Babies in Need: Care Packages, Support, and Hope

February 2013

MITRE's Chris Colasuonno, seen here with Michael's Feat co-founder Dana Puharic (left), works with the organization to assist the families of critically ill newborns.

For MITRE office administrator Chris Colasuonno, working with Michael's Feat—a charity devoted to assisting the families of critically ill newborns—isn't simply a hobby. It's volunteer work she embraced out of a deep desire to help her community.

For the last four years, she's served on the charity's advisory board and board of directors. She chairs its fundraisers and also serves as a liaison from Michael's Feat to her New Jersey community, attending networking, public relations, and community events several times each month to spread the word about the charity's mission.

The volunteers who run the organization, including the parents of the child after whom it is named, are dedicated to this mission. Michael Gerard Puharic, the son of Adam and Dana Puharic, was born July 29, 2000. Born with the chromosomal disorder Trisomy 13, he lived just 83 hours, but his legacy lives on in the services Michael's Feat provides to parents of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) babies at several New Jersey hospitals.

"We maintain special rooms for families of NICU babies at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch and CentraState Medical Center in Freehold," Colasuonno says. "They provide places for the families to relax while visiting their babies in the NICU. The room also includes a computer with Internet access, books, and toys."

The charity provides overnight bags packed with necessities, such as toiletries, to families who arrive at hospitals unexpectedly for premature births. It also offers financial assistance to families, including meals and gas cards, for parents driving back and forth to the hospitals.

"Parents will contact us to request small financial donations for things like this," she says. "When you're dealing with a baby in the NICU, sometimes paying the gas bill is the furthest thing from your mind."

Other financial donations go towards filling holes in insurance coverage for medical equipment and nurses to care for the babies once they come home. Families find out about Michael's Feat from NICU nurses at Monmouth Medical Center, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, and other hospitals. Over its 12 years in operation, Michael's Feat has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to families in need.

Michael's Feat holds two major fundraisers each year, a wine and chef's tasting and a spring gala, and Colasuonno is chair of the planning committees for these events. "Throughout the year, on average I spend about 10 hours a week on my work for Michael's Feat," she says.

For her, the work is a true labor of love.

"These moms and dads-they're just scared. Some of the babies in the NICU don't make it. They're just so severely sick. I continue to do the work that I do because there is a need not just for financial support, but also emotional support for these families."

Each summer, the group hosts a picnic for families who have taken advantage of its services. "They come to celebrate. There are many success stories," she says.

—by Maria S. Lee

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