About Cuddling Angels

Cuddling Angels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Martinsburg, West Virginia, dedicated to providing comfort, compassion, and support to families who have experienced the heartbreaking loss of a baby or child. Founded in 2016, our mission is rooted in love, remembrance, and the belief that no family should ever have to walk through the journey of child loss alone.

Our story began on May 8, 2015, when Megan and Brad Shutack experienced a loss that would forever change their lives. At just 23 weeks gestation, they unexpectedly lost their precious twins, Jack and Sophia. In the midst of unimaginable heartbreak, Megan and Brad knew they wanted to find a way to honor their children, keep their memories alive, and help other families facing similar circumstances. From that love, determination, and desire to make a difference, Cuddling Angels was born.

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In its earliest years, Cuddling Angels focused on providing Cuddle Cots to local hospitals. These special cooling devices allow grieving families additional time with their babies following a loss, giving parents precious moments to hold, love, and create memories with their children. Through the generosity of supporters and the dedication of the organization, Cuddling Angels was able to provide seven Cuddle Cots to hospitals throughout West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.​ As the organization continued to grow, so did our understanding of the many different ways families need support after losing a child. While we no longer provide Cuddle Cots, our mission has evolved to focus on meaningful remembrance, compassionate support, and helping ease some of the emotional and financial burdens that grieving families face.

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Today, Cuddling Angels works with local cemeteries to assist families with the financial costs of cemetery markers and urns. We provide personalized memorial baskets and meaningful keepsakes to families throughout the United States, including stuffed elephants created to honor and remember their precious children. We also provide annual Christmas memorial ornaments to local families, recognizing that holidays can be especially difficult when someone so deeply loved is missing. Whenever possible, we organize memorial events that bring families together to remember, honor, and celebrate the lives of their babies and children.

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Every service we provide is offered at absolutely no cost to the families we serve. We believe that during one of the most difficult times in a family's life, they should be surrounded by compassion and support rather than additional financial burdens.

Beyond the services and remembrance items we provide, Cuddling Angels is a community built on understanding. We recognize that grief does not have an expiration date, that every family's experience is unique, and that the love a parent has for their child never fades. Whether someone needs a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on, a meaningful way to honor their child, or simply the reassurance that they are not alone, we want them to know there is a place for them here.

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Our board members are also deeply connected to the heart of our mission. Many have personally experienced the loss of a baby or child, and each brings their own story, compassion, and understanding to the work we do. Through helping other families, planning remembrance events, creating personalized keepsakes, volunteering their time, and sharing their children's stories, our board members continue to honor the precious lives that have touched their own. Their personal journeys are a meaningful part of what makes Cuddling Angels such a special community.

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What began as one family's desire to honor two precious little lives has grown into something much greater. Through the kindness of our supporters, the dedication of our volunteers, and the connections formed among grieving families, Cuddling Angels continues to carry forward a legacy of love that reaches far beyond our hometown. As we look toward the future, our commitment remains the same: to continue expanding the support and resources available to grieving families, to provide meaningful opportunities for remembrance, and to ensure that every baby and child gone too soon is honored and remembered.

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Jack and Sophia will always be the reason Cuddling Angels began, but every family we meet and every child we honor has become part of our story. Their lives, their names, and their memories matter. We are grateful to be able to walk alongside families as they find ways to carry that love forward. Because a child's life is not measured by the time they spent here, but by the love they leave behind.

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Forever loved. Forever remembered. Never forgotten.