About Dragonflies of Hope
The mission of Follow Your Angel has always been to inspire others and make a positive difference through art and outreach. It originated in 2009 when I began photographing angel statuettes in cemeteries and creating products from the images. Over the years it has evolved to include other winged creatures – most prominently, dragonflies, which have long been a symbol of transformation, joy, and hope.
On June 17, 2021, this mission took on a deeper and more personal meaning when our daughter, Whitney, died suddenly at the age of 34. Years earlier, as was indicated on her driver’s license, Whitney made the choice to be an organ donor. We weren’t surprised, as she had mentioned this to us at the time, and she was one of the most generous of people throughout her short time on earth.
Whitney was kept on life support until Father’s Day. In the wee hours of the morning, as part of the Honor Walk, we, along with hospital staff and a few family members, lined up outside her hospital room to honor Whitney as she was wheeled to the donor surgery room. Whitney was able to save the lives of four people by donating four of her major organs. Her eyes and tissue donations bettered the lives of many others. In 2023, we were able to meet two of those people, the liver recipient and the lungs recipient. More on that later.
During those first difficult days at the hospital, we were guided through the donation process through the compassionate care of the team at LifeSource. Amid overwhelming grief, they provided us with solace and a path to hope. Little did we know then that Dragonflies of Hope would become a significant life mission in collaboration with LifeSource.
Since Whitney’s death, our dragonfly ornaments have been given to the families of donors to honor those who have given the ultimate gift. Each dragonfly is one of a kind, like the people they memorialize. They are hand-crafted from a variety of beads, and now by a variety of volunteers who are dedicated to the cause. We hope your dragonfly will add a bright touch to a window, garden, Christmas tree, or any spot you want to beautify. It may be a reminder of a loved one, or it might simply remind you that we are all part of the circle of life.
Each dragonfly is packaged with a copy of the Dragonfly Story by Walter Dudley Cavert:
In the bottom of an old pond lived some grubs who could not understand why none of their group ever came back after crawling up the lily stems to the top of the water. They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what had happened to him. Soon one of them felt an urgent impulse to seek the surface; he rested himself on the top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation which made him a dragonfly with beautiful wings. In vain he tried to keep his promise.
Flying back and forth over the pond, he peered down at his friends below. Then he realized that even if they could see him, they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number. The fact that we cannot see our friends or communicate with them after the transformation which we call death is no proof that they cease to exist.
*Thank you for your interest in Dragonflies for Hope. For each dragonfly purchased, you are providing one for the family of a donor and carrying forward a message of hope.
For more details about our mission, and our daughter, Whitney, click here:
Dragonflies of hope: Carrying forward Whitney’s legacy as an organ donor
To learn more about the important work being done at LifeSource, please click here.
