Celebrate Angels. Unite Families. Build Birthing and Bereavement Suites. This is the mission of No Foot Too Small, a non-profit started by a grieving mother.
No parent plans on losing a child. Yet, it’s the reality for thousands of parents across the country, including Robin Boudreau and Haley Admire. In 2014, after losing their son Beau, Robin and her husband, Ryan, wanted to bring together family and friends to celebrate his first birthday. Robin wrote an article inviting other loss parents to join them in celebration of angel babies, unintentionally founding No Foot Too Small. That first year they had 75-100 attendees and raised $10,000 and donated it to the March of Dimes. Loss families wanted them to host this event again, and after three years of hosting the event, they had 200-250 attendees.
“I was doing something I felt I needed as a loss parent.” Robin didn’t set out to start a non-profit, she just wanted to address a need she saw in herself, and in the community.
Robin Boudreau
Eventually, the founders approached the University of Iowa Hospital to build a birthing and bereavement suite for parents who wouldn’t get to bring their babies home. After this was approved, No Foot Too Small took off. After 5 years, they added a second event, Blooms and Butterflies. This whole time, NFTS was within the Community Foundation of Johnson County. At the end of 2017, they encouraged Robin to set out on her own. No Foot Too Small officially became a non-profit in 2018, and Robin was eventually able to run NFTS full time.
Haley Admire’s Story
In 2018, Haley and Kaleb Admire got the devastating news that their son, Matthew, was “incompatible with life”. Through a connection with daycare parents, Haley discovered No Foot Too Small, a group of bereaved mothers supporting one another. Since she got involved with the organization, Haley has become the Angel Ambassador for the Cedar Valley.
“NFTS has been so instrumental in my grief. The women I have met through this organization have become not only best friends, but sisters. NFTS helps me to heal by giving me a space to speak freely about Matthew and allows me the opportunity to help other moms who are also navigating this difficult journey.”
Haley Admire
No Foot Too Small’s Marketing
Creating the branding for No Foot Too Small was a simple process for Robin. Her son, Beau, only had one “good” foot when he was born, so the foot in the logo is the print of Beau’s foot from the hospital. The foot on the globe is a nod to the quote “There’s no foot too small that can’t leave an imprint on this world”. She wanted to remind others that everyone has the ability to make an impact. Robin wanted to use bright and colorful colors because families that come in contact with NFTS are going through a very dark time. The pink, blue and yellow represents all babies – pink for girls, blue for boys, and yellow for unknown gender.
When we talked about marketing, the greatest struggle that Robin faces is having the funds to afford someone in that role. Because of this, the non-profit’s growth has been almost entirely organic, which she feels is really beautiful. (I agree). 1-6 new families are finding out about NFTS every day, and this is all from organic interactions with the brand.
Her number one tip for new non-profits is for them to stay true to themselves. It’s really easy to want to mimic or copy another nonprofit, but you can’t do it all well. For the best results, do your thing well and do it with quality.
If you want to get involved with No Foot Too Small, they are always looking for volunteers! Check out their website here! Visit their Facebook page!
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This is an amazing website and it is very interesting to read about. Whoever made this is an amazing person.
Thank you for your kind words!