She Gives: Berklye Bonifield

In this edition of She Gives we are featuring Berklye Bonifield’s inspiring philanthropic story. You will be moved by her wisdom and strength.

Thank you for sharing your story, Berklye.

I give back. It’s something I always wanted to do and was brought up to do. The question as a relatively young adult is now just a matter of where to create the most impact since the decision is completely my own.

Growing up in church, I saw my parents faithfully tithe and I grew up learning the importance of giving back. My parents would give me an allowance for doing chores as a little girl and I had the opportunity to tithe a little portion of it. As I grew older our church youth group would actually go out into the community and serve. Seeing the need firsthand as a young girl left a lasting impression on me. Needless to say, giving has been engrained in me since I was a young and was and will always be a top priority for me.

There are so many options to donate to but I knew in my heart I needed to give to something that focused on children. I have always had a passion for helping children. I am drawn to children because they are innocent and cannot help what situation they are born into. People willing to give not only money but time can change the circumstances for children. After all, they are our future and we need to help provide the best possible support for them to help grow and shape the community.

I myself have been blessed by support I received from the community. My husband and I lost two daughters, Evelyn at 11 days old & Scarlett at 9 and ½ weeks old. You prepare yourself for the medical cost related to the birth of your child, but never do you think that you will be paying for other costs related to the death of your newborn child.

Berklye and Miles Bonifield with their baby Evelyn.

Losing my girls showed us there was not a lot of financial support out there for families that lose children. My husband and I, along with two other couples decided to do something about it. We started a non-profit called “Our Children’s Blessing” with a mission and goal to be a financial and emotional blessing for a family who have experienced the loss of a child. Because of my girls, we have been able to be a blessing to 14 families in our community that have lost children over the past year and a half. I never imagined I would be giving to a children related cause in this way, but what an incredible journey it has been and I know we are just beginning.

Berklye with baby, Scarlett.

Giving back to our community has been a wonderful thing in my life and I would like to encourage anyone out there to do the same. Seeing the differences it makes, no matter how small, is awesome to observe. Find your passion out there and give. I promise it will bless you beyond measure.

Love,

To learn more about or donate to Our Children’s Blessing please visit http://www.ourchildrensblessing.com/