The Mia Joy Foundation Launches to Support Families Through NICU Stays and Infant Loss

The Mia Joy Foundation supports families through NICU stays, stillbirth, and infant loss. It was founded in memory of Mia Joy by her parents, Hope Alcocer and Garrett King.

New Jersey nonprofit receives federal 501(c)(3) recognition; first Community Benefit Week begins August 17 across the NYC tri-state area.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, July 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Mia Joy Foundation, a New Jersey nonprofit created to support families through NICU stays, stillbirth, and infant loss, has received federal recognition as a 501(c)(3) public charity and is announcing its first public initiative: a community benefit week across the NYC tri-state area beginning August 17, the week of what would have been the first birthday of Mia Joy King, the daughter the Foundation is named for.

The Foundation was founded by Mia's parents, Hope Alcocer and Garrett King, after their own experience of loss.

"When you lose a child, the world keeps asking you to make decisions you have no capacity to make," said Hope Alcocer, Co-Founder and President. "We were handed a stack of pamphlets about what to do next and had no one to ask a single question. We were also in serious financial trouble in those weeks. People wanted to help and didn't know how."

The Foundation runs two programs:

The Grief Concierge provides coordinated, hands-on support for families in the days and weeks after the loss of a baby. That can mean funeral home coordination, meals from local restaurants, donated childcare and pet care, and connection to mental health and healing services. The work is practical by design. It exists to carry the logistics a grieving family cannot.

The Mia Joy Project is an ongoing donation initiative that supplies NICU units serving lower-income communities with items families need during a stay, from newborn essentials to C-section recovery supplies to gift cards for parents living in a hospital waiting room. The Foundation has already completed a NICU drive and is building a network of community drop-off locations.

"Garrett and I walked both of these roads in a very short span of time, the NICU and then losing our daughter," Alcocer said. "We built this so the next family doesn't have to figure it out alone, and so that no one has to ask."

"There is very little space made for fathers after the loss of a baby," said Garrett King, Co-Founder. "Everyone asks how your wife is doing. I want the dads to know they are not on the outside of this, and that there are resources available for the dads as well."

NICU drive in honor of Mia's first birthday
The Foundation has published an Amazon wish list for its NICU drive, timed to Mia's first birthday on August 19. The list will remain live year-round, with donation pushes each summer leading into her birthday. A second drive will run over the holidays, with details announced in November.

Kickoff week: August 17 through 23
The Foundation's first public fundraiser is a series of dine-and-donate nights with local restaurant partners. Bareburger Montclair has confirmed an all-day event on Saturday, August 23, donating 20 percent of sales when guests mention The Mia Joy Foundation. Additional partners will be announced.

The Foundation is currently seeking ongoing in-kind partners across the tri-state area, including funeral homes, restaurants, mental health providers, doulas and lactation consultants, and OB and pediatric practices. It is also building relationships with hospital systems and regional employers interested in sponsoring program work.

About The Mia Joy Foundation
The Mia Joy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supporting families through NICU stays, stillbirth, and infant loss. Founded in loving memory of Mia Joy, the Foundation operates two programs: The Grief Concierge, providing coordinated crisis support to families after loss, and The Mia Joy Project, supplying NICU units serving lower-income communities. The Foundation serves the NYC tri-state area with a growing presence in the Midwest. Learn more at miajoyfoundation.org.

The Mia Joy Foundation is a New Jersey nonprofit corporation and a federally recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity. EIN: 42-2388492. Donations to the Foundation are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. The Mia Project is a program of The Mia Joy Foundation.

Hope Alcocer
The Mia Joy Foundation
info@miajoyfoundation.org
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