We are once again joining the March of Dimes with a goal to raise money to help babies have a better chance at survival. We will be walking, in Joseph's memory, in the March For Babies (formerly WalkAmerica) at the end of April and we need your help. We have two links that can be found on the sidebar of this blog: for all of you Emily fans out there, the first one will take you right to Emily's page to donate on her behalf (she has a personal goal to raise $500); the other will take you to our team page (you can either donate to the team as a whole, or choose one walker [by clicking on their name] from our roster to support--pick Emily!!). We aren't asking for much, whatever you can afford to give would be greatly appreciated, even if it's only $1.00--just give something.We want to thank everyone who donated to our team last year!! You helped us to raise over $1700 (one of the highest family team totals) to help babies and we're hoping that maybe, just maybe, we can get close to that amount again this year. Who knows, maybe we can beat it!! Emily really wants to beat her goal from last year and wants to beat Mommy & Daddy this year.
For those of you who are not yet convinced of our cause, here are some interesting facts about the March of Dimes and premature births....
...The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes original mission was to find a cure for Polio. In 1955, because of March of Dimes funded research, the Salk Vaccine was proven "safe, effective and potent" in preventing polio. Since this great feat, the March of Dimes shifted its focus to saving the lives of babies by working to make sure every baby is born strong and healthy. Through programs of research, community service, education and advocacy, the March of Dimes has made great strides towards this goal. They have funded research into the causes and cures of many birth defects. They have educated the community on the harmful effects of drinking and smoking while pregnant, as well as the benefits of taking folic acid before you become pregnant to reduce the occurrence of birth defects of the brain and spine. They have also successfully petitioned the Illinois State Legislature for passage of the expanded newborn screening law that now requires infants to be tested for 29 different disorders. In 2003, they embarked on a new crusade to reduce the occurrence of premature birth. Each year, more that 500,000 infants are born premature in the U.S., many for unknown reasons. The March of Dimes is working to find out why this happens as well as to educate women on the signs of preterm labor.
* You've been helped by the March of Dimes if, you received a polio vaccine.
* You've been helped by the March of Dimes if, your baby or someone you know received lung surfactant therapy to treat respiratory distress syndrome.
* You've been helped by the March of Dimes if, you're aware that drinking, drugs, and tobacco use during pregnancy may cause serious birth defects.
* You've been helped by the March of Dimes if, your baby or someone you know was cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
* You've been helped by the March of Dimes if, you're aware that folic acid, taken before and in early pregnancy, in a multivitamin, as part of a healthy diet, can help prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord.
* You've been helped by the March of Dimes if, your baby or someone you know received a PKU test at birth.
* Premature birth means a baby is born at less than 37 weeks of pregnancy.
* Each year, more than 500,000 babies are born prematurely, nearly half for unknown reasons.
* Premature birth is the number one killer of newborns.
* 50% of premature babies develop mild or severe disabilities.
* Health care costs for premature babies are about 10 times higher than for babies born full term.
* 1 in 8 babies born in the U.S. is premature. Many of these infants have life-long disabilities.
* The March of Dimes is funding research into how stress and other factors may trigger preterm labor.
* The March of Dimes is also developing programs to help prevent premature birth by educating pregnant women about the signs of preterm labor.
Please take a few minutes to click on the link (preferably Emily's link) and make a donation to help save a baby's life. Be assured that $.90 of each $1.00 raised by the March of Dimes is used to carry out their mission through research, community service, education and advocacy to save babies' lives. Some companies offer a "match" for employee donations, this can double the amount of good that you do for babies. If your company is one of those, you will need to fill out and mail us the company match form. For those of you who would prefer to make a donation via the U.S. Postal Service as opposed to the Internet, please contact us through email for more information (there should be a link to our email at the bottom of each blog entry). Every donation helps, no matter how big or small it is. Please donate (to Emily).
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We're posting this now because it's topical and time sensitive. We don't know how this will effect the ability of future publishing of earlier dated blogs to appear in this space. You may need to be watching the archive for more of Emily's adventures. (Until we get current, that is.)
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