The Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support Organization of the Sierras (PILSOS) is a non-profit organization founded in 2013 focusing on supporting parents through one of the hardest times in their lives. A craft fair for fundraising and awareness will be held at Katie’s Garden at the Bridge Church, one of the Reno urban farm sites run by Farmily. The event is free to attend and includes goods sold by local craftsmen and a raffle.
“We have an amazing lineup of talented artists that are providing them with the opportunity to buy local, handcrafted, unique items to give as gifts for themselves or their loved ones,” Daniel Fisher, Executive Director of PILSOS, explained. “The admission is free. Katie's Garden is a lovely, peaceful location. There is ample parking. They can enter the raffle for their choice of items at a low cost that in turn benefits a local non-profit.
For Jacque Hibbs, a parent, PILSOS provided a safe space to talk about her family’s loss. Being connected to and in the company of other parents who have experienced similar pain gave Hibbs a sense that she wasn’t alone.
“Your grandparents, they lived a full life,” Hibbs said. “They had a full life, they did all the things. But when you lose a child, your child hasn't had that chance. I think it's harder for people to connect with that and be able to figure out how to console you as a parent or even converse with you as a parent, because it's not a loss that a lot of people have dealt with.”
In previous years, PILSOS has fundraised through a yard sale. It was becoming difficult to keep up with the huge amount of work needed to sponsor a yard sale, so PILSOS decided to try their hands at a craft fair this year.
Nineteen local vendors will be taking part, with some of the proceeds going toward A Time for Remembrance event hosted by PILSOS later in the year, a special time for parents to remember their lost loved ones.
“Reno is not a very big place and everyone, at some point, is going to experience a form of loss,” Hibbs said. “We all do, but when it's your child, it hits different. If you go, you're supporting an organization that is helping people get through life. Losing your child is life altering and you would be supporting a cause that helps moms and dads be able to have somewhere to go and talk and be able to remember their child. Because in our society, sometimes we're expected to move on a lot quicker than we would like to.”
There will also be a raffle during the August event, where every one of the vendors who has signed up for the event have agreed to donate one of the items from their booth, which will be entered as prizes for the raffle. One ticket can be purchased for one dollar, six tickets can be purchased for five dollars and 26 tickets can be purchased for $20. Participants will have their phone number and name written down, meaning they can win the raffle even if they aren’t in attendance for the drawing.