Kelly and Ryan Breaux founded Red Bird Ministries as a vehicle to provide comfort and support to parents who are mourning the loss of a child. Because the couple had lost their own twins—their son at 15 days and their daughter at three years of age—they knew intimately how difficult it is to navigate through the grief process, especially if there are not readily available support systems.
Kelly and Ryan struggled for many years to cope with their loss and credit the sacraments of the Catholic Church with being an important part of their healing. In 2018, they decided to create a support system specifically aimed at helping other couples cope with the same issues they’d experienced for so many years.
Red Bird Ministries support groups are established in many Catholic parishes and Red Bird is approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and listed in the Official Catholic Directory.
Even though the program has been created within a Catholic framework, Kelly and Ryan emphasize that anyone who is struggling with loss is welcome to be part of their ministry.
How the Care Box Idea Came About
Red Bird Ministries does not receive any outside funding or financial support from the parishes they serve so they depend on contributions from people who believe in their mission. They do have a committed donor base, albeit small, and were searching for ideas to increase their financial support.
They decided to open a “benefit boutique” that featured artistic creations by Catholic artists, as well as other beautiful items such as scented oils or candles. The online boutique would help to serve the mission in two basic ways: to provide income and offer Care Boxes — a way for people to send some comforting items to friends or family in the midst of a grieving experience.
Kelly Breaux says that many people do not really know what to say or do for someone who has just lost a child and sending a “healing box” is one way of letting them know they are cared for. The box they come in is the first visual evidence of that caring, so creating the perfect box was very important to Red Bird Ministries.
Red Bird Ministries Chooses BoxUp as Care Box Supplier
After considering two packaging companies, the Breauxs recall choosing BoxUp was easy. They were especially impressed with BoxUp’s ability to provide her with a visual sample online so she could inspect the proposed details and be sure the box was designed adequately for its intended purpose.
Samples were ordered from each of the two companies under consideration, and Kelly was most impressed with the quality of BoxUp. Even though the boxes would cost them slightly more, the quality and design of BoxUp’s samples were clearly superior to more than justify the slight extra cost.
Kelly emphasizes that beautiful images can be very comforting to people enduring such difficult circumstances. The items that are sent in the healing boxes are important, but the box itself is the first image its recipient will see. The beauty and quality that she wanted to convey are evident in the boxes created by BoxUp.
To learn more about Red Bird Ministries and their care boxes, visit their website www.redbird.love.