Garden of Innocence Kern
Bakersfield, California
May 2024 - Our Garden got an updated look! Our Garden is located in the Historic Union Cemetery located at 730 Potomac Ave, Bakersfield, CA 93307.
Stop by and see our beautiful area for our babies to see the new look. drive around and see the rose trees. You can contact the office to find the location of our garden. We are so proud of this new look. Beautiful!
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Historic Union Cemetery, could not have done more to make this garden more beautiful. Along with their amazing grounds crew, they have taken a sad part of the cemetery and made it the most beautiful rose lined garden in the area.
This beautiful Garden has been quiet for about two years but please stopp by to visit the children and pick some roses to take home or scatter rose petals for the children resting there.
Our Services are always at ten in the morning on Saturday mornings.
Please join us to lay to rest these babies with the love and dignity they deserve. The public is welcome to attend and participate
Our Director is Enrique Reade
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Do you have questions or want to help? Contact us anytime Call Enrique Reade at 559-940-2159 or send mail at Garden of Innocence, P.O. Box 722 Carlsbad, CA 92018
Volunteer Opportuniies Available
(click on the "volunteer" tab (points to the left) to see the discription of each position)
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| Enrique is the General Manager of Garden of Innocence National and lives in Fresno. He will be caring for this Garden until we can find a new director. |
Director - Enrirque Reade
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR........
POEM COORDINATOR..................
BLANKET COORDINATOR - MARY SOLIZ
URN COORDINATOR - RUBEN VILLASENOR
BEANIE BABY COORDINATOR -
CLERGY COORDINATOR -
MUSIC COORDINATOR -
FLOWER COORDINATOR -
ROSE PETAL COORDINATOR - MAZIE VILLANUEVA
MORTUARY COORDINATOR -
HONOR GUARD COORDINATOR -
NAME READER COORDINATOR -
NAME LIST COORDINATOR - STEPHEN BAILEY
FUNDRAISING COORDINATOR -
FACEBOOK COORDINATOR -
GUEST BOOK COORDINATOR -
MEMORIAL BROCHURE COORDINATOR -
EMAIL COORDINATOR -
You don't have to be a coordinator to help out in the Garden. A lot of help is needed at the services, so just show up and support us and the babies.
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| When we first saw the location of this garden it was an 80 sq. ft area near the indigent burial area that was full of broken stones and full of weeds. Of the 3500 people resting there approximately 1500 are children with only a few headstones visible. |
Since Garden of Innocence arrived at Historic Union the grounds crew have done an amazing job of clearing the debris and broken stones and now the area is green again and a very beautiful extention to Garden of Innocence and the East corner of Historic Union Cemetery. (click on the picture to see in larger detail)
SPECIAL VISITORS TO THE GARDEN
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Many of the other gardens directors came to support this garden for their first service. Pictured here are in back:
Office Fleeman of Bakersfield County Sheriff's Office, Enrique Reade, General Manager of GOI National, Dave Hepburn retired, GM of Historic Union Cemtery
Front row: Ms. Sandoval and Rebecca Cruz, Directors of GOI Merced, Juanita Medina, Dawn Ratliff, Coroner of Kern County, Elissa Davey, Founder of GOI, Victor Hipolito, Director of GOI Sierra, Elaine Tosh, Manager of Mountain View Cemetery in Fresno & one of the volunteers from GOI Fresno
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As with each baby that comes to the garden, we form a chain of love and pass that child from one person to another, so we can say that we have touched this child and this child has touched our hearts.
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Great job done by Dee Munoz in decorating the babies urns for the service. William, sydney, Loren and Christopher were given a loving goodbye.
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| Sprinkling rose petals at the end of the service |
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| Knights in full regalia |
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| Linda Snoddy, our bagpiper is amazing to watch as she excorts the Knights of Columbus and the babies to the garden | Our youngest volunteer, Mazie Vallanueva. She is in charge of rose petals |
Whats fun about this garden is that it is mostly run by children. Special thank you to Bakersfield High Schools ROTC.
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Many thanks to our volunteers. We are all here for only one reason and that is to care for the children and give them the dignity they deserve. Without our volunteers, this garden would not have bloomed.
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