On Tuesday, July 21, Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream partnered with local mother Cara Berry to host a community fundraiser in honor of what would have been her son Liam’s 10th birthday. The celebration was across all seven Kelly’s locations (Foxtail locations excluded), and 10% of the day’s proceeds would go to The Finley Project.
The Finley Project looks to help grieving mothers after infant loss. We went to the Kelly’s Oviedo location where we were able to talk to the project’s Volunteer and Events Manager, Traci Keene. She shared the ways they help grieving mothers through providing meals, housecleaning, places to get a massage, pairing them up with other mothers who know the loss they are experiencing, 12 weeks of counseling, and helping to find support groups in their area.
Those costs do add up to about $1,800 per family. Keene also shared that they now have over 600 families in the project.
The reasoning behind this celebration being at Kelly’s specifically is because it was a place that Liam and his mother would always go to. He would get his favorite: Cookie Monster ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. Even after his passing, his mother, Cara was sure to go to Kelly’s every year on his birthday to honor him. Keene informed us how this all came about.
“She [Berry] reached out to Kelly’s and said, ‘We’d love to do it even if it was like a one-hour spirit night or something,’ and so she was expecting maybe just a quick something small, and Kelly’s went above and beyond. It has been so exciting for Cara and for all of us,” said Keene.
The founder of the Finley Project, Noelle Moore-Fernandez, celebrated along with Cara Berry and the owner of Kelly’s, Kelly Seidl, at the Kelly’s Fern Creek Location. According to Account Director, Lauren Hoffman, the funds raised from the event will help in providing mothers with access to critical mental health services, as well as ensure that more families receive the support they need.
To learn more about the Finley Project, visit HERE.
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