Skylar Jade Blevins was just 3 months old when she died of sudden infant death syndrome June 29, 2005.
“I never got a Christmas with her,” said her mother, Christy Blevins.
So this holiday season, Belvins has found a way to honor her daughter’s memory.
Blevins and her boyfriend are selling Christmas trees at the “Santa’s Treeland” stand in front of Manassas Mall this year.
Blevins will donate $1 from every tree she sells to SIDS Mid-Atlantic, a Haymarket-based non-profit group.
“I wanted to do something for SIDS because my daughter died from it,” Blevins said. “And through that I’m doing something for Skylar.”
Last year more than 100 babies in Virginia, and more than 4,500 nationwide, died of SIDS, said Betty Connal, executive director of SIDS Mid-Atlantic.
In Prince William County, eight out of the 57 babies who died in 2007 died of SIDS, she said.
Kristy Blevins tells a story similar to that of other families who have lost infants to the SIDS.
When she put Skylar to sleep in her crib, everything was fine, she said.
But when she went to check on her a short time later, Skylar was not breathing.
SIDS Mid Atlantic offers support to families who have lost infants to SIDS as well as public education to help prevent the deaths, Connal said.
Blevins, who lives in Whitetop in southwestern Virginia, said she expects to sell between 600 and 1,000 Christmas trees.
If business is good this year, Blevins said she hopes to do the same thing next year, possibly donating more money to SIDS Mid-Atlantic.
“It’s not about how many trees we sell, really,” Blevins said. “I’m doing it for Skylar.”
The Santa’s Treeland stand is in front of Manassas Mall, next to the marquee. The stand is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.
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