as photographs, footprints, handprints, hospital bracelets, letters, locks of hair and other treasured mementos, the memory boxes offer grieving parents a dedicated place to preserve memories of babies who were deeply loved.

According to Thompson, students in the school’s construction and art programs warmly embraced the project, working together to carefully build and decorate each box before donating them to the local hospital.

Thompson said involving teenagers in the process was something she was passionate about.

“So many humans have experienced a pregnancy or infant loss, and so many don’t speak of it,” she explained. “It’s kind of a mission of my life to open up conversations around death and remove some of that fear from an early age. They go home and have that conversation with their parents… and that creates a rippling effect within our community.”

Thompson believes that ripple effect is already spreading beyond Almonte. Since launching the initiative, she noted that other hospitals have expressed interest in receiving memory boxes, including The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic Campus.

“It is healing,” she told Lanarkist. “Twenty-one years ago I gave birth to Lydia and Ella at the Civic… and now years later, the Civic Hospital is wanting to participate in the memory boxes. It’s a full circle moment”

Denieve Carraro, manager of the Obstetrical and Emergency Departments at the MRHA, said the boxes represent far more than handcrafted wooden keepsakes. The initiative reflects the important role community partnerships play in complementing medical care with emotional support for patients and families during life’s most difficult moments.

“They represent care, compassion, and the understanding that even small gestures can provide comfort during some of life’s most difficult moments,” Carraro said. “We are incredibly grateful to the students, educators, and community partners who made this initiative possible.”

“It’s legacy work for my daughters to be able to do this and be there for other parents who are experiencing this horrific trauma,” Thompson added.

Residents at Waterside Retirement Community, where Thompson works, have also begun knitting tiny hats and blankets to include inside the boxes to contribute to the project.

Thompson hopes the project will continue to grow and evolve, with Almonte and District High School planning to produce more boxes in future terms, and the potential for additional schools to become involved.

“My hope is that these boxes will provide other families with a safe place to keep precious memories and a lasting reminder that their babies will never be forgotten,” she said.