Walking side by side with
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Families
When the unthinkable happens, the loss of a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death, Emma’s Footprints is here to walk families through their grief journey. We provide financial support for funeral costs, as well as emotional support through group meetings and one-on-one connections with our Care Team. Our goal is to sustain loss parents and their families through the fog of grief and care for them in every stage of healing and hope after loss.
In 2023, Emma’s Footprints served 356 families and spent $207,389.46 on mission expenses.
Burial/Cremations: $124,029
Headstones/Urns: $34,346
Counseling Sessions: $28,562
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Our Story
Emma’s Footprints was founded in memory of Emma Kathryn Dailey, who was born into Heaven. Since 2013, Emma’s has been walking with pregnancy and infant loss families in their grief journeys, providing care and support as they travel down this difficult and often lonely path. Emma’s ensures that no family has to walk alone.
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Our Services
Our goal is to sustain loss parents and their families through the fog of grief and care for them in every stage of healing and hope after loss. From providing financial support for funeral costs and emotional support through group meetings and one-on-one connections with our Care Team, Emma’s offers many services to help families in their time of need.
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Our People
Each of us at Emma’s Footprints has one common goal: to help heal and provide hope to families experiencing pregnancy or infant loss. Our team members have lived through loss and understand the value of having a support network for help us through. Our team would be honored to walk with you in your grief and provide compassionate, understanding care to you.
Dear friend,
I know right now you feel lost – I’m so sorry you had to say goodbye to your beloved baby. I felt lost too when my Emma was born to heaven May 30, 2007.
I was eight months pregnant when doctors told me she had no heartbeat. My husband, Bryan, and I begged for answers: “Why did this happen? What do we do next? How can we go on without her?”
This pain and confusion is healthy and normal. We were crippled with grief, loneliness, anger, and every emotion in between.
But there is HOPE.
While the journey is hard and may be long, healing will come. And Emma’s Footprints will walk alongside you with compassionate friendship from parents who have been there.
We’re here when you are ready. No rush, no expectations, no fee. Please call or email, or simply check us out on Facebook.
And know you’re never alone.
With love,
Tracy Dailey, Emma’s Mom
Our Services
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Funeral & Memorial
When a family experiences pregnancy or infant loss, the last thing they want to think about is a funeral or memorial services, let alone the cost of those services. At Emma’s, we provide financial assistance to families in their time of need, to help ease the financial strain this unthinkable loss can place on them. Our assistance programs help with funeral and memorialization costs, as well as burial and cremation expenses.
Emma’s accepts inquiries for financial assistance from families in the Northwest Pennsylvania region. As we grow, we also can provide assistance to more areas on a more limited basis.
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Care Packages
Loss is hard and grief is messy. Sometimes it’s difficult for friends and relatives to know what to say or do when a loved one experiences the loss of a child. A simple way to show you care and that you are ready to walk with a loss family through their grief is to send an Emma’s Care Package. Each care package comes with a journal, a New Testament Bible, and a beautiful necklace with the baby’s first initial, all tied together in a beautiful white linen pouch. Care Packages cost $50 and we will assemble the package, personalize the note and mail it for you.
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Counseling
Emma’s Footprints understands the importance of taking care of yourself after a loss. We provide both financial assistance and referral services for professional counseling. If you are in need of counseling, we want to help you find the right therapist for you.
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Support Group
The Emma’s “You Are with Me” peer support group is held once a month in Erie, PA, and open to anyone who has experienced pregnancy or infant loss. The group provides a safe, healthy and loving environment to help members take steps forward in the healing process. The group was developed by a licensed social worker, with a new theme to the conversation every month.
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Care Team
The Emma’s Footprints Care Team is comprised of moms who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss. Our Care Team provides one-on-one emotional support by connecting new loss moms with moms who are farther along in their grief journeys. By connecting moms who’ve experienced similar losses, our Care Team members provide understanding and support that can be difficult to find elsewhere. Often loss moms find the only people who truly understand how they feel are the ones who have lived through the same experience. Care Team moms have walked in those shoes and provide compassionate support and guidance.
'“I walked along with my cousin and his wife during the loss of their son in 2017. I was fully aware of Emma’s mission and how they helped families during their losses. I never imagined that my husband and I would ever need this organization. When we lost Harper, on August 15th, 2022, I had a member of the Emma’s team in our room for love, support and comfort. I soon realized that Emma’s support person was one of my nurses during my hospital. She (and the rest of the Emma’s community) has welcomed me into this club with love, support, advice, and even new friendships. I truly believe that without Emma’s and the support I’ve received, I would definitely be in a different world than I am now. They helped me personally grow as a person, helped with funeral expenses, along with a beautiful headstone for Harper, and have guided me through this grief journey. As most of us have said, it’s a club you never want to be in, but we are glad this club exists.”
Ashley Abel, Harper’s Mama; Erie Pa
“On January 9, 2020, we received the phone call that is every parent's worst nightmare. We were informed that our 5 month old son, Easton, was not breathing. In the days and weeks after losing Easton, I was drowning. I felt alone, isolated, and wasn't quite sure I'd survive his loss. Then, one day, I found Emma's Footprints through social media. They quickly became my lifeline down here in Florida and quite honestly, saved me and my family. I don't know where I would be today without their love and support. I am forever thankful for Emma's.”
Courtney Frazier, Easton’s Mamal; Melbourne, Fl
“The moment we found out our daughter, Rudy, had no heartbeat, I knew I needed to connect with someone who knew what I was feeling. Members of Emma’s Footprints were there at the hospital within an hour to support me, give me advice, and love on my baby alongside me. It didn’t stop there… months after our loss, we have connected with many people who share similar stories, all because of this wonderful organization. Emma’s Footprints has provided financial, personal, and emotional resources to get myself and my family through the darkest moments of our life; for this, we are forever grateful.”
Payton Cole, Rudy’s Mama; Erie Pa
“In the initial days of my grief journey, I was worried about being able to find a counselor that specialized in pregnancy loss. I was filled with gratitude when I was told Emma’s provided this service free of charge. This was one less worry especially in those early days of loosing our baby. This organization has provided us with more than what we could ask for. We are beyond thankful.
Miranda Salisbury, Piper’s Mama; Slippery Rock, Pa
“When my husband and I found out we lost our son Beau at 34 weeks, we were completely caught off guard and devastated. When you find out you’re pregnant, you prepare, plan, and dream for the future of your child but no one ever prepares you for losing your child. Emma’s provided us such relief with their care for us in the bereavement process. Their support left us speechless as they completely covered the cost of our son’s burial. Their financial support allowed us to focus on our grief and healing without worrying about the financial burden of losing a child.”
Caitlyn Giesbrecht, Beau's Mama; Erie Pa
“I am extremely grateful to have been connected to Pam during the most difficult time of my life. Therapy helped provide a safe space that allowed me to process my grief. It has given me tools that I continue to use on a daily basis as I face the unpredictable waves of grief. I've learned to lean into my emotions surrounding the loss of Nicholas as it is part of my journey.
Yvonne Vasquez, Nicholas’s Mama; Los Angeles, Ca
On January 9th, 2024 we got the worst news a parent could possibly get; that our son’s heart was no longer beating. We were devastated and couldn’t understand why this was happening to us again. We were grieving the loss of our rainbow baby boy, Samuel, and now we had to face calling funeral homes and somehow figure out how we would pay for his cremation. I started looking online for help and came across Emma’s Footprints. I reached out for help and was overwhelmed with how much support they gave my family during this time. They not only paid for Samuel’s cremation, but they sent us the sweetest and most thoughtful care package with a beautiful “S” initial necklace so that I can always have him with me. They also sent a pregnancy loss book; one that was actually previously recommended to me so it was a total God thing! Without their support we wouldn’t have been able to cremate our son and bring him home with us. We are forever thankful for Emma’s Footprints for being a light to our family during such a dark time and supporting us.
