| I am assembling a team of walkers to accompany me for the Walk America walk on Saturday April 28th for TEAM NICU and WSU STUDENTS I will be sending you information through email prior to the event and will also be posting information on this website or on www.mandyanddennis.com/WalkAmerica2.html The walk is a six mile route with many different fun checkpoints with food and other items. There is also a big party at the end. You are welcome to bring your pets (on leashes of course) and/or your children. You can leisurely walk to route or if you're feeling more energetic, you can run it. Typically the walk begins around 8am and you will be finished by noon. So it's only a half day committment and a great opportunity to get together with friends and/or family! Try to get as many people involved as you can, bring your spouse, your best friend, your kids, your co-workers, neighbors, etc. Each walker will gather pledges and donations in order to support their team, the March of Dimes and hundreds of sick babies who need their help. There will be individual prizes based on the amount of money you can gather to help suport the cause. Please contact me via email or phone if you would like to participate in this fundraiser. If you can't make the walking event and would still like to contribute a donation, please contact me and I will be sure the March of Dimes receives your generous donation. Email me at MandyBre@msn.com or phone me at 252-5332 If you would like more information on the March of Dimes and their largest fundraiser please visit www.walkamerica.com |
| So, what can you do to help? |
 |
|
 |
Please join me in the March of Dimes Walk America 2007 to help raise money and awareness to premature births and birth defects. Premature birth IS the leading cause of newborn death and a major cause of lifelong diability. Today, 1 in 8 babies is born prematurely. In nearly half the cases, we don't know why. If you can help me walk and raise funds for the March of Dimes, you're helping raise money and support research and programs to find answers. Until we have them, anyone's baby can be next. In 2003, the March of Dimes launched it's national campaign to fight prematurity, which affected more than 470,000 babies in 2001. It is serious and growing problem, up to 27% since 1981. Throughout the campaign, the March of Dimes goal is to reduce the rate of premature birth by 15% to 2007. Check out some of the accomplishments that the March of Dimes as made over the past six decades: 1953 - Double helix structure of DNA identified 1955 - Salk polio vaccine declared effective 1960 - The Salk Institute for Biological Studies established 1961 - PKU newborn screening developed 1976 - Neonatal Intensive Care Units established 1985 - Suractant therapy developed ****** 1991 - Genes for Maran and Fragile X syndromes mapped 1999 - Gene therapy for hemophilia and retinities pimentosa developed in lab 2000 - Ongoing research based on discovery of gene that affects development of the healthy heart 2003 - March of Dimes launches 5 year campaign As a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St Mary's Hospital, I have seen first hand and have heard many stories of the great improvements that have been made over the years in technology and treatment of premature infants and many due to the March of Dimes. Many more children are living because of the research done to help improve and save the lives of those babies that came too early. I've witnessed first hand the miracle of the survival of these small children and what a blessing it is for the parents to take them home. As the mother of two children, I am thankful everyday that I have children that are healthy. Like many mothers, we take the fact that our child is healthy for granted and don't even realize all that could go wrong with a pregnancy. So the awareness, prevention and research to stop prematurity and birth defects is crucial. The March of Dimes is a wonderful organization that has the baby as it's first priority. This is why I've decided to lead a team and raise as much money as we can by participating in the March of Dimes Walk America 2007. Please join Team NICU in it's fourth Walk America event. We had a great time in the past and raised thousands of dollars for the cause The NICU is a place that takes care of these children, we need to REPRESENT! |
| Enjoy some pictures of previous years, click here. We also had some teams assembled by the parents/families of NICU graduates. This is a great opportunity to show them that not only do we care for preemies, but we strive to make advances in prevention of premature births! |
 |
|
 |
 |