Elisha Palmer
Co-founder (along with her husband, Mark) of Knox Blocks Foundation. “We began the foundation nearly five years ago, shortly after our 3.5-month-old son, Knox, passed away. Our mission consists of three focal points: Providing Owlet monitors to families in need (a monitoring device worn by newborns to children 5 years old, tracking important vital signs and alerting parents if they should check on their baby or child); raising money for SIDS research, specifically for Robert’s Program out of Boston Children’s Hospital; and offering support to fellow loss parents in various ways.“
What causes are you most passionate about and why? Knox was a very happy and healthy baby with no underlying medical conditions. On Dec. 20, 2016, we received the call every parent fears most. Knox had gone down for a nap at daycare and had stopped breathing. He was rushed by ambulance to the hospital but he did not make it. His death was ruled as SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). We knew very soon after Knox’s death we wanted to do whatever we could to help prevent other families from living our nightmare. We continued coming back to the same question and answer. What, if anything, could have prevented Knox’s death? The Owlet. That became our mission. If we could provide this monitor to families and save one baby’s life with it – we did what we were supposed to do. We never could have anticipated the impact this mission would make or how many countless stories we would receive that begin with “Knox saved my baby’s life.” Those five words are our son’s purpose.
In what ways do you give back to the community? To date, we have donated nearly 9,000 Owlets across the country. The majority of those Owlets have been donated here in Iowa. We also have a project called the Green Glow Project where we donate Owlets to licensed and registered daycare centers and in-home providers in the state for every infant in their care. We currently have Owlets placed in half the counties in Iowa and over 600 infants are being monitored while at daycare every day (we are the only state in the country doing this). We also have a very special event called The Nursery of Hope. This is an annual event we hold at Hickory Hills State Park. We offer infant loss families the opportunity to join us and plant a tree in honor of their angel at no cost to them. We currently have 70 trees planted for 70 sweet infants who were taken too soon. Our beautiful little forest has become a source of comfort and healing to these families and provides them with a lasting place to visit and feel close to their babies.
How can readers support your favorite causes? You can learn more about Knox Blocks, our upcoming events or donate through our website, knoxblocks.org. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for our latest announcements and updates.