Arvo James MacLure was born on June 26, 2022 at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to loving parents Michael and Whitney MacLure. Arvo arrived early, at 22 weeks due to severe preeclampsia, and devastatingly, did not survive the traumatic, premature birth.

     Despite Arvo’s unexpected early arrival, we were able to hold him in our arms and make precious memories. Unfortunately, one thing we missed out on was reading to our beautiful child; something we dreamed of doing the moment we realized we were pregnant.

     With this in mind, the idea for Arvo’s Library came to life. Arvo's Library is funded by donations to Arvo James MacLure Memorial Foundation Inc., our 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation in memory of Arvo. This library provides families in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) with a book to read together, in hopes of creating lasting memories, in honor of Arvo. When the idea of Arvo’s Library was presented to Dr. Sarah V. Bates, MGfC Neonatology Attending, she stated:

“Parenting and caregiving for a baby hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is an often overwhelming, daunting experience. The ability to support book-reading for our tiniest patients is an instrumental way to improve infant brain health. Exposing infants to voices through reading has a positive impact on language development and parent-infant interactions.” 

    Arvo’s Library also helps to support bereaved families facing similar situations to ours, through providing them with a book to read together to create lasting memories and provide a little bit of comfort during difficult times.

     We hope that all families get the chance to create beautiful memories, promote effective bonding, and improve infant brain health through reading. It is also a hope of ours that somehow, some way, Arvo will be listening, along with your babies, to the stories being read by many loving families for years to come.