Tax Exempt Status
Mater Dolorosa, Inc. d.b.a. The Mary Claire Project is a registered corporation of the state of Texas, recognized as tax exempt under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All contributions made to the project are 100% tax deductible.
About the Founders
The Mary Claire Project was founded by Chris and Michelle Williston. After experiencing the miscarriage of their fifth child in June of 2014, Chris and Michelle were deeply touched by burial services offered through Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Cemetery and The Gabriel’s Funeral Home in Georgetown, TX.
As Chris and Michelle had friends around the state face similar loss, they routinely heard that finding burial accommodations for pre-term and miscarried babies was a serious challenge for grieving families.
After almost of year of saying, “it shouldn’t be this way,” and “someone ought to do something about this,” Chris and Michelle felt a call to step up and build an organization to educate families on burial options and self-advocacy through the medical process, as well to expand access to low or no-cost burial options for grieving families.
About Us
The Mary Claire Project exists to expand awareness of and access to burial options for families experiencing the loss of a child in miscarriage. We do this by:
- Developing resources to help families understand their options for burial or cremation upon the loss of a child in miscarriage, as well as to self-advocate through the medical process to secure their child’s remains
- Commissioning the construction of simple wooden caskets for burial. Caskets are provided to families free of charge by The Mary Claire Project.
- Partnering with Funeral homes that agree to offer their services for families grieving a miscarriage free of charge or at a much reduced rate.
- Purchasing communal burial gardens in cemeteries, so as to provide families losing a child before the 24th week of pregnancy a no-cost option for burial.
Why The Mary Claire Project Needs to Exist
One in every five pregnancies ends in miscarriage – the death of the fetus before the 20th week. Still more end in stillbirth, with the death of the child occurring between the 20th week and natural birth.
Where families can find accommodations for the burial of the miscarried or stillborn children, they often face significant fees from both funeral homes and cemeteries for services rendered for interment.
By providing families with low or no cost options for burial of their child, The Mary Claire Project gives them a place of remembrance. This invites families to honor and celebrate the brief life of their child and provides an avenue for others to celebrate it with them.
Life deserves to be celebrated in all forms. Even the smallest lives can echo throughout eternity. The brief life of Mary Claire Williston is evidence of that.
The work of The Mary Claire Project was inspired by an existing program of work in Georgetown, TX, provided by Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Cemetery and The Gabriel’s Funeral Home. This program exists as a proof of concept that the desire and need for burial options exists. The Mary Claire Project will provide a backstop for the continuation of that program as well as expanding its reach.