Elvis Presley would March for Babies!

Did you know that the March of Dimes has been around for 72 years and has been holding walk fundraisers for 40?? I love seeing the historic photos of the March of Dimes back in the day...it makes me feel like I'm playing a part in something HUGE! Something FDR, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Johnny Cash would be proud of. Allow me to share a little historical timeline, and you can feel that same sense of pride in what you're participating in.

1938 - President Roosevelt forms the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes) to organize scientific, volunteer, and fundraising resources in the fight against polio.
1938 - Comedian/actor Eddie Cantor started a radio fundraising campaign asking the public to mail dimes to President Roosevelt at the White House. The White House mailroom was flooded with 2,680,000 dimes! (Hence the name...March of Dimes.)

1949 - Dr. Jonas Salk was selected to lead vaccination development efforts.
1949 - Frank Sinatra joins the cause.

1950 - The "Mothers March" neighborhood coin collection drive begins with Grace Kelly as its spokesperson.

1955 - Salk vaccine is determined safe and effective; mass inoculations begin.


1956 - Elvis Presley is inoculated in the "Teens Against Polio" publicity campaign.
1958 - Marilyn Monroe hosts a March of Dimes fashion show fundraiser.

1959 - Louis Armstrong plays jazz for the March of Dimes.

1960 - March of Dimes begins to shift its focus to the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality.

Here are some other celebrities who lent a hand to the March of Dimes:

Lucy & Desi & their kids

Johnny Carson

The Man In Black - Johnny Cash

And some more recent March of Dimes developments:
1961 - March of Dimes researcher develops PKU test for newborns.
1970 - The first Walk fundraisers (now March for Babies) are held in Columbus, OH and San Antonio, TX.
1973 - March of Dimes researchers make the first direct connection between alcohol consumption and birth defects.
1976 - March of Dimes rallied to regionalize and increase the number of NICUs in the U.S.
1985 - March of Dimes-funded researchers develop surfactant to treat the lungs of premature babies and allow them to breathe.
1986 - March of Dimes researchers developed new techniques to perform surgeries on birth defects in the womb.
1994 - March of Dimes launches a folic acid awareness campaign to advise all women of childbearing age to take 400 micrograms of folic acid a day to prevent birth defects.
1997 - March of Dimes volunteers help to pass S-Chip legislation (state children's health insurance program).
2003 - March of Dimes launches Prematurity Awareness Campaign to address growing threat to infant health.
2007 - March of Dimes launches NICU Family Support Program in all 50 states.

(All images courtesy of the March of Dimes.)

Fundraising Tips: Break It Down

Today's tip is all about breaking down your donations to make your fundraising goal more manageable. Reaching a goal of $200 (or whatever you've set yours at) is a lot less intimidating when you consider it broken up into smaller pieces. For example, think about this model for reaching $200:

Collect 100 dimes (=$10)
Ask two friends for $25 (=$50)
Ask two family members for $20 (=$40)
Ask a grandparent for $25 (=$25)
Ask five co-workers for $10 (=$50)
Ask two neighbors for $10 (=$20)
Make your own $5 donation (=$5)

Voila! $200! Easy as pie!

If you choose not to use that exact template, the point is to make a plan for yourself to break your goal into smaller chunks that you think you can manage. This is also a good thing to share with the people you ask to donate so they can see the benefit of even small donations and feel like they're still a part of your larger goal. For example, here are some ways to phrase your goal breakdown:
-I'm working to raise $200 for March for Babies, so if just 10 people donated $20, I'd reach my goal today!
-I have 400 Facebook friends. If just half of you could donate $1 to sponsor me in March for Babies, I'd reach my $200 goal!
-I've sent this email to 25 of my closest friends and family, so I'm asking each of you to consider donating only $8 to help me reach my goal of $200 together!


I'll leave you with some motivating March for Babies model babies. Feel free to pinch their little virtual cheeks through the screen.





(All images courtesy of the March of Dimes)

Fundraising Tips: Using Your Social Network

March for Babies is in 11 days! I know this last week and a half will be when a lot of us are motivated to get donations, so I thought I would post a series of tips for the best, most efficient efforts you can make to raise your dollars.

The first of this series is truly the best tip I can offer: use the networks you already have in place to spread the word and ask people to sponsor your walk. To get the most bang for your buck, start with the Internet. It's super easy to send a bulk email to your contacts or send a message to all your friends on Facebook and ask a whole lot of potential donors at once. Then, you can take it up a notch with your "real life" friends and colleagues, asking for donations in person, by phone, or with an old-fashioned letter (this works especially well with contacts you don't see very often and have a more formal relationship with, like your doctor).

Some tips for each type of electronic communication:

Facebook
March for Babies has a Facebook application that's easy to add to your Facebook page. Login to marchforbabies.org and click "Cast a Wider Fundraising Net - Get a Custom Widget" on the lower left side of your personal dashboard.

You'll see an option for Facebook Application. Click "Get It Now" and follow the simple instructions.

Once it's set up, you'll have a cute little badge on your Facebook page that looks like this:

Anyone who visits your Facebook profile can click on that badge to go directly to your fundraising page and donate. It's a great tool to spread the word, especially if you use wall posts to enhance it. Post to let your Facebook friends know you're walking and include the link where they can donate, post about why you're walking, post to update your friends on your progress, and post to thank each one of your donors personally.

(Update: I just saw another fun use of the Facebook application: the "Baby Steps" virtual board game. Check it out here for instructions.)



Blog
You can see samples of how to use the blog widgets all over this page. The progress bar badges like the one at the right are easy to get (using the "Cast a Wider Fundraising Net - Get a Custom Widget" button) and another way to show all your readers you're walking and give them a chance to click through to your page to make a donation. Post a blog with your own personal reasons for walking, some information on why you're raising money and what the donations will support, and some photos of the babies you're walking for. Include the link to your personal fundraising page and share your goal.

Twitter
Similar to Facebook, but without the cute application. With Twitter, you've only got 140 words, so use them wisely. Use hashtags like #marchforbabies, #pregnancy, #babies, #womenshealth, etc. Send direct messages to people you think might be willing to donate and ask them to retweet to help you spread the word. Twitter is its own world, so if you use it and are familiar with it, you know what will work best. You'll probably have the most luck with this one if you have followers who regularly read your tweets and feel a personal connection to you or to the March of Dimes.

Emails
If you can only do one thing between now and March for Babies to raise donations, focus your efforts here. Go through your address book and find the email addresses of anyone who might be willing to sponsor your walk. Friends, coworkers, former colleagues, teachers, classmates, family members. Send an email to the whole group to let them know you're participating in March for Babies, what you've set for your fundraising goal, and be specific about how their donation can help you on your way. Tailor it to the group you're asking - if they don't have a lot of money, suggest how small donations spread throughout the group will add up; if they're wealthier, suggest that they donate as much as they're able and remind them their donation is tax deductible; make it personal! You can find a template for emails under the "Send E-Mails" tab, but it's really best if you can personalize it. Remember to connect it all back to your reasons for collecting donations and the benefits to your donors from the March of Dimes research they're funding.

Good luck everyone, and thank you!!

Why We Walk: Wendy

My favorite thing about March for Babies is getting to hear people's personal reasons for walking. It's too easy to get distracted and overwhelmed by the fundraising aspects if you don't take the time to define for yourself why you're walking and why the March of Dimes research and programs are important to you. Everyone has a reason, and it can be the difference in driving you towards your goal and making it fun! I'm happy to share the first of our "Why We Walk" stories, by Team Bambini walker Wendy.

"Nathan and Dallin were born eight weeks early. The boys were affected by Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) during the pregnancy. Dallin weighed 4 pounds 3 ounces and Nathan was just a tiny little thing at 2 pounds 11 ounces."

Nathan

Dallin

"Their time in the intensive care nursery (also known as the neonatal intensive care unit or NICU) was stressful and worrisome but they were very well taken care of. We appreciated all of the experienced doctors and nurses. Nathan was born with two holes in his heart which made it difficult for him to grow. He was transferred to a different hospital than where he and Dallin were born to be cared for until his open-heart surgery. Dallin stayed in the NICU at the hospital where they were born. It was difficult emotionally as well as logistically to have the boys at different hospitals. Every day we would drive to see both of the boys and spend time with them separately. Dallin learned to eat and was thriving so was able to come home after seven weeks. Nathan had surgery when he was two months old. The surgery was successful. He spent a few more weeks at the hospital learning to eat and recovering. He was finally able to come home and be reunited with his brother after 11 long weeks in the NICU."

The most amazing thing about Nathan and Dallin's story is to compare the photos of them when they were born to where they are today!

The first photo of Nathan in the NICU (next to the teddy bear) is a perfect visual connection to an item the March of Dimes uses a lot to raise awareness: the preemie diaper. Some of you Team Bambini walkers either have or may have seen the "Size Does Matter" preemie diapers we use to illustrate the gravity of premature birth. After seeing one for the first time almost everyone says, "Are those real? Does that really fit a baby?" Now, hold that diaper in your hand, and imagine baby Nathan wearing it. As you can see, it was actually too big for him! And look at both of them now - happy, healthy, and smiling!

Be sure to say hello to Wendy, Dallin, and Nathan at the walk and give these guys a high five!

If anyone else would like to share a "Why We Walk" story, please email it to me and I'll post it to the blog right away. Just a paragraph or two with photos will help us get to know each other, remind us of the varied benefits of walking, and motivate the entire team. Huge thanks to Wendy for sharing!

March of Dimes in Utah: NICU Family Support Program

One of the first things people want to know when they're considering raising or donating money for March for Babies is what will be done with the money locally to help babies and families. That's why I'm proud to be contributing to the Utah chapter and supporting its amazing programs. The first one I'm highlighting is the NICU Family Support Program.


I'm lucky to be able to work with someone as dedicated to her job and to the families and babies in the NICU as the Utah Chapter's NICU Family Support Specialist, Rachel. Rachel personally lived through the NICU experience, and hearing her share the story of her premature twins is incredible. Now, she works tirelessly as an advocate for preemies and for families to help them through their stay in the NICU. She is at the hospital with these families everyday, at the babies' bedsides, getting to know every single one of them and helping them with whatever they need, from the mundane (snacks and magazines, anyone?) to the more significant ins and outs of intensive care for newborns, like life-threatening medical crises and bereavement. Rachel is the heart and soul of the March of Dimes; every dollar we raise is a dollar closer to ensure her program continues getting funded and these teeny tiny babies continue to benefit from research for their little hearts, brains, and lungs.


Read more info on this program at the NICU Family Support website! You can also check out the March of Dimes Share Your Story online community and NICU Families website.

I know of at least five babies in our extended family team that stayed in the NICU, two of which (the twins!) I'm going to talk about in the next post. What's interesting about our little group of NICU babies is not all of them were born prematurely - some needed the specialized care because of infections or life-threatening complications. Team Bambini is walking for all those babies, in memory of babies that have passed away, for babies born with special needs or birth defects, and in celebration of the babies born healthy! Thanks for joining us!

(All images courtesy of the March of Dimes)

BABIES

I just had to share this here. I've watched this trailer probably a dozen times already and am pretty sure nothing could be cuter. BABIES!




I think a Team Bambini movie outing is in order. Who's with me? This combined with a NICU tour could be the greatest reminder of why we walk. Sign up and raise $200 and I'll buy you a movie ticket, or come to the movie with us and I'll buy you a popcorn. Deal?

beanies & bears for babies

My shipment of fundraising stuffed animals arrived in the nick of time for Easter! Not all of them are Easter themed, of course, but I wanted to get these pictures up on the blog in case any of you were looking for a gift for your kids, grandkids, or nieces and nephews this holiday weekend.

Cost is $5 per item, except the BYU/Utah bears which are $7. Proceeds benefit the March of Dimes! Most are the size of a standard beanie baby and are pretty adorable if I do say so myself.


Easter/spring mix.

Bendable flowers.

My personal favorites - bears dressed in animal PJs.

A close second - kittens with balls of yarn.

Bulldogs (for dads and grads?).

Miscellaneous puppies and bears.

Jungle animals.

For the BYU and Utah fans (the smaller ones are keychains).

March for Babies bears.

If something catches your eye email me asap with your picks and I'll arrange for you to get them. I'll be in the Layton area tomorrow and can pack these guys along, in Bountiful Saturday, or they'll be in Salt Lake the rest of the time.