BISMARCK, N.D. (KXNET) — On Friday KX News visited with a family who is helping other families in this situation.

In June 2020, Devon and Amber Martin’s daughter Gretchyn passed away from sudden infant death syndrome, which is the unexplained death of a baby younger than a year old. Gretchyn was only 16 days old.

The Martins were left struggling as they saved up enough to pay for her headstone, all while mourning the loss of their baby.

Amber said, “I remember sitting there, with Devon, in tears, looking at what we could purchase and could afford, and what we couldn’t afford, and I felt hopeless looking at the plots in our price range. I said, ‘I can’t put that up, I can’t do that.’ I told him, ‘I never want a family to ever feel like that again, I never want them to feel like they can’t have something because they can’t afford it.'”

Together, the Martins started a nonprofit organization called Gifts from Gretchyn — so no family has to undergo the difficulty of expenses on top of the grief from losing a child too soon.

On Friday, they are at Alchemist Tattoo, a Bismarck tattoo and piercing parlor that is co-owned by Amber’s cousin. Alchemist has teamed up with the Martin family to alleviate some of the pain that these families experience. 100% of the proceeds of all tattoos on Friday– and 15% from all piercings– will go towards helping families experiencing child loss to buy headstones.

And Friday is an extra special day for the family. It would have been Gretchyn’s third birthday, and her sister Maddie got her ears pierced to celebrate.

The Martin family has helped four families buy headstones for their child, and they are currently working on helping their fifth.

If you’d like to support the family and their cause, click the link here.