Standing With Families Who Grieve: Gordon McKernan at the Maddie’s Footprints Gala

One in four pregnancies ends in loss. That means miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of an infant touches a staggering number of families across Louisiana, across Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans, Shreveport, and every community in between. Most of those families grieve quietly, often without the resources or support they need to get through it.

Maddie’s Footprints exists to change that. And last Friday night, we were honored to stand with them.

A Mission Born From Heartbreak

Maddie’s Footprints was founded in 2010 by Lori and Travis McGrew, following the stillbirth of their daughter, Madeline Noelle McGrew, in 2009. Madeline was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 during pregnancy, a condition incompatible with life. After her birth, the McGrews leaned heavily on family and friends to help cover funeral costs and navigate a grief that most people never have to face.

That experience became a calling.

The McGrews built Maddie’s Footprints so that other families wouldn’t have to face that road alone. Today, the organization provides financial assistance for burial and end-of-life expenses, free grief counseling, and community support programs for families across Greater Baton Rouge and Acadiana. In 15 years, they have helped more than 2,800 families and paid out over $1.5 million in assistance.

Those aren’t just numbers. Every one of them is a family that had somewhere to turn when they needed it most.

The Annual Gala: A Night for a Vital Cause

Each spring, Maddie’s Footprints hosts their annual gala, the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year. This year’s event took place last Friday evening, March 20th, at L’Auberge in Baton Rouge, running from 7 to 11 p.m.

The gala brings together supporters, sponsors, community members, and families whose lives have been touched by the organization’s work. It’s an evening of remembrance, gratitude, and fundraising for a mission that reaches into every corner of south Louisiana. Every dollar raised goes directly toward supporting families at one of the hardest moments of their lives.

Events like this don’t happen without the community showing up. And we were glad to be part of that community Friday night.

Gordon McKernan’s Safe Ride Home

Our contribution to the Maddie’s Footprints Gala was our Safe Ride Home program.

Every attendee at the event had access to a free Uber voucher simply by scanning a QR code on-site. No complicated process. No fine print to wade through. Just a safe, free ride home at the end of the evening, on us.

This program matters to us for a specific reason. As personal injury attorneys, we see every day what happens when people don’t make it home safely. Impaired driving, fatigue, distraction. The consequences are devastating, and they’re preventable. Providing safe rides isn’t just a feel-good gesture. It’s consistent with everything we fight for in the courtroom.

When we have the opportunity to prevent an accident before it happens, we take it.

Why We Show Up for Louisiana

Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys has served the people of Louisiana for more than 30 years. Our offices span the state, from Baton Rouge and Lafayette to New Orleans and Shreveport, because this isn’t just where we work. It’s where we live, where we raise our families, and where we are part of the community.

Supporting organizations like Maddie’s Footprints is part of what that means in practice. The families they serve are our neighbors. The grief they carry is real. And the work Maddie’s Footprints does to ease that grief, one family at a time, is exactly the kind of mission worth getting behind.

We’re proud of this partnership. We’re proud of what Maddie’s Footprints has built over 15 years. And we’re grateful to have been in that room Friday night, surrounded by people who believe that showing up for each other is what community is all about.

To learn more about Maddie’s Footprints and the families they serve, visit maddiesfootprints.org.

If you or someone you love has been injured and needs legal representation, Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys is here. Call us at (225) 888-8888 or visit getgordon.com for a free consultation.

No fee unless we win.