A few dozen people released pink, white and blue balloons Monday evening at the Eight Street Memorial Bridge in memory of babies whom they lost too soon.
Natasha Hoff organized the community balloon release for Infant and Pregnancy Loss Remembrance Day in memory of her daughter, Amelia, who passed away last Christmas Eve after she was born prematurely. Hoff attended a similar ceremony in Bismarck earlier this month and said other communities across the country have commemoration ceremonies. However, Minot didn't have one scheduled and she thought it was needed."I really wanted something to honor her and sadly I know there are hundreds of families who have experienced a loss and I wanted them to have something to honor their babies," said Hoff.
Even though Hoff began organizing the event just 10 days ago, a number of people attended the memorial. Young children ran up and down the bridge, with balloons trailing behind them, while their parents wrote messages of love and hope on balloons with markers. It was a good night to release the balloons, since there wasn't much wind.
Article Photos
Andrea Johnson/MDN
Courtney Tollefson, with her daughter Kaiya, 18 months, attended a community balloon release in commemoraition of Infant and Pregnancy Loss Remembrance Day on Monday evening.
If the weather
cooperates next year, Hoff said she would like to hold the ceremony again to help families remember the babies that have been lost.Hoff said it helps to be with people who have shared the experience of losing a baby.