Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elizabeth O’Donnell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Elizabeth, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

Aaliyah in Action provides Self-Care Packages & support books to families who have experienced perinatal, neonatal or infant loss. I started this nonprofit after the stillbirth of my daughter, Aaliyah, on 12/1/20. The trauma a mother/birthing person experiences after this type of loss cannot be put into words. You feel alone, isolated and as though nobody could understand this unique pain.

The type of support(s) offered to families who experience perinatal, neonatal or infant loss can greatly vary for a number of reasons. Sadly, it is usually not enough in most areas. Aaliyah in Action aims to provide a support that has been missing from this bereavement space – tangible support focused on self-care. The use of these small self-care items can provide a sense of comfort for the parent during a time when comfort seems almost impossible. The ability to reach for a support book suited for your situation can help alleviate the feelings of isolation one feels after this type of trauma.

There are 23,000 stillbirths annually in the US. Currently, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. We need. to do more to support families who experience loss & this truly is my daughter, Aaliyah, “in Action”.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started Aaliyah in Action in the spring of 2021 and we have been growing in record speed ever since. The idea for Aaliyah in Action stems from the death of my daughter, Aaliyah. She was stillborn in December 2020 and as her mother I’ve made it my mission to create a strong and everlasting legacy for her.

After Aaliyah’s death, friends and family sent me self-care items to help get me through those first few weeks. I tried to reach for an item daily in an effort to simply feel something. These small items helped me a great deal and I was hoping they would help others walking this path as well. Now, we have Aaliyah in Action – partnering with hospitals and shipping our packages nationwide to families who need them.

Aaliyah in Action packages differ from the memory boxes most hospitals provide because what we do focuses on the person that needs to make it tomorrow. The items and books have been thoughtfully curated to provide a sense of comfort during a time when nothing seems to matter anymore – we call them a “gentle hug from someone who knows the pain”. Each package has six items (fuzzy socks, lip balm, tea, face mask, candle and a lavender shower steamer) and a support book, or books, for the family. The items are largely purchased from women & Black owned businesses to reflect who Aaliyah would have been in this world.

The second component to our program are the support books. We provide a support book better suited for families who have experienced miscarriage and one better suited for stillbirth/ infant death. Support books for fathers and living siblings is also available. At this time we’re working on extending our stillbirth support books to be more inclusive, but it has been challenging to find books that deliver the level of support we want to provide. In keeping to our commitment to support small business, we purchase all of these books directly from the authors.

Since launching Aaliyah in Action we’ve partnered with over 30 hospitals, mostly in the DC area, but our reach extends as far as California! We also ship our packages nationwide when requests are received. We’re able to do this work thanks to our amazing donors and through grants. Equity is a value of ours and we will never turn away a hospital or individual’s request for one of our packages, which is why fundraising is so crucial for success. As we continue to grow my goal is to reach all families who would benefit from our program. This is such a difficult path no family wants to walk, Aaliyah’s legacy is for them to know they don’t need to walk it alone.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Starting a nonprofit is no joke! & of course, every nonprofit is in the same situation as it relates to funding: we need it badly but so do so many other worthy organizations!

To get Aaliyah in Action off the ground we took the monetary gifts we received from her baby shower and put it toward the initial start up fees and inventory. In July of 2021 we officially launched to friends and family and had an amazing response. Since then we do a majority of our fundraising during October, which is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness month and Giving Tuesday.

Thanks to local businesses we’ve been able to start a yearly barre class & auction at an amazing studio, XTend Barre, in Northern VA. We’ve also been able to partner with local breweries and wineries to have fundraising events which has been great.

This year our focus is on more grant writing and securing corporate sponsorships from businesses locally and around the country who see the value in our mission.

Fundraising is a real challenge but we believe in what we do and we know the right people will see us and want to support our work!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I went to school for education – I have a Master’s in Elementary Education. All my previous work experience is in education, as an elementary teacher for 7 years, and in social services. Prior to starting Aaliyah in Action I had very little business knowledge and pretty much no grant knowledge. To say I’ve learned A LOT since spring of 2021 is an understatement.

Starting this journey I was so nervous. I was worried people wouldn’t take this seriously – after all it was only a handful of months since losing Aaliyah that I was now starting my own nonprofit in her memory. I felt like an imposter in this space for a while – but I was determined to make it work. Now, almost two years later, here I am, making it work!

Just because you don’t have formal education in a space does not mean you are not worthy enough to enter it. If you have an idea pursue it passionately. I’ve watched so many YouTube videos of nonprofit founder interviews, I sign up for any and all webinars that relate to nonprofit business growth. I found a mentor through the SCORES program that helped set me up for success. It’s been a bit of extra work but I’ve been able to soak in all this business knowledge and then put it into practice.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aaliyahinaction.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaliyahinaction/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/aaliyahinaction
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethodonnell90/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaliyahinaction