Exhaustion. Worry. Fear. Helplessness. Love. Parents experience a wide range of powerful emotions when their newborn babies need to be cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Cyndi and Dustin Mitchell found themselves in this situation when their daughters Aly and Izy were born prematurely after a very high-risk pregnancy. They joined thousands of other parents in a club that no one joins voluntarily, but which is a community unlike any other. They became NICU parents.
A foundation is born
Thankfully, Aly and Izy’s NICU journey ended happily. After eleven days, the Mitchells were able to take their healthy baby girls home to join their two older children. But their experiences in the NICU stayed with them.
They had met parents who lived too far from the hospital to make the trip home every day, and others who couldn’t bear to be very far from their critically ill newborns. The brief and restless sleep of NICU parents often happens in waiting room chairs or in cars in the parking lot. As weeks sometimes stretch into months, living on naps and vending machine coffee takes an understandable toll on families.
Hundreds of thousands of parents in the U.S. find themselves in similar circumstances each year, and only those who have walked that path can truly understand.
The Mitchells found a passion for serving these families. So much so, they decided to start making care packages to help address some basic practical needs—basic necessities to let families know they were seen and cared for during a difficult time. As the Mitchell family gathered in their living room to assemble care packages (at their own expense), the Aly and Izy Foundation was born.
From loss comes inspiration
The next year, a close friend and colleague of the Mitchells walked the halls of a different NICU with her critically ill son, Kaden. As is often the case, the hospital that could provide the care he needed was far from their home. The Mitchells, through the still-in-its-early-stages Aly and Izy Foundation, tried to help provide for practical needs with gifts such as hotel vouchers and gas cards. Baby Kaden’s condition was serious, however, and his parents rarely left the hospital. Sadly, Kaden passed away in the NICU.
Even as they grieved with their friends, a new idea for supporting NICU families was taking root. Kaden’s parents enjoyed RVing, and Cyndi Mitchell wondered if parking an RV at the hospital would have provided some practical relief in the midst of their struggle. It seemed to be a perfect solution—one that would allow parents to trade the waiting room chair for a bed and the hospital cafeteria for a home-cooked meal, all without leaving the hospital.
The Mitchells soon learned that there were full or partial RV hookups available at many of the hospitals in the Sacramento metropolitan area, where they lived at the time. Before long, they had invested in an RV, and the RVs for Preemies program of the Aly and Izy Foundation was born.
How it works
Today, the Aly and Izy Foundation (AIF) works closely with hospital social workers, who identify cases of particular need. All NICU families are in need of support, but there are those with extra burdens such as living long distances from the hospital where their child is receiving care.
AIF seeks to relieve some of this burden so that parents are free to focus on caring for their baby’s needs.
The foundation owns one RV, which is permanently stationed at Kaiser Roseville hospital for use by NICU families. Volunteers keep the RV stocked with everything the family needs, including food, personal care items, and activities for older siblings. Additional RVs are rented at a reduced rate from Outdoorsy owners David and Nicole Rubio of Rolling Rubio Retreat. They also continue to supply hotel vouchers, gas cards, and care packages to NICU families.
Everything is done on a volunteer basis, which lowers the foundation’s overhead costs. Cyndi Mitchell still volunteers, even though she dedicates full-time hours to her role as coordinator for the foundation. When she retired early from the California Highway Patrol for medical reasons, leading the foundation gave her a way to continue to serve her community—and pouring her time into such important work helped her cope with the loss of her career.
Many of the other hardworking volunteers are also former NICU parents who understand the need on a deeply personal level. When volunteers meet families, they come with an empathy born of shared experience. When a family is far from the support of their home community, being cared for by an AIF volunteer is a lifeline.
Keeping the lights on
While much of the start-up funding came from the Mitchells personally, the foundation needs to continually raise funds to be able to continue its work. Over the years, they have hosted a variety of fundraisers, including golf tournaments, 5K races, and a second-hand store. While these events were successful, a portion of the money raised always went toward funding the event itself. Planning and executing these events took volunteer time and energy away from the work they were so passionate about.
They knew there was a better way. Today, AIF continues to organize one annual fundraising event: the Myla’s Wish Gala. They continue this in tribute to Baby Myla, who spent an unimaginable 412 days fighting for her life in the NICU before losing her battle.
Outside of the gala, AIF has turned its attention to raising funds through grants and direct monthly gifts. An added advantage of funding through monthly donors is that they become an ongoing support community.
Dreams for the future
Cyndi Mitchell knows that AIF meets a very real need that exists nationwide, and she hopes to continue to expand the foundation’s reach. She would be excited to train local coordinators in different regions of the country to do what she does in California and hopes to work with more RV owners to expand the RVs for Preemies program.
There are many opportunities ahead for the foundation, and with the passion and energy Mitchell brings to her work, AIF is sure to reach more families in more places.
Current crisis
The wildfires in northern California have dramatically increased the needs of NICU families and AIF is responding accordingly. If the strain of caring for a medically fragile newborn was not enough, many families have also lost their homes. The need for RVs is especially high right now, as babies are being discharged from the NICU who have no home to go to.
The foundation is thankful that they were poised to respond to the crisis, but they are hoping for more partners to come alongside them and help relieve this added strain on their resources.
Get involved
There are many ways to get involved and help support the Aly and Izy Foundation. Financial contributions are always helpful, whether on a one-time or ongoing basis.
You can follow them on Facebook and help spread the word or visit their Amazon wish list and help meet a practical need for a family, such as diapers, trash bags, or cleaning products.
Outdoorsy owners can have an impact by offering reduced rental rates for RVs to be used for the program. If you’re interested in learning more, contact Cyndi Mitchell for more information on how to get involved.
After months of anticipating the birth of a child and imagining that beautiful moment, a medical emergency requiring time in the NICU can turn the dream into a nightmare. The Aly and Izy Foundation meets these frightened parents with the reassurance of having their practical needs met, along with a smile and a hug from someone who has been there.
