By Audrey Hanes, Photography by Nicole Frakes, NEA Baptist Clinic

Every year, NEA Baptist Charitable Foundation encourages its employees to invest in all that the nonprofit does for the community through its Day of Giving fundraiser. This year, a cookbook comprised of 105 recipes submitted by primary care and urgent care staff raised funds for NEA Baptist Charitable Foundation’s ShareHope Family Fund in loving memory of William Clayton Collins.

“Each spring, we invite team members to donate through various fundraising campaigns or by payroll deduction to support the free programs and services the foundation provides,” said NEA Baptist Charitable Foundation Events Manager Rhonda Parker. “Ambrea Owens is our director of clinical operations. She had the idea to create a cookbook filled with recipes from our clinic team members and providers to raise money for our ShareHope Family Fund. ShareHope cares for families after the tragic loss of an infant, providing memory boxes, financial support and grief support through our licensed therapists at NEA Baptist Center for Good Grief.

“The cookbook idea was a huge success, and Ambrea collected over 100 recipes from NEA Baptist clinics. She then spent hours and hours formatting the recipes to put them into a book form. We created a giving page where people could purchase either a digital copy of the cookbook or a printed copy, raising $3,140 to support ShareHope.”

Owens, who has been with NEA Baptist for 14 years, said she was inspired by a cookbook that her church’s youth group had put together to raise money for a mission trip.

“ShareHope is such a worthy cause because it helps families in times of loss and crisis when they are unsure what to do,” said Owens. “This program provides them the support they need to navigate an incredibly sad and challenging time in their lives. It gives them the necessary resources they need to lay their lost baby to rest with the dignity and love they deserve. It provides them with tools to cope and try to move forward with their lives in the aftermath of such loss.”

In honor of one of their own, the cookbook was dedicated to William Collins, the son of Clay and Tyler Collins. Tyler began working at NEA Baptist in 2019 and has held a variety of positions since, including working for Owens for three years. When Owens decided on the ShareHope fundraiser, she reached out to Tyler and asked if she could honor William in the cookbook. Owens wanted to share William’s story and how ShareHope played a role in that. 

“William's mother, Tyler, worked for two of our primary care clinics,” said Owens. “She is an incredibly sweet and giving person who deserved to have her sweet William remembered in a big way. Our team felt that honoring William with this cookbook was the right thing to do. It was our pleasure to give this family a voice to tell their story.”

The Collins’ journey began when they arrived at the hospital on Sept. 9 for Tyler’s routine cesarean section. Despite a typical appointment the previous Thursday, the nurses could not find a heartbeat, and the family was left to figure out what to do in the wake of their loss. They are thankful that ShareHope helped them navigate that heartbreaking situation.

 “At this moment, we were completely in shock and had no clue what our next steps were,” said Tyler. “Our nurse, Kelly, broke everything down to us and helped every step of the way. This is when she explained all the resources and items provided to us by ShareHope. She took his hand and footprints for the Mamie’s Poppy Plate. as well as placing them in a Bible. She showed us the cuddle cot, Bridget’s Cradle, and how it worked and explained that it allowed parents to stay with their babies as long as they would like. She even told us they had burial gowns if we needed one. After our families came in to visit William, we scheduled a photo shoot with a local photographer, Melissa Donner. She came that day and took photos of us and William, all provided by the hospital, as well. 

“Before we left, we were given a beautiful memory box with information, a teddy bear, a children’s book to help explain the event to our son Jackson, the blankets and hat he used, and information on the Center for Good Grief. Along with that when we were planning the funeral, we learned that ShareHope also helps financially with funeral costs.”

Tyler says her family is so thankful that proceeds from the cookbook go to such an important cause.

“You never think it’s going to be you until it is,” she said. “When something like this happens, the parents and family are not prepared. Having the staff trained for these events and having these resources available means the world when everything is falling apart. They truly have thought of everything you could ever need during this time of immeasurable loss. 

“For us, the biggest impact ShareHope made was getting to spend extra time with William. Saying goodbye is never easy but getting to dress him and hold him for as long as we wanted was the biggest blessing I could ever asked for. This was the first time I have ever used a program like this, and it’s amazing how compassionate and thoughtful others can be. They truly have thought of everything you could ever need during this time of immeasurable loss. Looking back on that day I truly believe every single person was God sent. They were all so caring, and even though this was the hardest day of my life, they all made it so much easier.”

To honor William and so many others, Owens collected 105 recipes from 68 different team members. The categories of recipes include: Appetizers and Beverages; Soups, Salads, Stews and Chili; Vegetables and Side Dishes; Main Dishes; Breads, Baked Goods, and Rolls; and Desserts.

“You can tell by some of the names or stories that come with the recipe that they are family favorites that have been passed down through the generations,” said Owens. “There is everything from high-protein, low-calorie recipes to recipes that likely contain all of your calories for the day. The book hosts a huge selection of recipes, from quick and simple to complicated, and everyone is sure to find some new favorites. …

“I would like to give another shout out to our Windover team for providing 100% participation and submitting 41 of the 105 recipes. Dr. McGrath (Paragould Clinic) submitted an especially tasty recipe called Gooey Skillet Cake that’s at the top of my list to try, but then again, I’m looking forward to making darn near every recipe in this book. I’ve received messages from employees who have made the high protein bagels and one of the cheeseburger slider recipes, both of which received rave reviews.” 

In honor of this story running in Occasions, the foundation has opened the cookbook back up for a one-time only opportunity for more people in the community to purchase it and support the nonprofit’s ShareHope program. 

“We are so proud of the cookbook and want as many people as possible to have a copy,” said Owens. “Our hope is that this will become an annual tradition for our primary care team to create a new one each year to support ShareHope. Please consider purchasing a copy of this cookbook to support such a worthy cause.”