Giving Back for Babies

Our children came into this world at 31 weeks or almost two months premature. As I've explained in an earlier post, they spent six weeks in the NICU before coming home, and struggled to maintain their respiration rates, heart rates, body temperatures, weight gains, etc. We were so fortunate to have world-class care at the NICU from the neonatologists and nursing staff. Since our hearts were so close to premature babies, my husband and I wanted to give back to others experiencing similar situations. I contacted the March of Dimes back in September to see if they needed volunteers to donate their time to raise money. The March of Dimes does wonderful work through education and fundraising for premature babies and their families, and education on healthy pregnancies. Soon after I contacted the Milwaukee chapter, the head of fundraising contacted me to be part of their annual Chef's Auction. In fact, they wanted our family to serve as the Ambassador Family for the event and present our story for the guests. The Chef's Auction is the March of Dimes' biggest fundraising event of the year and is geared towards corporate sponsorships and funding. It is a black tie affair held in November and head chefs from several local upscale restaurants come and do cooking demonstrations and serve delishious cuisine from their menus. 


As the Ambassador Family, we were acknowledged at the beginning of the event and our story was printed and placed on each table. Before the live auction (a silent auction also took place), I spoke about our experiences in the NICU and how our babies struggled for the first weeks of their lives and throughout their first year of life. The guests were also privy to a presentation featuring photographs of our kids from birth through the present day. One of the most exciting parts of the evening was bringing the kids to the event, along with my immediate family. The guests were able to see the children's faces which humanized the cause and urged people to donate. It was such a great feeling to be part of this event and help other families just like us. 

Carter (on his birthday)

Emma (on her birthday)

Recently, I was contacted by the Family Teams Council Chairperson for the March for Babies event hosted by the March of Dimes. This event is a fundraising run/walk similar to those held for breast cancer hosted by the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I've been asked to be part of the Family Teams Council and work with families and teams who are participating in the event. Again, I am so humbled and honored that the organization has asked me to be part of this event. The thing that I love the most about working with the March of Dimes is that I can help other families just like mine. After all, I know what it's like to look at your baby (babies in my case) in an incubator and wonder if they'll survive and be able to eventually come home.