Our tax ID#: 27-3113082

1. Taken Too Soon is a non-profit 501c 3 organization founded in 2011 whose purpose is to provide financial assistance to families whose children have been “taken too soon.” We are proud to say that we donate 100% of our proceeds towards financially assisting grieving families. Our tax ID#: 27-3113082

2. The financial burden of providing a proper resting place for a child should be the last thing on a grieving family’s mind, but we understand that this can add to the emotional grief and financial burden of a child’s death. Our assistance brings comfort during the time of grief and we can help families bury their child without the financial stress. We personally know the heartbreak and devastation parents, family and friends go through – especially when it comes to the expensive costs of burying their child. Which is why we help pay for those costs.

3. Arizona child death rate for 2011: • A total of 837 children younger than 18 years of age died in Arizona • 509 of those deaths were to children less than one year in age • The largest percentage of deaths was among infants younger than 28 days (40 percent)* *To learn more about the Arizona child death rates, please click on the following link: Arizona Child Fatality Annual Report

4. Grieving families have the additional shock of learning how expensive their child’s funeral or burial will cost. Here is a list of Arizona funeral and burial costs: • the average cost with casket, viewing, memorial service and burial is nearly $4,100 • immediate burial, with no viewing or funeral service, ranges from $1,040 to $3,690 • traditional funeral ranges from $1,995 to $7,185 (transfer of child, embalming, cosmetic work, use of facilities, funeral service and casket) • the average cost of cremation is $900 • all cemetery fees, such as the plot and interment, are extra and can add from $2,200 to $7,500 to the final tab* *To learn more about Arizona funeral costs, click on the following article: Thinking ahead can save on costs related to death

5. Taken Too Soon was co-founded by Stephanie French and Dale Imbriani in 2011. Stephanie lost her newborn son several years ago and was shocked not only because of his sudden death, but also from learning how expensive her son’s funeral and burial would cost. It is so unnatural to lose a child. Our children are supposed to outlive us – their parents. When my newborn son Elijah died several years ago after living for only eight hours, I felt lost. You see, I eagerly anticipated his birth but he came early. He struggled to breathe while I struggled watching him as we cradled and rocked for eight agonizing hours. Stephanie wondered how many other grieving parents can’t afford to bury their deceased children. Stephanie wanted to help parents, so that “grieving parents who have lost children … understand that they can’t bring back their children but they should be able to at least honor them.”* Instead of picking out baby pajamas with little tugboats stitched on the front, I found myself picking out flowers and a casket. I found myself searching for a funeral home when I should have been putting his crib together. *Click here to read Stephanie's heartbreaking story.

6. “It is so unnatural to lose a child. Our children are supposed to outlive us – their parents. When my newborn son Elijah died several years ago after living for only eight hours, I felt lost. You see, I eagerly anticipated his birth but he came early. He struggled to breathe while I struggled watching him as we cradled and rocked for eight agonizing hours. Instead of picking out baby pajamas with little tugboats stitched on the front, I found myself picking out flowers and a casket. I found myself searching for a funeral home when I should have been putting his crib together.” Stephanie French – Co-founder of Taken Too Soon

7. …”Taken Too Soon and its sponsors made an immediate impact for this family and I want to thank you for making a difference in people’s lives in their time of loss.” Paul Marzocca, Commander Goodyear Police Department

8. Dale’s blogs: The Newtown massacre was more than a national tragedy Planning for a child’s burial is never easy, especially after a high profile tragedy such as the Newtown massacre. The families of those young children were blessed in a way to have local and national support of our country. Toys, cards and money poured into Newtown, all to help lessen the burden on those grieving families. When really, there wasn’t any way to take away the pain and heartache of those 20 deaths. Sometimes, the heartache takes an eternity to go away and sometimes that heartache is worsened by the fact that burying children is a challenge both emotionally and physically. Click here to read more.

9. Taken Too Soon Goes for a Walk with Sharing Down Syndrome Arizona Down syndrome is a condition where a baby is born with an extra chromosome. “Normally, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes. Babies born with Down syndrome have an extra copy of one of these chromosomes. This extra copy changes the body’s and brain’s normal development and causes mental and physical problems for the baby” these facts are supplied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About half the children born with Down syndrome may die early (according to the U.S. National Library of Health – National Institutes of Health). Click here to read more.

10. A Toddler Washes Away Parents don’t usually financially plan for their toddler’s funeral – it’s not like a college fund where parents are hoping to give it to their toddler when it’s older. No, a toddler’s funeral and burial account is unexpected, unplanned and unfortunately a devastating financial shock. You may think that a toddler’s funeral and burial might not be that expensive, but it is. As a matter of fact it costs just as much as an adult’s funeral and burial. A toddler’s funeral can cost $5,000 and up (according to the Federal Trade Commission), which many parents are not financially prepared for. Click here to read more.

11. Once a Mother – Always a Mother Stephanie’s family contributed to paying for Elijah’s funeral and burial costs, but she couldn’t stop thinking about all those other families who want to bury their children. She learned that when families don’t have the money to pay for their child’s tombstone, there won’t be any cemetery marker (tombstone or headstone) on the ground. There’s just plain grass or dirt where a child is buried. This idea gnawed at Stephanie enough for her to start Taken Too Soon – to financially assist grieving families, to help them bury their children. She wanted to help pay for their funerals, plots and grave markers. She’s tired of visiting Elijah’s plot and seeing all of these empty grass plots – knowing that children are buried there. Click here to read more.

12. How Much Money Can You Possibly Raise by Washing Cars? It’s sad to hear or read about these deaths, but it’s even sadder to learn that these families don’t have enough money to bury their own child. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I think car washes – or any kind of fundraiser is great. But really, how much money can a car wash really raise? Click here to read more.

13. Can You Imagine Your Toddler Dying and Financially Struggling to Pay for the Funeral? Besides both stories involving the death of a child, these stories had another thing in common – these families didn’t have enough money to bury their children. One family was able to get financial help from the funeral home, to cover the costs – the other story about the toddler being crushed by the gate, had to hold a car wash and open a bank account to raise money because the death was “both a mental and financial burden” on the family. Click here to read more.

14. Phoenix Suns Charities Supports Taken Too Soon The needs of a child don’t end after they passed away, the need to help their family financially cope continues. Just like the Phoenix Suns Charities help us pay for a child’s funeral, their contribution is greatly appreciated and needed. Click here to read more.

15. Local charities with similar missions: Click here to learn more. Click here to learn more. Click here to learn more.

16. You can find our ads in the monthly Arizona Golf Central Magazine. Click here to read more.

19. Quotes “These metal holes with no markings break my heart. It saddens me that these grieving families could not have afforded a proper burial for their children – not even a stone with their child’s name. That is what inspired me to start Taken Too Soon. I wanted to create a resource for grieving families, to help families cope with their emotional and financial burden during their most traumatic event in their lives.” “It breaks my heart when I see friends and families holding up car wash signs, trying to raise money for their child’s funeral. I feel that this is the time to grieve for the lost child, not a time to worry about money for a funeral.” “Grieving parents who have lost children – whether they lost babies or teenagers – understand that they can’t bring back their children but they should be able to at least honor them. Because I have been in those grieving parents’ shoes, I want to help those parents honor and bury their deceased children.” “I never want to turn a grieving family away.”

20. Children’s cemetery

21. To contact us, please email us: Stephanie French at stephanie@takentoosoon.org Dale Imbriani at dale@takentoosoon.org Or call us at 480-497-3292 Taken Too Soon 611 North Golden Key Street Gilbert, Arizona 85223