From SUFFICIENT GRACE MINISTRIES
October is pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. In the United States, one in four pregnancies end in loss, and Ohio is one of the top 10 states with the highest infant mortality rate. Each year, on the first Saturday of October, the “Race for Grace Remembrance Walk & 5K Run” takes place in Deshler, the headquarters of Sufficient Grace Ministries (SGM). In the past, over one thousand people gathered together, doubling the size of Deshler.
The event is more than a fundraiser. It is a time for families that are grieving the loss of their child to be supported as they walk alongside other families. It is a time to remember and honor the brief and precious lives of their babies. It is an event that allows for remembering, grieving, and hoping.
In 2024, Sufficient Grace Ministries offered in-person support services to 256 families. Of these 256 families, 183 were in northwest Ohio. So far, in 2025, SGM has supported 178 families, 123 in northwest Ohio, in-person at hospitals or funeral homes. In addition to in-person support, over 2,000 families received support through SGM’s “Dreams of You” bereavement packages, literature, and 24/7 virtual support worldwide.
Sufficient Grace Ministries’ role is to walk alongside doctors, nurses, and other specialties to offer a non-medical layer of parent and family-centered support. In addition to providing support, SGM also focuses on equipping others to support families through its comprehensive, CEU-approved training for medical and birth professionals. Resources and services are always given free of charge to bereaved families.
Established in 2004, Sufficient Grace Ministries is a community-based, non-profit organization providing global perinatal hospice and bereavement support and resources for over 2,000 families enduring pregnancy and infant loss each year. This includes those who have received a life-limiting diagnosis in pregnancy and those facing an unexpected loss through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant/toddler death.
To register or sponsor the Race for Grace 5K, visit https://sufficientgraceministries.org/coming-events/. To learn more about the event and Sufficient Grace Ministries, contact Katie Turner, philanthropy coordinator, at katiet@sufficientgraceministries.org. People may also visit https://sufficientgraceministries.org/ to learn more or find support.
