Ashley Gooden-Stewart knows grief and great challenge. Yet, from the ashes of tragedy, she shines as a beacon of hope in her community and beyond.
She and her husband Darnell lost their infant son nearly 10 years ago. Stewart’s grief guided her toward a mission of service, something she actually envisioned prior to her baby’s death.
“Running a non-profit has always been a dream of mine,” she said. “I wanted to work with at-risk youth, but the vision changed.”
She joined a leadership and management program to learn how to work in and operate a non-profit organization, and after the death of her son she started The Baby Stewart Foundation. She leaned into the help she received while she was pregnant for added inspiration.
“I walked into a church,” Stewart recently told Pregnancy Help News. “They sent me to their Angel Program.”
Through that project, she received help during and after her pregnancy, including mentoring, materials, and other resources. She also received the encouragement she needed to overcome various challenges.
“They provided me with support and anything I needed,” Stewart said. “I’m utilizing all these services while I was pregnant, and I had no way of repaying these organizations. But I always knew I wanted to pay it forward.”
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Starting a non-profit to help others
Stewart and her husband are doing that through their organization, which they formed in 2015 to commemorate their son.
She said she “went into a dark space” amid her grief. Living in Austin, Texas, at the time of their loss, Stewart decided to relocate near family.
“My hometown was 200 miles away,” she said. “I knew I just needed to gravitate to family and friends.”
The Baby Stewart Foundation, founded in the Galveston area of La Marque, Texas, is all-volunteer, with about 10 people committed to helping Stewart help others.
“Our mission is to help families or individuals that express they are in need,” Stewart said. “I didn’t want any other families that were trying and striving and struggling to survive to go through the things that I had gone through. I wanted to be a voice for them. I wanted the families to know they were seen.”
The organization provides material items, including diapers, furniture, baby clothing, bottles, school supplies, household items, and more. The local Walmart stores often assist in this endeavor.
“Every few weeks, we rent a U-Haul and go pick up items,” she said.
She participated in a community Social Service Expo in mid-February to bring awareness about The Baby Stewart Foundation.
“We want them to know who we are and what we do,” she said.
Reaching beyond her community
Stewart and her team not only assist people in the local area, but they have responded to other states through disaster relief, including Louisiana and Mississippi, working with other groups to provide bottled water and material items for affected families. However, the service doesn’t stop there.
“We’ve shipped things to Oklahoma and Tennessee as well,” she said.
Additionally, she’s worked with other organizations and individuals to help people in need in other countries.
Stewart’s dedication to helping others earned her recognition by the Points of Light Foundation, which last year named her a Daily Point of Light Award Honoree. That award acknowledges nonprofits and volunteer work. Additionally, a write-up about Stewart and her organization appeared in early February in She The Magazine.
Responding to needs, partnering with others
Stewart works a regular “day job” that allows her to stay at home, thus providing the time needed to operate her foundation and respond to needs. 
Most people reach out to her on Facebook, she said.
“The way I respond to the families is via Facebook, email, or phone. We set up an appointment – I usually go to their home,” she said. “I meet them where they are. If they’re comfortable in a public area, we’ll meet there.”
Stewart said she has worked with pregnancy centers in the area as well as other organizations and partners. However, the COVD-19 pandemic changed many dynamics, and even closed some of the organizations with which she had worked. She hopes to re-establish partnerships and connections with different groups, including pregnancy help organizations. She said her organization can be a resource for pregnancy centers. She said she can be reached via The Baby Stewart Foundation Facebook page or by email.
“I respond pretty quickly,” Stewart said. “If we have things in inventory, we will be glad to ship items off or drive them – our volunteers have done that.”
She said she accepts donations for her organization through PayPal.
More than material help
In addition to providing material assistance to families in need, Stewart and her team works with people who have experienced infant loss, particularly in October during Infant Loss Awareness Month.
“We want to advocate about [the topic], especially in October,” she said. “We like to have our events and provide support to any families that are hurting over infant loss,” she said.
Tweet This: The Baby Stewart Foundation helps families and individuals in need with material assistance and offering hope.
She’s written and published a book, “Growing Through Grief, on a subject she knows all too well. This short read (about 60 pages) is not just about infant loss, but other types of grief as well, and is described as “a resource for the bereaved and those companioning the bereaved.”
Stewart also participates in a homeless ministry outreach with a local church called The Master’s Table. She’s traveled this path, too.
“I was homeless for a time,” she said.
Shining a light of hope
Despite the various challenges and tragedies she has experienced, Stewart shines a light of hope onto others through her various endeavors. And she wants people to cling to that word, hope, and to recognize they don’t have to travel the road of life alone.
“I’d like people to know that no matter what their situation, don’t stay feeling sorry for themselves or isolate themselves,” Stewart said. “If they need help, they need to say something. Help is available.”
