Let’s Light the White House Purple

Help us light the White House purple on January 3, 2013, to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the March of Dimes by President Franklin Roosevelt and act as a symbol of hope to families whose babies were born prematurely. 

 

We need 25,000 signatures on an online petition by November 16, 2012.  Please sign the petition today at http://1.usa.gov/QrT8WY and ask your friends and family to do the same.



Photo by David Niblack

 

Together, we’ll light the White House purple for preemies!

 

2012 Festival of Trees

Festival of Trees 2012 Calendar

At the Twilley Centre

 Civic Ave. Salisbury, MD

General Admission

Sunday, November 18- 12-6pm

Monday, November 19- 10am-7pm

Tuesday, November 20-10am-7pm

November 21 & 23-Closed for Thanksgiving

Saturday, November 24- 10am-7pm*

Sunday, November 25- 12-6pm

Monday, November 26- 10am-7pm

Tuesday, November 27-10am-7pm

Wednesday, November 28-10am-7pm

Thursday, November 29-10am-2pm**

Adults $5/Children $3

 

Event Highlights

 

*Children’s Holiday Party

& Crafters Fair

Saturday, November 24^th-10am-1pm

A holiday party for children featuring a visit from Santa, make it & take it crafts, holiday hair and nails for the lil’ divas, cupcake decorating, face painting & MORE!

$5 per person

 

**Mistle”toe” Fun for the Ladies!

Ladies Night Out...at the Festival of Trees

Thursday, November 29^th-5:30-8:30pm
A fabulous fun-filled night devoted to pampering, holiday ideas & shopping...
Fashion Show, Cupcake Challenge, Food,
Music, Shopping & More!
$25 in advance/$35 at the door

 

For more information Contact, the March of Dimes Office, Wendy Jarrett  at 410-546-2241 or wjarrett@marchofdimes.com

Wreath Fundraiser

This year team “Braedee's Ladies” is selling fresh cut Christmas Wreaths to raise money for the March of Dimes. The wreaths will be delivered to you at the beginning of December for you to enjoy just about all winter as they last a long time. The wreaths come ready to hang, already decorated with holly berries, pine cones and topped with a beautiful red bow.

Please look over the form and get back to me with your order.  If you would like to help the March of Dimes, I ask that you please send this to all of your friends and family and help to bring in more orders. All profits will go straight to the March of Dimes to help premature babies and their families.

I know with your help we can and will make a difference! Please let me know what you would like to order and if you would like your own sellers brochure to take to your work. Thank you so much friends!

All orders and money need to be into me by November 12th so I can place the order in time for them to be delivered the last week of November. Please make all checks payable to me, Katie Haile. I can also accept payments via paypal to my email address at katiehaile21@hotmail.com. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 

Contact Name and Email:
Katie Haile – Team Captain, Braedee’s Ladies
katiehaile21@hotmail.com

(301) 861-6305

Glory Days Grill Dine for Babies March of Dimes Fundraiser.

Visit any participating Glory Days Grill from Saturday, November 10 – Saturday, November 17 and help raise money to save babies. Simply enjoy a great meal at any participating Glory Days Grill then mail you receipt within 60 days to Courtney Hendon, March of Dimes, Central Maryland Division 175 W. Ostend St., Ste. C-2, Baltimore, MD 21230. Glory Days Grill will give us 10% of the total receipts the March of Dimes collect.

Participating Glory Days Grills:

Virginia:

Broadlands
Burke
Centreville
Fairfax
Gainesville
Lorton
Manassas
Reston / Herndon
Sterling
Stone Ridge / South Riding
Woodbridge / Dale City

Maryland:

Bowie
Eldersburg
Frederick
Glen Burnie
Towson

Please Contact Courtney Hendon at chendon@marchofdimes.com.

Signature Chefs Auction of D.C.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Washington D.C.

(1150 22^nd Street NW, Washington, D.C.)

5:30 PM – Celebrity Reception Meet & Greet (Invite Only)

6:00 PM – Registration

6:30 PM – Doors Open

The March of Dimes annual Signature Chefs Auction is one of Washington, D.C.’s premier social events highlighting the city’s culinary masters brought together for an elegant evening of wine, cocktails and dining. We hope you will join approximately 500 affluent society members and business professionals as they support our mission while enjoying over 30 of the area’s celebrated chefs, mixologists and vintners.  What could be sweeter? The evening will also include auctions with unique dining, entertainment, travel and leisure packages.

 

Who will be there this year?

Signature Honorary Chef * Justin Bittner of Bar Pilar

Signature Cocktail Chair  * Jo-Jo Valenzula of Occidental

Fund the Mission Co-Chairs & Ambassador Family * Stephen & Tiffany Bowen, Washington Redskins DE & Wife

 

Where to Find More Information

Space is limited, so to reserve your ticket or table today, please visit our website below:

https://www.marchofdimes.com/marylandmetrodc/events/events_Chefs-DC.html

 

Exclusive sponsorship opportunities are also still available. 

For more information, please contact Nicole Vagnerini Dolan at NDolan@marchofdimes.com.

 

Follow our event on Facebook here!

Dine for Babies at Looney’s Pub-Bel Air

Dine for Babies at Looney’s Pub-Bel Air, Canton, Maple Lawn and College Park locations on October 24th

Join us on Wednesday, October 24th at all Looney’s Pub locations. 10% of the entire day’s sales (bar tabs included) will go to the March of Dimes. No flyer is necessary; just let your server know you are there to support the March of Dimes!!

For more information contact Heather Lynch at hlynch@marchofdimes.com

Redskins’ Stephen Bowen and Wife, Tiffany, Named 2013 Ambassador in Northern VA

When we found out that we were expecting baby number two we were elated and excited.  At our first ultrasound appointment we were told that we were expecting not one baby but two babies!  The joy we felt that day was indescribable.  I considered myself a healthy person and after a successful pregnancy just 18 months prior with our daughter we didn’t worry one bit.  Our joy quickly turned into chaos when I unexpectedly went into labor at 24 weeks.  On the morning of June 28, 2012, I got out of bed to find a puddle of blood at my feet.  Of course I panicked.  How could this be?  I received top-notch prenatal care.  When I arrived at the hospital I was informed that I was fully dilated. With my first pregnancy I was in labor for over 15 hours before I was fully dilated.  I hadn’t even felt any real pain.  After the most frightening hour of my life and an emergency C-section Baby Stephen and Baby Skyler were welcomed into the world!  The whole experience is still a blur to me.  Both babies were rushed to the NICU and put on ventilators, as their little lungs were not developed.  They were also treated with surfactant, which is a drug that allowed their underdeveloped lungs to expand on their own; a treatment that I later found out was funded by the March of Dimes.  Sklyer was 1 lb 7 ounces and Stephen was 1 lb 6 ounces.  The doctors prepared us for what would be a crazy roller-coaster and we immediately knew that it would be a tough and scary road for these boys.  We spent the next two weeks at the hospital, changing their diapers, and giving them their breast milk through an IV.  The boys were so fragile but we still prayed that they would develop into healthy little boys.  We knew that 24 weeks was the brink of viability for a baby but we also knew that many 24 weekers had a tough road ahead. 

 

 

On the evening of July 7 we were told that Baby Skyler caught an intestinal infection and that antibiotics would be used to fight it.  Our other son Stephen already had heart surgery just days before so we never expected Skyler to have a problem.  Up into this point he was actually the less dramatic baby.  By midnight the doctor called us to come back to the hospital -- the antibiotics were not working and Baby Skyler was crashing fast.  As soon as I ran though the NICU doors I saw the doctor’s face and I fell to the ground.  I will never forget how I just collapsed.  I looked to my husband -- the 310 pound football player -- and he looked at me and said “I’m so sorry Tiff.”  Even though Skyler was our baby he knew I had carried, talked to, prayed for, and mothered him since the moment I found out about his existence.  We held sweet Skyler until his little heart stopped and he was at peace with the Lord.  To leave that hospital that morning knowing I was leaving my son’s body inside -- there was no worse feeling.  I actually wanted to bring him home, put him in the bed with me, and cuddle with my baby like I had been picturing in my head for the past six months.  Instead I went home and sat in darkness for days.  Every time I tried to get out of bed it was like a magnet sucked me back in and I just couldn’t make it out.  Not to use the bathroom, not to shower, not even to see my family.  I made it clear that I wanted no noise -- no TV on in the house and no radio on in the car.  My world had stopped and I felt that the rest of the world needed to be stuck with me.  This was not fair. 

 

The only thing that kept me going was knowing that I had to visit my other baby, Stephen.  He needed me. He needed my love and my breast milk.  The only daylight I saw for the next few weeks was the car ride over to see baby Stephen.  Besides that I climbed right back in my dark room under the covers.  I slept so much and just knew that when I opened my eyes again this would all be a nightmare. It couldn’t be real. 

 

The next few weeks showed me that people just don’t know how to handle the loss of a child.  I got every comment in the book, and my most frequent one was, “At least you had two” Really? One child doesn’t replace another.  People don’t realize that every time I hear the word twin, I cringe.  To know that I had twins but one of them is missing is the worst feeling.

 

You never know how strong you are until you are forced to be. My next few months forced me to keep moving. I had children to care for.  When my husband signed a contract with Washington Redskins and had to leave us it was all on me.  Taking care of our 2-year-old, pumping breast milk for baby Stephen, and spending my time with him at the NICU, I didn’t have too much time to drown in my sorrows. I was just too busy. 

 

As parents of both a healthy NICU baby and another NICU baby that did not make it through, we know what the highest highs and the lowest lows feel like.  Our experience shows the world that prematurity and infant mortality happens to all -- poor, rich, white, black, healthy, and sick.   No one is immune to this.  That is why what the March of Dimes is doing is so important; I never thought that this would happen to me. I had a healthy first pregnancy, and in my second I received the best prenatal care and did everything right. And while I was put on bedrest, it was because I was pregnant with twins. There were no signs that anything was wrong. March of Dimes is working to understand why this happens to people like me. In 50% of all cases, the cause of premature birth is unknown. So March of Dimes is putting a lot of resources into understanding the causes of prematurity. They’ve come a long way, but there is still a lot of work to do.  

 

 

Ladies Night Out 2012 Western Maryland

Friday, November 09, 2012
Time: 6:00 PM
Cumberland Country Club
10200 Country Club Road
Cumberland, MD 21502

Enjoy an evening of pampering, shopping and socializing just for the ladies. Ladies’ Night Out will feature area vendors and services along with entertainment, hors d'oeuvres, a silent auction, giveaways and much more from 6:00 - 9:00 pm!

To purchase a ticket visit Ladies Night Out.
For information on sponsorship opportunities and/or how to participate as a vendor, please contact Jessica Wagoner at the Western MD Division March of Dimes at (301) 722-3867 or jwagoner@marchofdimes.com.

October is National SIDS Awareness Month

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also known as SIDS, is the name for sudden and unexplained death of an infant younger than a one year old. Despite the decreases in SIDS, it has plateaued in recent years.  At the same time, other causes of sudden unexpected infant death that occur during sleep (sleep-related deaths), including suffocation, asphyxia, and entrapment, and ill-defined or unspecified causes of death have increased in incidence, particularly since 2005.

It is estimated that each year over 7,000 babies die from SIDS in the United States.  It strikes families of all races, ethnic and socioeconomic origins. Determining the cause of SIDS baffles scientist all over the world.

Ways to lower the risk for SIDS for your baby:

- Place babies on their back to sleep – This is the safest position for a baby to sleep in, placing them on their stomachs or sides nearly doubles the risk of SIDS

- Room sharing WITHOUT bed sharing.  Never sleep with your baby in the same bed, even if it’s just a day nap

- Avoid smoking cigarettes during and after your pregnancy to protect your baby from second-hand smoke

- Nothing should be in the crib with your baby. Keep soft objects, toys, blankets and loose bedding out of your baby’s sleeping area.  These items could potentially cover your baby’s face and cause suffocation

- Place your baby on a firm surface, such as a safety-approved crib mattress cover with a fitted sheet

- Breastfeeding your baby

- Using a pacifier at sleep time

- Keep immunizations up to date to avoid illness

- Avoid letting your baby get overheated during sleep.   Dress your baby in light sleep clothing and keep the room at a temperature that is comfortable for an adult

For more information about Safe to Sleep visit:

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/upload/Safe_Sleep_2009_Eng.pdf

http://www.aap.org

http://www.sidsma.org