Hailey’s family: Wendy, Sean, Lexi, and Ava Vassilaros.
How do you go on when your 3-year old daughter dies in her sleep? How do you keep your faith when your sweet child is gone? These were the questions, Wendy and Sean Vassilaros had to answer in 2009 when their sweet Hailey Mayz Vassilaros passed. Wendy and Sean are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and believe that family bonds can last beyond this world. This belief has kept their family together through the pain and suffering associated with the loss of their sweet baby girl.
Just days after her passing, the couple decided to turn to their grief into giving. Instead of asking others to donate to a known charity, they decided to start their own foundation to help families with medically fragile children in need. The Hailey Mayz Foundation calls these gifts – Hailey’s Halos.
Using Facebook, Frito Lay’s Posting, their friends, an online blog, and their wide network from their local Mormon congregation, the couple started spreading the word about Hailey’s foundation.
On Saturday November 20, 2010, the Portola Hills, California couple orchestrated and conducted the very first Hailey’s “Amayzing” Race even amid the high winds and storm forecast. There were 368 runners from 3 countries and 39 states. There was even a large group of US troops overseas in Afghanistan running the same time as the race held at Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
Wendy Vassilaros, mother of Hailey said, “I know where my precious child is and that I will be with her again one day. This knowledge gives me immeasurable comfort and peace. My Savior, Jesus Christ, has carried me through this trial and taught me that in times of difficulty, serving others in need can change the most excruciating pain into the most exhilarating joy.”
