Emma's Footprints is a non-profit organization helping parents who have lost a child find support and learn to live with the grief. Where does a person turn when facing this kind of loss? Currently there are only a few support groups that deal with this subject, and Emma's Footprints is one of them. On June 27, the group will be hosting a Pregnancy and Infant Loss Memorial Walk in Kasson, and are inviting you to join.This is a way to not only honor the babies who are no longer with us, but to raise awareness and to create a space to support parents and siblings as they go through the grief process. This creates a loving environment of remembrance and community. Jarissa Tauscher, one of the coordinators of the event says, "We are currently seeking sponsors to help make this event possible, and to help with making resources available for families like ours who have suffered, and are currently navigating unimaginable loss.Your support would directly impact local families. Any amount from $50.00 to sponsor a walk sign with your business logo on it, to a $2,000.00 donation to the cause would be appreciated. If sponsorship isn't in the budget this year, we are hoping businesses will show up and create a team. You can register at http://pro.gofundme.com/event2026-kasson-memorial-walk/e77_35. You or your business can also donate items for the silent auction. Anything is appreciated! Here is Jalissa's story:
We found out we were expecting our second child in January 2024 and we were over the moon excited about it. In early March we found out it was going to be a baby girl. We always wanted 2 children and we loved that we would be able to have one of each. At that time we had a 2 year old son Callen who was also very excited to be a big brother. The pregnancy was going great, until it wasn’t. At almost 26 weeks I went in for a 2nd big anatomy scan because at the first one she was moving around too much to get the proper photos. On May 29, 2024 they told me there was no heartbeat. My husband Zach went with me to many other appointments, but couldn’t get off work for every single one so I was by myself. I immediately called him and told him the devastating news. The next few hours and days were a blur. We had to make the decision to wait or to be seen right away to deliver. We had to make the difficult choice to cremate, bury, or let Mayo dispose of the body. We chose to cremate her after the delivery. We worked with the funeral home in Kasson. We named her Brynlee Rose.
In the hospital my husband looked at me and said," We will need help getting through this." And I agreed. We could not get through this alone and we didn’t know anybody else close to us that had had a stillbirth loss before. We didn’t want to lose our marriage.
When he went back to work the following Monday, he found a podcast called Guys & Grief. (The only GUY focused one out there about child loss). And he listened to that and then he heard that they were sponsored by a non-profit called Emma’s Footprints. He then reached out to Emma‘s and they sent us a care package. We got connected with a therapist at no cost to us. We attended their monthly virtual zoom Support Group groups. We told our story on their podcast and we attended their couples retreat in April 2025 in Clymer, New York.
We want to bring these resources to the Midwest as we have nothing quite like this here. Emma’s is a fantastic organization that helps grieving families from all over the world. Last year we chose to honor Brynlee’s 1st birthday and did a family fundraiser walk in Kasson and raised over $3,100. And this year they added the Minnesota walk to their big events. They have two walks in Pennsylvania, one in Boston, one in Florida, and ours in Minnesota. They will be flying a team out to join us on June 27 at the KMtelecom Stadium from 9-11. We will have Face Painting, hair braiding, chair massages, an ice cream truck, coffee cart, a petting zoo, permanent jewelry, a sweet treats cart, silent auction, baby memorials, a walk, and more!
We also started up our own in-person support group in May of 2025. We are a support group for those that have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, or infant loss. We are a group of people that have the same kind of loss and heartache. We will meet to share our feelings and try to help each other navigate the unimaginable. Group members understand what you're going through and can help you feel like you’re not alone. Talking about your baby and your feelings can be helpful and comforting. Of course you can talk to your partner, your friends and your family. But talking to someone who’s also been through this can also help with grief.
We meet the 2nd Thursday of every month from 6-7pm
We meet at the community celebration church “garage”
CCC Church, 27337 Cty Hwy 34, Kasson, MN 55944
And as of January 1, 2026 we are now a part of Emma‘s led Support Groups. We have a different topic each month and materials with resources for each of them.
Link to walk: https://pro.gofundme.com/event/2026-kasson-memorial-walk/e774835
Link to support group: https://www.emmasfootprints.com/support-groups
Link to fb event: https://facebook.com/events/s/emmas-footprints-memorial-walk/1250524277291093/
My husband and I are hoping to bridge the gap between the hospital stay after a loss and when you go home and you feel so isolated and you don’t know where to go. We’re hoping someday to be in the hospitals around here as a bereavement Doula Support and be there for families going through this loss.
We are raising funds for Emma’s Footprints to provide pregnancy & infant loss support all over the country for many families and to be able to have these resources available to them. We hope to bring more awareness as pregnancy and infant loss happens to 1 in 4. And many of these families don’t know where to turn and don’t know what to do after a loss.
