How “Unforgettables Foundation” helped grieving mother

In 2003, Dalila Fernandez lost her two sons in less than a year.

“It’s not that they’re really gone. They’re here with us all the time,” Dalila said.

We spoke with Dalila as she visited her son’s graves at the Coachella Valley Cemetery, reflecting on darker days. “It was a black hole for me,” Dalila said.

Back in 2003, her 15-year-old son Sergio was killed. Six months later, her son Jose passed away.

At that time, Dalila said she didn’t know what to do, or where to go, but then help arrived when she came around a letter from a non-profit organization called the Unforgettables Foundation.

The organization assists low-income families provide burials for their children. “I always say it’s the help we hope we never need ourselves,” said Tim Evans, founder and CEO of The Unforgettables Foundation.

Evans said he started the foundation when he was chaplain at Loma Linda Children’s Hospital and saw first hand just how many families could not afford to bury their children. He estimates the organization has helped roughly a thousand families in the Coachella Valley alone.

“There is a light out there. We can’t just close ourselves into the darkness because there is a light,” Dalila said.

Twenty years later, the Unforgettables Foundation is looking to expand. Its goal is to be near children’s hospitals and trauma centers across North America within the next three to four years.

If you would like to connect, donate, or enlist the help of the Unforgettables Foundation, you can visit their website here.