The Florida SIDS Alliance
Joy Anderson is the Chief Executive Officer & Director of Research Based Initiatives for the Healthy Start Program in Gadsden County, Florida. The Healthy Start program focuses on educating the community on issues of maternal and child health in order to reduce maternal mortality, low birth rates, and other negative health outcomes for mothers and children.
Joy incorporates empowerment, community capacity, participation, relevance, issue selection, and critical consciousness as part of the program’s community outreach initiatives.
Roy Bagley and his wife became active in Florida support groups after the loss of their nine-month-old daughter, Lisa, in 1980. Working with support groups became a major part of their lives, spanning four decades. Their volunteer efforts have helped dozens of families grieving the loss of their children, as well as raising money to help find the source and a cure for this horrible syndrome.
Throughout her nursing career, Colleen worked with families with new babies. Part of her job was to meet with families who had suffered a previous loss from SIDS. She worked with the Florida SIDS Alliance to help these families. Colleen became a board member to help find a cause and a cure, so no family will ever experience this kind of loss again.
Everett Cody is a website designer with experience in non-profit marketing and disability advocacy. They bring their knowledge of nonprofit spaces and advocacy experience to Florida SIDS Alliance to help increase fundraising efforts and a more accessible online space for families to locate resources.
Kim is a 50-year-old mother of two; a 14-year-old and her forever 3-month-old baby sister Isabel. An atomic bomb went off in the family’s world when Isabel died on January 17, 2012. Kim reached out to every organization she could find on the internet that dealt with the sudden death of an infant. Luckily, she found the Florida SIDS Alliance.
Lisa literally saved her life. Kim has a responsibility to give what she received. She joined the organization to help other parents, and to hopefully see the cause of SIDS found in her lifetime.
Charlene Melcher is a dedicated advocate and leader in the fight against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS/SUID). With 25 years of commitment, Charlene serves as the Vice President of the FL SIDS Alliance, working tirelessly to raise awareness and support for affected families. In addition to her role within the organization, she also chairs the Annual Golf Tournament, a key fundraising event that helps fund vital research and support programs.
Beyond her work with SIDS, Charlene is deeply involved in the community as a board member of The Angel of Hope of Central FL. This organization provides solace and support to families who have experienced the loss of a child, a cause close to her heart.
Outside of her advocacy work, Charlene finds joy in her family life, supported by her loving husband, Rob, and their three living children. Their angel, Jason, continues to inspire her dedication to making a difference in the lives of others who have experienced similar loss.
Nick Melcher is an Orlando native and the founder of Melch Media, a Florida-based digital marketing agency. He grew up alongside the Florida SIDS Alliance, where his mother, Charlene, has served for 25 years. He joins the board to continue that family commitment, supporting the Alliance’s mission of family support, safe sleep education, and research toward ending sudden infant death.
I came into contact with the Florida SIDS Alliance when our third son, Joey, died of SIDS in 1992, at just 2 months and 23 days old. Our family was struggling to make sense of the loss. I found support for our family in those early months and days, and they assisted in my journey. I found solace and purpose in creating a support group and becoming a Peer Contact who could reach out to other families who faced the loss of an infant suddenly with no apparent cause.
As our family began to find a new normal, a part of that new normal for me became my
volunteer work with the organization. I became a board member, and have served in many capacities, including newsletter editor, secretary and president.
Our mission and our services have changed over the years as our efforts at education and
support of research has resulted in a lower incidence of Sudden Infant death over the years. Our primary goal has always been and still remains the eradication of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome as well as other sudden and unexpected death. I still believe in this mission, and that keeps me involved, over 30 years after our Bright Eyed son Joey passed away.
Following the stillbirth of his daughter in 1989, Gary combined his profession, as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and his personal experience to design HEAL, a seven week structured support group for couples who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. Gary has been facilitating HEAL since 1991. As a result of this experience, and writing three books on the subject of pregnancy loss, including “A Caregivers Handbook to Perinatal Loss”, Gary has become a nationally recognized expert in the field. Gary is also a member of the board of directors of the SIDS Alliance of Florida, and a founding member of PILR (Pregnancy & Infant Loss Resources), a cooperative of professionals and non-profits dedicated to assisting families experiencing pregnancy loss.