Charity starts ‘The Charlie and Braden Project’
Feb 21, 2012, 2:19 PM | Updated: 4:39 pm
A local charity has started a new project, named after Braden and Charlie Powell, who were murdered by their father on February 5. www.thetearsfoundation.org
Since the TEARS Foundation first began in 2002, it has helped more than 1,000 local families pay for infant funerals. Now, the charity has started a new project, named after Braden and Charlie Powell, who were murdered by their father on Feb. 5.
TEARS Founder and Executive Director Sarah Slack began the Puyallup-based foundation when she and her husband lost their own son at birth. Through their tragedy, she set out to help other families dealing with the sudden loss of a baby.
Now, the foundation will expand that service with “The Charlie and Braden Project,” which will help pay for the funerals of children ages 1 to 12.
“With this evil, horrible thing that happened to them, through this and many other things in the future, good things can come and other people’s lives can be touched and affected,” said Slack, who sought permission from the boys’ grandparents, Chuck and Judy Cox, before starting the project.
“I know what it has meant for us as a family to have our son’s legacy live on, and I just hope for the Cox family that the good is going to rise above the evil that has happened,” she said.
Slack, whose daughter went to the same school as 7-year-old Charlie, said the foundation had always hoped to help older children as well.
“We can now, in honor of Charlie and Braden, help other families,” she said. “Whether their child dies from an accident or a homicide – something that is unexpected.”
Those interested in learning more about the foundation, or those wishing to apply for funeral assistance, should visit thetearsfoundation.org
