Martha and Paul Sharkey of Wyndmoor, founders of Today is a Good Day, a nonprofit which provides personal and financial support for families with babies in NICUs, were featured by the Chestnut Hill Local for receiving a $100,000 donation on behalf of the Kelsey-Naylor Family Foundation.

Their daughter Claire, who was born more than 16 weeks early, is now a healthy seventh-grade student at Springfield Township Middle School. Her twin sister Mary died due to the complications of prematurity, the Local said.

“We want to serve more NICU families during their difficult days,” Martha told the Local. “We now work with 29 hospitals in seven states. And the funding goes right to the family. We have CARE packages, and we support the families’ vital needs. We cover funeral expenses, transportation, and utility bills. We have delivered 14,000 CARE packages, including bilingual packages, and 1,500 Thanksgiving meals. We want people to know they are not alone.

“U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean (who represents most of Montgomery County) got us our first Congressional appropriation, $332,000. All the funding helps us deliver programs. We have had hundreds of volunteers and now have 65. Most volunteers went through this themselves. Building hope and making community is our mission.”

The full story is here.

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Photo: Chestnut Hill Local