About Meghan's Hope and our Mission
Meghan’s Hope was born out of both love and grief. My goal was simple, to prevent any other child from dying the way my beautiful Meggie did. She suffocated under the weight of her dresser just one week before Christmas, while the rest of our family slept. Her death was preventable, if only we knew the danger that lurked in her room.
Meghan's hope has grown from a simple one-page website, to an international resource for tip-over awareness and prevention. You can find us on Facebook at Meghan's Hope, and on Twitter @MeghansHope
About Kimberly (Meghan's mom)
Kimberly has channeled her love and her grief into educating others in the hopes no other family ever knows her pain. She has been interviewed by numerous local and national TV and print media outlets presents locally and nationally on the subject of tip-overs, and is considered a thought leader when it comes to advocacy and tip-over awareness and prevention. Contact her to speak to you or your group, or to present at a conference today!
Kimberly is also a founding member and current Vice Chair of Parents Against Tip-Overs, a CPSC Anchor It! community leader and Anchor it mom in their PSA "Real Moms Urge You to Anchor it!", and is a vocal advocate for tip-over awareness and prevention. Her advocacy led her to pressure the CPSC, the furniture industry through the ASTM Voluntary Standard Committee on Furniture Safety, and Congress to develop more stringent testing methods for dressers and other clothing storage furniture and for a strong and effective mandatory safety standard. She has also advocated for a mandatory safety standard for furniture anchors and is a task group leader for the ASTM voluntary standard for furniture anchors working toward ensuring all furniture anchors are required to be tested to ensure they work as intended and to eliminate "knock off" anchors that are becoming more available and tend to be made of inferior materials and more prone to failure.
Together, with Parents Against Tip-Overs, she helped catalyze and facilitate the passage of the STURDY Act through Congress and it became law on December 22nd, 2022. You can read more about the STURDY Act and the now effective mandatory testing and safety standard for dressers and other clothing storage furniture by clicking the button above.
Kimberly's blog post Be With Me. Just for Today, went viral worldwide and in a matter of weeks, compelled tens of thousands of parents to secure their furniture. It's been seen by well over 3 million people, many of whom have written to me personally to thank me for sharing because it compelled them to anchor their furniture. Many write to say that they later found their child climbing a dresser or having one fall, but because it was properly anchored, their child was not injured. THAT is Meghan's Hope. That's why I ask you to "listen to Meggie and anchor your furniture with drawers, doors, and shelves today!
Meghan's Hope is also a member of the International Association for Child Safety.
The Statistics
Despite awareness increasing over the past nearly 2 decades since Meghan's Hope was launched, 17 people, mostly children, are sent to the ER every single day. Every hour a child is rushed to the ER because of a furniture tip-over alone. A child dies on average every 2 weeks. The children who survive these accidents may be left with severe and debilitating lifelong injuries. ALL of them can be prevented. You can read the most recent statistics in the 2022 CPSC Tip-Over report.
It's important to note these numbers are estimates only as they only reflect tip-overs that were reported to the CPSC. It's likely thousands more happen every year that are not known about by the CPSC. If you've had a tip-over incident, even if no one was hurt, please make a report to the CPSC at www.saferproducts.gov so they can accurately track what is tipping (the more specific the information the better) and how often.
Has your child been involved in a tip-over, even if they were not hurt? Please report the incident to the CPSC at Saferproducts.gov It's quick and easy and you could prevent a future injury or death with your report!
Our Mission
Our mission is simple. To educate the public about the very real danger that a child can be severely injured or killed by falling furniture, televisions, and appliances and that it happens in an instant. No one EVER expects "it" will happen to their child. I'm here to tell you "it" CAN happen to your child. You can be in the same room and be powerless to protect your child from a tip-over. Small pieces of furniture and very heavy pieces of furniture all pose risks. The dresser that killed Meghan is pictured above. Surprised? She weighed 28 pounds. It weighs about 150 pounds.
You could be the best, most safety-conscious parent ever, but if your furniture and TVs are not secured, they could be deadly. Never, ever, assume "it" can't happen to you. No parent is truly watching their child 24/7. Meghan died while we were all sleeping. Parents have been in the same room when a TV or dresser fell on their child and simply couldn't stop it from happening. Need proof? This PSA by the CPSC, "Even while you're watching", features actual real-life tip-over footage captured on nanny cam or cell phone and shows not only how fast a tip-over can happen, but that you can literally be in the same room and be powerless to stop it from happening.
Awareness, education, and prevention (properly anchoring furniture to the wall and requiring manufacturers to make inherently stable furniture able to withstand a child opening multiple drawers, the effect of carpeting and drawers with clothes in them, and the forces created by climbing) is what will save lives. That is what Meghan's Hope is all about. We need your help to spread the word!
If you ever have children or elders in your home or place of business (15% of tip-over deaths are adults over the age of 65!), you need to make sure all furniture with drawers, doors, and shelves is properly secured to the wall. It doesn't matter how tall it is, how heavy it is, how wide it is, who made it, or how expensive it was, if it's not anchored to the wall, it has the potential to tip over and literally in the blink of an eye, seriously injure or kill a child.
I want to see furniture safety straps sold EVERYWHERE baby/child supplies are sold, right next to the outlet covers. We’d also like to see them sold at stores where furniture and televisions are sold along with information about why you’d want to purchase them. Consumer demand drives this. We need your help! We also want those TV and Furniture straps weight tested for safety, and those weight limits clearly stated on package labels. Right now, there is no way to tell how much weight furniture anchors will hold, and they may be giving parents a false sense of security and inadequately preventing a tip-over.
Supporting other grieving parents
Meghan's death and the journey that is Meghan's Hope has inspired Kimberly to help others through their grief. Kimberly wrote the book she wished someone handed her the day her Meggie died. It's for bereaved parents and those who support and care for them and is about the journey of grief and how to cope with the loss of a child called Out of the Darkness: Coping with and Recovering From the Death of a Child. It is available on Amazon.com.
If you wish to learn more, request an interview, invite Kimberly to speak at your event, or help us in our mission please contact us today!
Meghan's hope has grown from a simple one-page website, to an international resource for tip-over awareness and prevention. You can find us on Facebook at Meghan's Hope, and on Twitter @MeghansHope
About Kimberly (Meghan's mom)
Kimberly has channeled her love and her grief into educating others in the hopes no other family ever knows her pain. She has been interviewed by numerous local and national TV and print media outlets presents locally and nationally on the subject of tip-overs, and is considered a thought leader when it comes to advocacy and tip-over awareness and prevention. Contact her to speak to you or your group, or to present at a conference today!
Kimberly is also a founding member and current Vice Chair of Parents Against Tip-Overs, a CPSC Anchor It! community leader and Anchor it mom in their PSA "Real Moms Urge You to Anchor it!", and is a vocal advocate for tip-over awareness and prevention. Her advocacy led her to pressure the CPSC, the furniture industry through the ASTM Voluntary Standard Committee on Furniture Safety, and Congress to develop more stringent testing methods for dressers and other clothing storage furniture and for a strong and effective mandatory safety standard. She has also advocated for a mandatory safety standard for furniture anchors and is a task group leader for the ASTM voluntary standard for furniture anchors working toward ensuring all furniture anchors are required to be tested to ensure they work as intended and to eliminate "knock off" anchors that are becoming more available and tend to be made of inferior materials and more prone to failure.
Together, with Parents Against Tip-Overs, she helped catalyze and facilitate the passage of the STURDY Act through Congress and it became law on December 22nd, 2022. You can read more about the STURDY Act and the now effective mandatory testing and safety standard for dressers and other clothing storage furniture by clicking the button above.
Kimberly's blog post Be With Me. Just for Today, went viral worldwide and in a matter of weeks, compelled tens of thousands of parents to secure their furniture. It's been seen by well over 3 million people, many of whom have written to me personally to thank me for sharing because it compelled them to anchor their furniture. Many write to say that they later found their child climbing a dresser or having one fall, but because it was properly anchored, their child was not injured. THAT is Meghan's Hope. That's why I ask you to "listen to Meggie and anchor your furniture with drawers, doors, and shelves today!
Meghan's Hope is also a member of the International Association for Child Safety.
The Statistics
Despite awareness increasing over the past nearly 2 decades since Meghan's Hope was launched, 17 people, mostly children, are sent to the ER every single day. Every hour a child is rushed to the ER because of a furniture tip-over alone. A child dies on average every 2 weeks. The children who survive these accidents may be left with severe and debilitating lifelong injuries. ALL of them can be prevented. You can read the most recent statistics in the 2022 CPSC Tip-Over report.
It's important to note these numbers are estimates only as they only reflect tip-overs that were reported to the CPSC. It's likely thousands more happen every year that are not known about by the CPSC. If you've had a tip-over incident, even if no one was hurt, please make a report to the CPSC at www.saferproducts.gov so they can accurately track what is tipping (the more specific the information the better) and how often.
Has your child been involved in a tip-over, even if they were not hurt? Please report the incident to the CPSC at Saferproducts.gov It's quick and easy and you could prevent a future injury or death with your report!
Our Mission
Our mission is simple. To educate the public about the very real danger that a child can be severely injured or killed by falling furniture, televisions, and appliances and that it happens in an instant. No one EVER expects "it" will happen to their child. I'm here to tell you "it" CAN happen to your child. You can be in the same room and be powerless to protect your child from a tip-over. Small pieces of furniture and very heavy pieces of furniture all pose risks. The dresser that killed Meghan is pictured above. Surprised? She weighed 28 pounds. It weighs about 150 pounds.
You could be the best, most safety-conscious parent ever, but if your furniture and TVs are not secured, they could be deadly. Never, ever, assume "it" can't happen to you. No parent is truly watching their child 24/7. Meghan died while we were all sleeping. Parents have been in the same room when a TV or dresser fell on their child and simply couldn't stop it from happening. Need proof? This PSA by the CPSC, "Even while you're watching", features actual real-life tip-over footage captured on nanny cam or cell phone and shows not only how fast a tip-over can happen, but that you can literally be in the same room and be powerless to stop it from happening.
Awareness, education, and prevention (properly anchoring furniture to the wall and requiring manufacturers to make inherently stable furniture able to withstand a child opening multiple drawers, the effect of carpeting and drawers with clothes in them, and the forces created by climbing) is what will save lives. That is what Meghan's Hope is all about. We need your help to spread the word!
If you ever have children or elders in your home or place of business (15% of tip-over deaths are adults over the age of 65!), you need to make sure all furniture with drawers, doors, and shelves is properly secured to the wall. It doesn't matter how tall it is, how heavy it is, how wide it is, who made it, or how expensive it was, if it's not anchored to the wall, it has the potential to tip over and literally in the blink of an eye, seriously injure or kill a child.
I want to see furniture safety straps sold EVERYWHERE baby/child supplies are sold, right next to the outlet covers. We’d also like to see them sold at stores where furniture and televisions are sold along with information about why you’d want to purchase them. Consumer demand drives this. We need your help! We also want those TV and Furniture straps weight tested for safety, and those weight limits clearly stated on package labels. Right now, there is no way to tell how much weight furniture anchors will hold, and they may be giving parents a false sense of security and inadequately preventing a tip-over.
Supporting other grieving parents
Meghan's death and the journey that is Meghan's Hope has inspired Kimberly to help others through their grief. Kimberly wrote the book she wished someone handed her the day her Meggie died. It's for bereaved parents and those who support and care for them and is about the journey of grief and how to cope with the loss of a child called Out of the Darkness: Coping with and Recovering From the Death of a Child. It is available on Amazon.com.
If you wish to learn more, request an interview, invite Kimberly to speak at your event, or help us in our mission please contact us today!
