Special Newsletter: Please Read

I have been reflecting on the heaviness of grief lately. My own grief, the grief of those
closest to me, the collective grief of my fellow neighbors and Americans. It feels as
though everyone is in their own state of grief, in some ways, at all times, like waves
of the ocean. Some days, those waves are just tiny little ripples, and some waves are
so tall and raging across this sea that we call life. I recently lost a cousin who I hadn’t
seen in some time but loved deeply just the same. My son was in a car accident that
thankfully left him with only minor injuries and a totaled car—the only real pain now is
dealing with insurance. It’s hard not to think about how that could have played out so
very differently. As I shove that thought away, I am also reminded that we never know
what’s around the corner; so hold that hug a little more tightly, stay a little longer at
that gathering, laugh a little louder, and love a whole lot more.

Last week, the clinical team was in Morning Song, the larger of our two birthing
suites, conducting our monthly mom/baby emergency drills. I started to wonder how
many babies had been brought forth in that room. I gazed upon my
employees/team/sisters/friends and took in the space that has been designed and
held for birth for nearly 15 years. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing as I feebly
attempted to think how these rooms would need to transform as we close the door
on birth and open doors to other much needed women’s health care. I was taken
back to January 2011 when we had just taken over the building and were deep in
remodel. As the dust settled in those rooms, Melanie and I spent hours laying out
painters tape of where the furniture would go, the tub, how many feet from the wall
the bed would be so we had enough clearance in emergencies; how to design
the rooms that gave the laboring woman the space she needed to move around and
gave the nurses and midwives the space they needed to dance with her; what art
would hang on the wall that celebrated the female human body and the immaculate
design of her pregnancy. None of this was by accident. None of this was
coincidence. Maybe, if you labored in that room, you felt that. And maybe reading
this brings a few tears to your eyes too.

I have spent the last few years of my life trying to understand the underlying issues
facing our birth center and what I really came to understand is that so much of it is
essentially out of my control, out of our control. We have written the grants, we have
asked for the donations. We have spent countless hours “negotiating” with insurance
payers in an attempt to get them to understand that we should not be paid less
because we are in a birth center, that we should be paid equally because the work
we are doing, the care we are giving is at least equal to what they get in a hospital.
Alas, you cannot truly negotiate with a system that has been given unbridled power.

Going back to grief, and staying away from anger, I had to make a personal decision
about what I wanted for me knowing that birth was coming to an end for now. For so
long, my grief has circled around being open or closed. I finally understood that it
didn’t have to be one or the other, it could be something entirely different but also
not entirely different; it could transform and be what it needed to be.

I have two great desires:
1) to keep as much of my staff as possible under one roof and with me, and
2) to continue to offer women’s health care that transcends all current models, just as
the birth center did.

How do we give even more care, even better care to even more people? I don’t know
for sure but we are planning to do just that. Despite the depths of grief of saying
goodbye to birth, we are saying hello, welcome and welcome back to so much more.
In this decision, to keep our doors open, we are resisting the notion that this kind of
health care can’t exist. And we need this resistance more than ever as our bodily
autonomy and rights are being attacked yet again.

With all of this being said, we still need your help with this new campaign to Help
Dar a Luz Thrive. We need a cushion while we are building these services that serve
more of you and more of your lifespan, or your teen daughter, or your menopausal
mother or grandmother! Our goal is to raise at least $100,000 in this last quarter of
the year to help propel us into our new services next year. The number on its own
feels daunting, especially as our collective bank accounts are squeezed more than
ever. So let me break it down: if 1000 people gave $100 each, we would have
$100,000. If $100 was donated for every baby born at the center as of today, we
would raise $172,400. It doesn’t have to break your bank account but it does have
to come from a community of people who have received care here, who know
someone who has received care here, who understands the value of the care that we
give here (you can even set up your own fundraiser!). Women’s healthcare should not
be watered down and difficult to access with 10-15 minute visits. It should be robust
and empowering. We aim to provide this in all that we do. Help us transform, help us
move through these waves and these changes, and help us thrive.

With deep gratitude,

Abigail Lanin Eaves, Executive Director

Want to be a fundraiser for DAL?

We are asking a few of our key partners to rally their friends, family, and networks to
support our work for our Help DAL Thrive campaign. By becoming a peer-to-peer
fundraiser, you’ll help us expand reproductive health care services at Dar a Luz, and
you’ll help your friends feel good about doing good.

Starting a fundraiser is easy to do, and it’s fun. We’ll even give you all the tools you’ll
need to make a difference. With your help we can ensure that we are committed to
caring for women and people in this community who are in need of excellent care
across the lifespan and can’t access it for various reasons. We have persevered
through so much over the years and we won’t stop now. We also believe in hope.
And we hope that you will too.

Don’t worry if Peer-to-Peer fundraising isn’t your thing – you can donate directly to
our Help DAL Thrive Campaign.

Click the button below to create your fundraising page or to donate TODAY and help
DAL reach our goal of $100,000 by December 15th.

Join us at Canes for our October
Dine to Donate!

Join us on Wednesday, October 8th from 4:00–10:00 PM at Raising Cane’s on
4800 Montgomery Blvd NE for a delicious way to give back!

When you mention Dar a Luz at checkout (or use code RCFUND96 for online and
app orders), Cane’s will generously donate 15% of net sales to support our work with
families in New Mexico.

Bring your family, grab some chicken fingers, and help raise funds for Dar a Luz:
every bite makes a difference!

Meet us at Red Robin for our 2nd
October Dine to Donate!

Join us on Wednesday, October 22nd from 11:00 am –10:00 PM at Red Robin at 2100 Louisiana Blvd NE for another delicious way to give back!

When you mention Dar a Luz at checkout (or order from the Fundraisers (To-Go)
menu for online and app orders), Red Robin will generously donate 20% of net sales
to support DAL and our next phase.

Bring your family, enjoy some delicious burgers, and help us reach our final quarter
fundraising goal!

Other Ways To Donate to DAL!

Please consider donating to Dar a Luz to set us up for an impactful 2025! Every
donation has a profound impact on staff and clients alike and allows us to continue
offering our exceptional care to New Mexican families.

You can now donate via PayPal directly through our donor platform, Network
for Good by clicking the button below.

We thank you for your support!

Other ways to donate:

• ACH Bank Transfer
• Stock or bond transfer, or charitable gift annuity (use this pdf)
• Donor-advised fund gift
• Cash or Check (info below)

Please make checks payable to:
Dar a Luz Birth & Health Center
7708 4th Street NW, Los Ranchos, NM 87107

You can designate us as your United Way charity, Benevity or name us as the beneficiary on your Smith’s rewards accounts. We are a community-owned birth center and a non-profit, so every penny counts!

Follow Us

• Facebook
• Instagram

Copyright (C) 2025 Dar a Luz Birth & Health Center. All rights reserved.