On December 2nd, 2025, my wife Holly was 38.5 weeks pregnant. Excited to meet our 3rd daughter any day, an unimaginable twist derailed our excitement. That morning my wife felt as if she was going into labor. Less than 30 minutes after we started our day, she fainted and was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. At the hospital, we were crushed to hear that baby Charli’s heartbeat could not be found. The doctors quickly moved my wife to the OR, while I waited in a conference room. There they determined that she had suffered a severe placental abruption. This abruption had caused my wife to lose a significant amount of blood. After roughly 4 hours of working to stabilize her, she had lost a total of 8.5 liters of blood, almost 2 whole bodies worth. By the grace of God, she pulled through. Once stable in the ICU we prepped for delivery. At 2:45 AM on December 3rd, Charli was born still. Since that day, it has been an uphill battle of recovery: emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
In late February, Holly shared the vision of creating a nonprofit that could help support families financially that were experiencing burial costs associated with infant loss and stillbirth. We had many conversations over the next month. On April 3rd, 2026, we were approved by the state of Michigan as a non-profit. We opened a bank account and received 501(c)(3) status on May 3rd. During that time, we had and are continuing to work on a golf outing planned for July 11th, the first annual Charli’s Charity Golf Outing.
Charli’s Charity has been a blessing to my wife and I. It has helped us heal during our time of grief. The immense support we have received over the past few months has been overwhelming. We are grateful to be surrounded by amazing family and friends. For now, we will continue to heal, grieve, and honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, knowing that He is holding our beautiful Charli in His arms.
– Austin Beardsley, Charli’s Father