Laila’s Gift Celebrates 1000 Families Served and the Launch of its Podcast, Caregiving Unboxed

Two years ago, Laila’s Gift was born and today the non-profit has announced that it has officially served more than 1000 families!

Laila’s Gift is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Aberdeen, MD that advocates for, supports, and celebrates children with special needs and disabilities, and their families.

Led by Founder and CEO, Shari Bailey, the organization was inspired by Bailey’s daughters Laila and her twin sister Lana, who were born on September 5, 2014. Lana was healthy at birth, but Laila was born with a condition called Jacobsen Syndrome. At the time, globally, there were less than 100 cases with this very rare condition. Due to health complications associated with the syndrome, roughly 20%-25% of infants with Jacobsen Syndrome pass away before reaching the age of two. Since her birth, Laila has faced many adversities and challenges, yet has overcome many of them.

Laila’s Gift supports families in a number of ways including celebrations and advocacy.

The Laila’s Gift Celebration and Advocacy Center hosts children with special needs and their families and friends for celebrations. Celebrations can be for any milestone big or small from birthdays and first steps to responding to a question and throwing a ball.

Laila’s Gift recognizes that every child is unique and those with special needs may not reach the same milestones or achieve them at the same time as other children, but every milestone is a joy and a success for the child and their families. For some families, time with their child can be limited due to the severity of their condition so Laila’s Gift helps them celebrate anything and everything.

Laila’s Gift also advocates for family caregivers. One way it does this is through its new podcast, Caregiving Unboxed, launched this summer.

Caregiving Unboxed sheds light on the challenges, joys, and essential information from the perspective of caregivers on their unique journey. In a society where caregiving encompasses a wide range of individuals, from parents or guardians caring for children to those tending to the elderly, individuals with special needs, chronic illnesses, or disabilities, Caregiving Unboxed aims to address the unmet emotional and resourceful needs of caregivers across the nation.

Listen to Caregiving Unboxed on all podcast platforms.

Laila’s Gift also helps families memorialize loved ones lost through Seeds of Inclusion, part of its Blooming Inclusiveness initiative. Every summer, Laila’s Gift invites the special needs community and friends and families to the sunflower field in Jarrettsville to plant sunflower seeds in honor of a child with special needs. For those who cannot attend, they can submit a brief of their child to be selected by an attendee who will plant a seed on their behalf. In the fall, all are invited to return to the field for a Sunflower Festival to see the sunflowers in bloom.

For parents who have lost a child with special needs, the grief combined with guilt can be overwhelming. Laila’s Gift provides parents with small gestures of kindness to help them feel  supported.