Charity Input & Suggestions?

As most people know, we opened a memorial fund in Matteo's name shortly after he died. At the time, we were hoping to find out why he died, and that in turn was going to assist us in how we chose to use the funds that have so generously been donated.

Unfortunately, Matteo's cause of death has officially been noted as "unknown cause". So, we will never really know why Matteo died.

Details as to the viruses and causes of death that were ruled out were included in this blog post. There was speculation as to whether a specific virus may have been the cause of death, but due to the fact that it is next to impossible to grow that bacteria on post-mortem tissue, we'll never know if Matteo had that virus. Not to mention the fact that hundreds of viruses exist and tests do not exist to identify them.

Sadly, Dr. J told me several times that all of Matt's organs looked very good... he looked like a very healthy little boy. I won't even start down the path of how unfair this is. It is just plain painful.

Dan and I still often wonder if Matteo may have died of SIDS. Our coroner, Dr. J., ruled out SIDS based on the fact that Matteo was over 12 months of age and his mouth and nose were not blocked by a blanket when we discovered him. But... we've been told by other physicians that SIDS can happen up to 24 months of age.

Anyway, the reason for this post is three-fold.

First, we are looking for suggestions as to how we should use/donate the money in the Matteo Tate Martino Memorial fund. Should we put the money towards SIDS prevention? Educating people about the importance of vaccinations? Should we use the money to help families who couldn't normally afford to vaccinate their children? And, is there an organization you are aware of that does this? Should we donate the money to the children's hospital where he was born?

Secondly, we still have people asking how they can donate to Matteo's memorial fund. If you are interested in doing so, it is very easy... just follow these instructions:

1. Make checks out to: MATTEO TATE MARTINO MEMORIAL
2. You may send the check to our home if you prefer. For obvious reasons, our address will not be shared online.
3. Or, you can mail a check directly to this address:
ELECTRIC FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
PO BOX 6479
SAN JOSE, CA 95150-6479


Also, once we decide which charity we will be supporting and/or how we will use this money, I am planning to organize an annual event to raise money and awareness for the cause. It will most likely be an annual run/walk event. And, all profits will be put towards the memorial fund. If you or anyone you know has ever been involved in organizing such an event, I would love to hear from you, as I will need assistance in getting this off the ground and running. I will need a logo, I will need t-shirts, I will need ads for local papers, I will need flyers created, I'm sure I'll need city permits of some sort to hold such an event, etc.

We need more than one way to keep Matteo's memory alive beyond our home and conversations. And that is something I will put my heart and soul into for as long as I walk this earth.