BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Jenna Flynn and her husband were excited to welcome their first son into the world. She unexpectedly went into labor at 23 weeks and their baby, Connell, passed away after 40 brief minutes of life. Those precious minutes yielded an endless love and she knew her son’s memory had to be preserved.
“It wasn't going to be a child that we had, that we never spoke of, he was going to be someone that really took our entire life and changed our pain and put it into purpose,” Flynn said.
She knew it was time to put those thoughts into action after hearing something her daughter Abby shared.
“When she was five, she went to camp before kindergarten, and she was asked to share one thing about herself, and she said, ‘Hi, my name is Abby, and I have a brother in heaven.’”
Jenna and her husband now have three children and through plenty of conversations and picture sharing, their daughter Abby has a strong connection to her brother. Flynn recalls this tender moment when Abby saw a girl who was crying.
“She asked her what was wrong, and she said that her dog had passed away. And Abby took her around the playground, and she said, I'm sad too sometimes. I have a brother in heaven. Let's go make a memory garden,” Flynn said.
Recognizing the need to help children with loss and to keep her son’s memory alive, Flynn founded the Warminster-based nonprofit, Connell’s Hugs From Heaven.
“Our whole mission is to give hugs, and that is an act of kindness or a wish to help kids keep the memory alive of their lost loved one in their hearts. So we created this cookie gram program and we are trying to get the cookies to all parts of the country,” Flynn said.
The cookie grams evolved into flowers and balloons and now, birthday hug boxes containing treats, relatable grief resources for kids, and a book Flynn plans to write with her daughter called “Birthday Hugs.”
“Ideally, if someone were to nominate a child for one of these boxes, then we would be able to donate another box to a grief center or school or a funeral home or a hospital to give to somebody else who's experienced the same thing,” she added.
To help get this new venture off the ground, they are holding a wine tasting fundraiser on Thursday, March 27, at Sentient Workspace in Trevose, Pennsylvania. The evening will feature wine and spirits tastings and a bracelet bar featuring the signature “Give Hugs” bracelet from Whim Jewelry.
“Losing Connell was heartbreaking, but through this organization, I hope to turn grief into a source of comfort for others,” Flynn said. “Our upcoming launch event is not just a fundraiser, it's a way to bring our community together to support families in need just as Connell would have wanted.”
For more about their story, mission and partnership opportunities, click here.