WRIGHTSTOWN (NBC 26) — For many, the holiday season is a time for giving. But for one Wrightstown family, giving back during the holidays is a form of healing.
Kevin Liebergen and his wife Nicki’s lives were changed when she suffered a miscarriage last year.
“August 2020 we went in for our 20 week ultrasound and they could not find a heartbeat on our baby," Liebergen said.
It was a devastating blow for the couple, who had struggled with infertility in years prior. The couple had decided to name their baby Crew.
“It was a very hard time for us. We finally got pregnant and halfway through to lose the baby it was just devastating," Liebergen said. "It was a rough time and I was like 'Crew can’t be here on the Earth to make an impact so what can I do to make an impact for him?”
Kevin and Nicki were crushed by the loss but knew they wanted to find a way to honor Crew’s memory. That's when Kevin had the idea to create Pay it Forward for Crew. It started as a website to encourage others to spread acts of kindness.
“I’m a software developer so I said I’m going to set up a website and I’m going to try to encourage people just to spread kindness in honor of Crew and other infants who are lost too early, other people who are having miscarriages,” Liebergen said.
That’s when family friend Travis Schumann reached out to help Kevin find a way to give back to the community. The two settled on a toy drive for the Children's Wisconsin Hospital in Neenah.
“We brainstormed and we came up a toy drive in honor of Crew and in honor of the other children who are just taken too soon," Schumann said.
Pay it Forward for Crew received 208 toys in its first year and this year their goal is to make it to 500 toys. So far, they’ve received 80 toys just in their first week.
Kevin says the toy drive has given his family an outlet to let out their grief and a community of support.
“Just to find something to channel that grief and pain into has helped us immensely," Liebergen said. "We’ve found out from all kinds of people that have also had a loss and a miscarriage it’s just not something people talk about openly. But we’re trying to be as open as possible. It just helps us to heal and to keep Crew alive."
To learn how you can donate to the toy drive, you can visit the Pay it Forward for Crew website or Facebook page. You can also visit the Pay it Forward for Crew wishlist on Amazon.
