Susie (Q) McBride-Welsh

Why Susie "Q" McBride-Welsh?

Susie Q’s Kids was formed following the death of our daughter Susan Renee McBride-Welsh at the tender age of 31. She was a miracle birth from the beginning and shed a light over all she knew. She always wore a smile, gave a word of encouragement, a helping hand, and wanted to fix the injustice or pain anyone felt. She supported charities with her volunteering, her in-kind donations, and when possible her financial contributions. She especially wanted to help children feel they were special and could do anything they put their mind to, a motto she lived by and emulated. “You Got This!”

Susie suffered from a list of medical issues but always smiled and tried to keep her burdens to herself unless asking for prayers around a surgery. To most, they did not know how her sickness and pain impacted most days of her life, she never wanted to be that sick kid. In the hospital, she made friends with other patients, doctors, nurses, aids, housekeeping, food services, transporters, anyone who needed a smile or word of encouragement. She loved the dog therapy; it always brightened her day.

Her last days were painful and her poor body succumbed to an infection causing her body to become septic. In life, we have many discussions about life support, organ donation, and her wishes. When the doctors said she was critically ill, we honored her wishes and removed life support, our angel soared pain-free to be the spirit that guides us today. Her funeral was filled with 500+ people telling me what an impact she had on them.

Following her death, the family needed an avenue to celebrate her life, the impact she had, and a purpose to continue her great work. Her birthday celebration of life brought a day of laughter and storytelling as we gathered to make 50 comfort bags full of toiletries, socks, coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, journals, toys, blankets, stuffed animals, and other items. Each bag contained an inspiration book to let the children know they were not alone, others cared, and they got this. Foster programs were selected because Susie had a friend that was a foster kid, Felicia, who moved from residence to residence with a garbage bag of clothes. It broke her heart as a child to see her leave home this way, we lost contact due to privacy laws. The comfort bags were donated to Big Family of Michigan and distributed to DHS offices across the state and the participants were thrilled with the donations.

The nugget for the 501c3 nonprofit Susie Q’s Kids was born that day. We applied and were approved in fall 2018 and spent 2019 establishing the program, fundraising, and creating bag awareness and relationships with donors, entrepreneurs, businesses, nonprofits, media, and anyone who would listen. Susie Q’s Kids creates comfort bags “One bag at a time” to brighten and inspire the lives of children and young adults. Together we can make a difference in the lives of children and young adults.

We understand the value of a comfort bag, Susie would spend months at a time in the hospital and coloring was a natural way to remain positive, engage others, and provide color to her room and life. It always brought a smile to visitors and health staff enticing some to sit and color with her. Our bags are provided to other non-profits raising awareness for their programs and distributed to their program participants to brighten and inspire their lives. Imagine a child in the hospital coloring and smiling.

As a true believer in continuous learning and embracing giving back and sharing her knowledge and experience, Dr Mary Welsh (Susie’s mother) would be a great addition to a peer learning community. Dr. Mary has had a successful career in business leadership and helping organizations attract, train, and retain the best talent. She holds a Doctoral degree in Strategic Executive Leadership and is a professor sharing her knowledge and expertise in business, organizational leadership, and talent management with her students and colleagues. Her non-profit leadership at Susie Q’s Kids in honor of her daughter Susie McBride-Welsh is opening doors for many different non-profits to extend their missions through distribution of our comfort bags to brighten and inspire the lives of children and young adults “One Bag at a Time.”

In addition to starting Susie Q’s Kids, Dr. Mary Welsh documented her grief journey and the importance of positive reflection and purpose in life. June of this year, her adult grief book, journal, and children’s grief book will be available. A coloring book is in the works and will be available later this summer. The children’s book and coloring book will be welcome additions to the comfort bags for kids. She is also offering grief session facilitation and has become a national Speaker for Bereaved Parents of USA and Compassionate Friends and a Peer Mentor for TAPS, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors of fallen soldiers.

This has created a platform for her to be a sought-after Speaker and Grief Session Facilitator sharing her perspectives and approach to overcoming change and living a life of happiness full of purpose. She promotes healing with her courses and speaking engagements that support sharing, understanding, and learning through an online platform in correlation with her book: Journey into the Looking Glass: Finding Hope After the Loss of Loved Ones.

Her passion and purpose provide aid to adults and children suffering from loss find purpose and peace with their new normal following her beliefs in the Four Aspects of Positive Reflection: Remember, Reflect, Recreate (your new normal) and Relate (self-care and helping others). Her books release on Susie’s Angel Day (the day she became an angel), June 1st, her three-year anniversary. I am positive Susie is proud of her parents and family honoring her in a positive way by healthy healing and helping others.

Her books include:

• Journey into the Looking Glass: Finding Hope After the Loss of Loved Ones (adult grief book, 6/1/2020) It is a self-help and discovery book following her grief journey and elements of grief.

• Journey into the Looking Glass: The Four Aspects of Positive Reflection (journal, 6/1/2020)

• Susie Q’s Kids Positive Reflections: My Special Angel (child’s grief book, 6/1/2020) It answers all the questions her grandkids asked following their Aunt Susie’s death.

• Susie Q’s Kids Positive Reflections: Good Characteristics (coloring book, summer 2020)

You Tube Video links for demonstration of our program initiatives and approach to marketing (Dr. Mary Welsh channel)

• Susie Q’s Kids

• Journey into the Looking Glass: Finding Hope After the Loss of Loved Ones (informational)

• Journey into the Looking Glass: The Four Aspects of Positive Reflection (informational)

• Dr Mary Welsh, Grief Session Facilitator

Another way we recognize the presence and success of each other is to extend two thumbs-up in recognition of a loved one no longer physically present. This small gesture in a picture or in the moment remind us of our loved one and that they are with us for every special or everyday occasion: a graduation, birthday, wedding, ball game, Mother/Father’s day, etc. Next time instead of saying smile when taking a picture, say your loved one’s name (Susie) and extend your thumbs-up, looking back at pictures you will always know they were with you and thought of on that occasion. Learn more at Thumbs Up Revolution.

Susie Q’s Kids has been designated as the Community Charitable Partner and Liaison for the new Discovery Center located in downtown Mt. Clemens. Through this connection, we will raise awareness for our program, entice children to give back (like donating crayons) and hold bag stuffing events coordinated with their programs. Dr Mary will also promote her children’s books raising awareness for the non-profits collecting Susie Q’s Kids comfort bags for distribution to their program participants.

Susie's story is still unfolding, her impact with help many for years to come!