Our Story.
Helping Families when the Unthinkable Happens.
The Ari Foss Foundation was created in honor of Ari Foss Silverman, the beloved first child of Laura and Aaron Silverman. What began as joyful anticipation quickly turned to unimaginable loss when Ari was unexpectedly stillborn just moments before birth. In the midst of overwhelming grief, the Silvermans were faced not only with emotional devastation but also the unexpected financial burden of planning their son’s funeral.
Through the support of family and friends, they were able to focus on healing—and it was from that support that the idea for the Ari Foss Foundation was born. Today, the Foundation exists to help other families facing similar tragedies by easing the financial stress of cremation and funeral costs, so they can focus on honoring their child and beginning to heal.
A Letter from Ari’s Mother
Ari Foss was our first child. Ari was our beautiful baby boy. Ari was a perfectly healthy baby. I was 39 weeks 5 days pregnant when my water broke. We were so excited to meet our little man. I was in labor about 8 hours when we were told I would need a routine C Section. As I was being wheeled into surgery I remember one of the medical staff saying to us “The good news is your son will be here in about 20 minutes.”
Ari Foss Silverman was born on July 30, 2014 at 10:06 pm. Ari never cried though. Ari never took a breath. Ari had no heartbeat. Our son was gone.
“What happened to our son?” “What went wrong?” “How could this be happening to us?” “Why, why, why, why”.
We were devastated and attempting to grasp what happened. In an instant, we went from what should have been the happiest moment of our lives to experiencing the worst, most tragic moment of our lives. We were overwhelmed with grief and sadness.
At some point during the next few hours, my husband, Aaron, mentioned we had to plan Ari’s funeral.
On top of the emotional stress of grieving for our infant son and my physical stress from labor and a C Section, we were then hit with another stress – the financial stress of paying for an unexpected funeral. We should have been planning on how to bring him home not how to bury him. Aaron took the reins of planning the funeral, so I could focus on healing from surgery.
He started doing the research and calling local funeral homes and cemeteries to gather information. My husband and I had to have the unpleasant conversation of where our finances were and what that meant for what kind of funeral and burial we could afford for our infant son.
Aaron told me not to worry about the money and that it was not important at this time. Due to everything that had happened, the financial stress compounded the already unfathomable grieving process and vice versus. Although he did not admit it at the time, the financial concern weighed heavily on him as well.
He made the calls and then we made the plans. Although we tried to stay middle of the road in the funeral planning, the costs mounted QUICKLY.
Fortunately, through family and friends, a lot of our financial stress was alleviated. My mother-in-law and one of my best friends stepped in and raised money to help pay the unexpected funeral expenses, so we could concentrate on grieving for our son Ari and the physical stress of my recovery.
From the generosity of our family and friends, the idea for the Ari Foss Foundation was born.
Laura Silverman
Ari’s Forever Loving Mother
Our Mission & Approach
The Ari Foss Foundation was created to help parents and families with financial assistance for cremations or funerals when there is a stillbirth or neonatal loss. All of our fundraising is directly tied to achieving this mission in two ways.
The first is available funds to pay for cremations and funerals. We do not want to expand before we have sufficient funds to fill the patient referral needs. The last thing we want to do is decline a grieving family’s fund request because our Cremation and Funeral Financial Assistance Program does not have enough funds.
The second is to support operations in implementing the Cremation and Funeral Financial Assistance Program. Operating funds are vital for staffing and office needs and marketing (including educational brochures) for the Cremation and Funeral Financial Assistance Program.
The Vision
Our current partnerships with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Roper St. Francis Healthcare allow us to provide financial assistance for cremation or funeral costs to families who request support through those hospitals.
Our long-term goal is to offer this Cremation and Funeral Financial Assistance Program to families across all of South Carolina.
To achieve this, we’re using South Carolina’s Perinatal Regionalization System as our guide. This system organizes the state into five Regional Perinatal Centers (RPCs) — hospitals that care for the highest-risk patients in their regions.
- MUSC, one of our current partners, is an RPC serving 8 counties.
- The other four RPCs are:
- GHS Greenville Memorial Hospital
- McLeod Regional Medical Center of the Pee Dee
- Palmetto Health Richland
- Spartanburg Medical Center
As our funding grows, we plan to expand into these remaining four RPC hospitals. This strategic expansion will allow us to serve the families most in need across South Carolina.
Once we have a presence in all five RPCs, we’ll continue growing to include additional hospitals, making our support available statewide. This step-by-step approach ensures we grow responsibly while reaching the families who need us most.
Our work in numbers
Take a look at the impact we’ve made together! Data is updated as of December 31, 2024.
Families Helped
12
Funeral Funding
$3923
Cremation Funding
$3413
Total Assistance
$7,336.52
The AFF Team
Meet the incredible team behind the Ari Foss Foundation. We are so proud and grateful for each person who helps bring our mission to life with compassion, dedication, and heart.
Aaron Silverman
Ari’s Dad
Founder, Executive Director and Board Member
Laura Silverman
Ari’s Mom
Co-Founder and Board Member
Valerie Singley
Ari’s Mimi
Board Member and Grant Writer
Dr. Chris Goodier
Doctor Advisor and Board Member
Maggie Sears
Marketing and Fundraising Director
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