Nicole Vassilico – 2024 Dispatcher of the Year

Nicole Vassilico – 2024 Dispatcher of the Year

Like many of our volunteers, Nicole’s journey with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep starts with a single baby. She was living in a military community in Arizona when a friend lost her 21-week-gestation baby. A NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer came by to take photos of the baby, and Nicole had the chance to speak with her. Nicole had just started dipping her toes into photography herself, taking pictures of lightning. Her conversation with that NILMDTS photographer changed her photography goals, though. She decided she wanted to give that gift to other families, so she leaned in to learning techniques that would prepare her to serve. 

“It took awhile,” Nicole reflected, laughing, “But I did it!” 

Nicole became an active NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer in early 2021. The part of Texas her family lived in at the time, though, did not allow external guests into the hospitals as part of their COVID precautions. Still wanting to help areas that could get into their local hospital facilities, Nicole quickly signed up to serve as a remote dispatcher. As a remote dispatcher, Nicole worked to connect families and medical staff looking for services with NILMDTS volunteers in her area. In the years since, she’s dispatched for NILMDTS photography teams in Salt Lake City, Boise, and Denver, sometimes serving multiple areas at once. Nicole described her work as a dispatcher as “trying to find the creative ways to make this work for the people I’m dispatching for, and for the photographers that are going out to take care of them.” She’s worked hard to get the teams she served organized and to make sure each call is answered. Her creative, passionate contribution to the teams she’s served, as well as her ability to prioritize people as she cares for the families and staff she dispatches for, led the Board of Directors to select her as the 2024 NILMDTS Dispatcher of the Year. 

Nicole honors the babies that she serves with NILMDTS by adding a new key with the babies first name and birthdate on it.

This creative approach to care extends to her role as an Affiliated Photographer, too. Thinking back on all she’s done throughout her time at NILMDTS, Nicole remembers one family with triplets. Two babies passed away, and one survived. Nicole kept in touch with the mom after the session, and later learned the family had been denied the opportunity by the hospital to have all three infants together for a photo. Collaborating with another NILMDTS volunteer who serves as a Digital Retouch Artist, the two volunteers were able to create a composite image of all three babies together. Nicole was invited to the third twin’s first birthday, and presented the composite to the family then. “I’m so proud of that,” Nicole said. 

Nicole hopes her story can help others feel comfortable volunteering, too. She’s not a professional photographer - she did, in fact, learn photography for NILMDTS, so she’s quick to remind folks that there are so many ways to get involved with the organization.

“You don’t have to be a photographer to do it. It doesn’t mean you have to have the world’s greatest camera, or that you’ll be called all days or night. You can dispatch, like I do, from states away. You can be an assistant and be that hand for photographers to lean on. If you know how to edit, you can be a Digital Retouch Artist. There are so many ways to get involved, and if it’s something you’re interested in, it’s always worth a try.” 

“Volunteering here gives you an appreciation for the things you have,” Nicole said. “It gives you compassion for others. It gives you another level of grace that I just didn’t have before.”

The compassion and grace Nicole has for the families she serves is evident in how she speaks. Reflecting on what they’ve meant to her, tears came to her eyes, and she said, “Thank you for allowing me the blessing of being there, and allowing me to shoulder the tiniest part of your grief for just a little bit. Thank you for letting me give you something to look back on and treasure. It has been my honor.” 

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, a dedicated 501(c)(3) non-profit, offers families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss with complimentary remembrance portraits, capturing precious moments with their babies. Your generous donation can help us extend this heartfelt service to more families in need. Please consider supporting us here.