Hi there - we're the McDaniel Family. Thank you so much for your interest in Maddie's Memory. This special, first-annual event is dedicated to our daughter, our second-born child who we unexpectedly lost in 2019 at just 5 weeks old. Losing and missing Maddie has been the most devastating and challenging experience of our lives. We are forever grateful for our family, friends and community for being there on our darkest days and picking us back up - so we've made it a mission to give back & to honor Maddie's Memory. 

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In 2019, we started Maddie's Bows, a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to selling bows in honor of girls who have suffered in any way, and sharing the proceeds with their family for medical expenses, etc. or a charity of their choice. Maddie's Bows has grown in ways we couldn't have ever imagined, and it's vision is shifting and changing to support more children and challenges us to think bigger.

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In early 2021, we approached the Town of Erie with a request to name a playground after Maddie. To our surprise, they said - "yes!" After exchanging many emails and phone calls, we worked out a vision which will become Maddie's Playground in Summer 2022. This event will directly benefit special equipment and aspects of the playground.

Maddie's Playground will feature nature-themed playground equipment, butterfly structures, a splash pad - and closest to our hearts: a memorial walk. The memorial walk will include stones for children who have passed away & it is our goal to fund as many stones as we can as part of the proceeds for this event. The memorial stones will be an annual program, so that the children who have left this world too soon can live on, in the laughter of children playing at Maddie's Playground.