By Melanie Burney
Philly.com
After her wedding day on Sept. 24, 1949, Mary Scarduzio folded up the dress she had made from satin and Belgium lace, tucked it away and never gave it another thought.
It remained in a box in a closet for more than 70 years until Scarduzio retrieved it in nearly pristine condition a few months ago for a special project: making “angel” outfits for newborns who never make it home from the hospital. She makes them to comfort strangers coping with the death of a child from a miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal loss.
Scarduzio, 95, of Shamong, New Jersey, volunteers with Heaven’s Baby Angels, a South Jersey group that donates bereavement outfits, blankets and caps, to local hospitals. The clothing is used to present the infants to their families to say a final farewell before burial or cremation.
She carefully took apart the gown she’d worn when she walked down the aisle in a Camden church to marry Thomas, a dashing young man who had courted her for three years. She lovingly transformed the material purchased for $5 a yard from a Philadelphia fabric store into three dozen tiny angel garments.
“It makes me feel good that I am able to help somebody,” Scarduzio said in a recent interview in the Burlington County home where she lives with her only daughter, Maria, and her husband, Marshall. “Just the thought of losing a baby is enough to make you upset.”
Since it was formed in April, the group has donated 500 gowns, hats, and blankets to hospitals in Cape May, Atlantic, Camden, Gloucester, and Cumberland Counties. The volunteers, ranging in ages from 61 to 95, are working on their next batch of custom-made outfits.
For grief-stricken parents coping with the loss of an infant, the donated outfits mean one less thing to worry about: finding the perfect ensemble to fit their baby. Many hospitals stockpile clothing in a range of sizes for babies weighing just ounces to full-term weights and allow the parents to select an outfit for their baby.
“It’s something to make a better memory for the parents who lost their babies,” said Ann Coyle, a registered nurse who heads the Perinatal Bereavement Programs at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees. “These people feel like they are totally hopeless.”
In addition to donations from Heaven’s Baby Angels, Virtua has its own group of volunteers who make bereavement outfits, Coyle said. Inspira Health Network also distributes the angel gowns at its hospitals in Elmer, Woodbury and Vineland, said Nicole Bruno, a nurse in Vineland who works with the program.
Krista Bender and her husband, Andrew, selected a gown with a vest, a bowtie and angel wings, for their third child, Christopher Joseph, who was delivered stillborn at Virtua in July 2016 in the 23rd week of her pregnancy. At just one pound six ounces and 12 inches long, he was too tiny for a store-bought outfit. They had the baby baptized in the angel gown and saved the garment for a keepsake box Krista later made.
“It means so much to me to have this,” said Bender, 32, of Mickleton, a neonatal ICU nurse at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. “It’s the first and only outfit that I got to put on my son. This is priceless to me.”
Heaven’s Baby Angels was founded last April by Pam Voll, of Smithville, after she learned about the NICU Helping Hands Angel Gown program. The program distributes donated wedding dresses to about nearly 200 seamstresses around the country who create angel gowns free of charge for hospitals and families in 48 states, and recently added an affiliate in Australia.
“I just thought what a beautiful thing,” said Voll, 75, the program manager.
Voll recruited women from her 55-plus development in Atlantic County. They include eight seamstresses, six assistants, five knitters, four crocheters and two photographers.
They make gowns for little girls and tiny outfits for the boys that tie at the base like a drawstring pouch — tailored for babies at various stages of a pregnancy, from 1.5 pounds and below to newborns weighing 6 to 8 pounds. They also make satin pouches for preemies and smaller babies.
The designs vary because the women put on their own touches. It is not uncommon for the seamstresses to redo their creations until they are satisfied with the final product.
“They want these dresses to be absolutely perfect,” said Voll.
The women use donated wedding gowns and their own supplies,: ribbons, lace and embellishments. Voll and those cannot sew, help by taking apart the gowns. Others crochet and knit outfits, hats and blankets that are also donated.
“When they make an outfit, they’re so proud of it,” said Sally Behar, 61, the group’s organizer.
Behar invited Scarduzio, the only outsider, to join. Scarduzio learned to sew as a teenager working in a factory in South Camden. The second youngest of seven siblings, she left school during the Depression to get a job. She later worked at sewing factories in South Jersey, making everything from ladies’ clothing to parachutes before retiring in 1985.
“God bless Mary,” Behar said. “She’s an amazing woman.”
For more information about Heaven’s Baby Angels, visit www.heavensbabyangels.shutterfly.com.
