Macy's Shop for a Cause

One day only – shop, save and give back on August 27, 2011.

March of Dimes is the exclusive national beneficiary of Macy’s Shop For A Cause! Buy a $5 savings pass for a cause and save 25% with limited exclusions at any store or online on Saturday, August 27, 2011 only, just in time for back to school!

Top Teams, Top Walkers

CONGRATULATIONS to the Top Corporate Teams, the Top Family Teams and the Top Individual Walkers for the 2011 March for Babies!


Top Corporate Teams:
10.) Deloitte $10,694
9.) Winstead PC $11,906
8.) Volusion $14,011
7.) Comerica Bank $15,167
6.) Seton Family of Hospitals $25,258
5.) BBVA Compass $36,901
4.) Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership $40,484
3.) Farmers Insurance $70,000
2.) HEB $80,369
1.) Dell, Inc. raising $140,000!!

Michael & Melissa McSpadden
Top Family Team - Team Landon & Gavin McSpadden
Top Middle School Award - Grisham
#5 Top Walker - Melissa McSpadden

Top Family Teams:
10.) Braedon’s Bunch- $2,830
9.) River’s Friends- $2,980
8.) Amanda’s Angels $3,105
7.) Team Baby Isaiah- $4,007
6.) Jackie’s Peeps- $4,107
5.) Team Bryson- $4,720
4.) Team Carter Crump- $6,210
3.) Celebrate Jett- $6,273
2.) Austin Mothers of Multiples- $10,281
1.) Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden- $11,226


Top Individual Walkers:
10. David Robinson with Macy’s - $3,999
9. Josh Claman with Dell - $4,000
8. Joyce Mullen with Dell - $4,100
7. Victor Fetter with Dell - $4,380
6. Jon Eckert with BBVA Compass - $6,100
5. Melissa McSpadden with Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden $6,370
4. Jody Gautier with Seton - $9,917
3. Anurag Jain with Dell - $10,000
2. Pete Otero with Team Miracle - $20,685
1. Kara Miller with Dell $22,700

Blue Jeans for Babies

July 14th is a city-wide Blue Jeans for Babies day!

On this day employees donate $5 to the MOD in exchange for wearing jeans to work. Help us spread the word by rallying your workplace to participate in this fun day which raises awareness and funds for the March of Dimes!

Team Showcase: Carter Crump

Team Carter Crump walks for little Carter, born June 6, 2010 at 29 weeks.

Team Showcase: Landon & Gavin McSpadden

Currently hanging onto the #1 Spot for Family Teams - Team Landon & Gavin McSpadden!

Team Landon & Gavin McSpadden and Team AMOM are neck and neck as of this posting, less than $100 separates them, who will make a final run for the fundraising finish line?!!

Team Showcase: Team Cooper

Team Cooper!

Family Showcase: Alexander & Lucas Eppele

This is the Eppele family who were walking in honor of their twins Alexander and Lucas Eppele, born at 29w0d gestation.  They both have Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy...but...they both walked across the finish line!!

Their story:

The twins were born on July 3, 2006.

On Sept 9, 2010, the twins underwent a surgery called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) in St. Louis. This is a spinal surgery where the L1 vertebra are opened, and sensory nerves are permanently severed to eliminate tightness or spasticity in the trunks/legs/feet.. This surgery has enabled the boys to be "walkers" In our case, 60% of their sensory nerves were cut.

One more huge thing to note...We also lost a baby girl, Hannah, at 33 weeks gestational. She had a congenital heart defect and past away on Sept 9, 2005. This is the same date that the boys had their Life Changing surgery. I did NOT have any say in the surgery day. We actually thought that the surgery would take place in December 2010, but got a call and our date was positioned on Sept 9...the 5 year anniversary of our daughters demise. I believe she orchestrated the whole thing!

It's been quite a ride and we've had a lot of support through the community. We are thrilled to participate in March for Babies in memory of baby Hannah and in Honor of Alexander and Lucas!


Thanks! (for reading all of this : )

Jamie Eppele

Team Showcase: AMOM

Send in your Family Team's pictures & stories to rajipar at yahoo dot com to be highlighted here in the blog!

The Austin Mothers of Multiples (AMOM) were represented by an enthusiastic army in red tshirts and double (and triple) strollers!  Congratulations for a strong showing and raising more than $10,000 for the MoD!

Some of Team AMOM, whoever could be brought together for a picture

Stroller Decorating Contest Winner! TeamBAM!

The winner of the stroller decorating contest, or should we say child-mover decorating contest, is TeamBAM!  Congratulations! To learn more about Bryce's journey visit the Bryce Alexander Moline blog.  

It's Almost Here!

We are so excited that March for Babies is here! 

Hello Family Team Captains!!!

We hope you all are busy getting your teams ready and raring to go!  

Here is our top 10 Family Teams for this week:

1.    Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden
2.   Austin Mother’s of Multiples (AMOM)
3.   Celebrate Jett
4.   Team Carter Crump
5.   Team Baby Isaiah
6.   Jackie’s Peeps
7.   River’s Friend’s
8.   Braedon’s Bunch
9.   C A Sexton
10.Mac & Annie

Way to go Family Teams!

The Start-line activities begin at 8:30 a.m.  Don’t forget to bring cash for parking ($8.00).  And, bring your water bottle for the water monster or visit our water bottle tent for a limited amount of March for Babies water bottles!

I look forward to meeting you all at the Family Teams Tent before and after the walk.  At the Family Team’s Tent, we will be doing our “Wild About Babies” stroller contest that Stroller Strides is sponsoring at 10:30 a.m.!  We will have in our “Kiddie Korner” all our kid-friendly activities that will open at 10:30 as well:  the MadScience, Chicken Dog Productions, and our Face Painter- Haley.  Stick around too for the “Outlaw Red Band”. 

A big thanks goes out to our Family Team Tent Sponsor below:

                           

for generously donating money, supplies, and their time to make this a great experience for each of our family teams!

I hope you will enjoy the Butterfly Garden (a new addition this year), we will only be accepting orders until 12pm on Friday, May 6^th!  I apologize, but we need to make sure we give our volunteer ample time to hand make the name tags.  We also are sold out on the Green Butterflies. 

Tug’s BBQ will be providing sausage wraps and chips for only $1.00 each (cash only please).  Partial proceeds will benefit the March of Dimes, so THANK YOU Tug’s!

           

Bank Day Instructions

The March for Babies is almost here!!

In preparation for that, it's time to get those cash and check donations out of your house and safely to the MoD.


“SHOW ME THE MONEY”

Austin March for Babies Bank Day Instructions
May 3 & 4 2011, 10am – 4pm
March of Dimes Office
11044 Research Blvd. Suite A-210
Phone: 512.477.3221


1. Internal Bank Day

Hold your internal Bank Day 2-3 days prior to the MOD Bank Day, to allow you plenty of time
to get everything ready to turn in.

2. Tallying of Walker Money

- You must have a sponsor form/online fundraising form for every walker on your team
- Every walker must have a minimum of $10
- Verify the walker’s name and team name are on the sponsor form/online fundraising form
- We recommend that each walker put their money in an envelope and attach the sponsor form to the envelope and be sure their name is on the envelope
- Please verify the money for each walker and mark the total on the form in RED INK
- Please be sure all checks are made out to the March of Dimes
- Please use sign-in spreadsheet to designate walker money as your list of walkers if you do not have walker forms, etc… (this spreadsheet was attached to Bank Day email)

3. Wrap/ Promotions Money
- Please keep all Wrap/Promotions Money separate from walker money
- Be sure your Team Name is on the wrap/promotions envelopes
- Provide the breakdown by amount of money raised per event on the Team Captain Control Envelope

4. Matching Gifts Enclosed (if any):
- Only count Matching Gift Money that is included in your Team envelope that day
- Please add walker name to enclosed matching gift forms to ensure proper credit Matching Gift Money Still to Come: Fill in this amount, only if you know it .

5. Corporate Sponsorship (if any):
- Only include Corporate Sponsorship Money, if the check is enclosed in Bank Day envelope

6. General Information
- Please convert all coins to cashier’s check, company check or money order if possible.
PLEASE DO NOT CONVERT COINS TO A PERSONAL CHECK
- Rubber-band all walker envelopes together and place in Team Captain Control Sheet Envelope. You may use more than one envelope if necessary. Follow the same process for each envelope.

- BE SURE YOUR TEAM NAME IS ON EVERYTHING YOU TURN IN ON BANK DAY!

- Incentives – Please complete the Incentive Sheet and bring it to Bank Day. Include all walkers who raised a minimum of $200, along with the correct T-shirt size needed.

Total Amount of Money Enclosed: This should only include what is actually turned in on Bank Day in your TC Envelope

We understand your time is valuable, therefore, we will not verify the money while you wait, unless you request it! If there are any discrepancies, we will contact you.

If you are not able to get to Bank Day, please call the MOD Office and we can schedule a different time that would work best. You can also turn money in on Walk Day. Please follow all bank day instructions above.

FOR SAFETY PURPOSES NO MONEY WILL BE COUNTED AT THE WALK SITE.

Twin Nightmare: Pregnancy and Disease

By Tomie Lunsford Parks
TTTS mom

Last fall, my husband Rusty and I learned that we were pregnant. We were a wealth of emotions - thrilled, scared, nervous, surprised, excited. Then we learned that for awhile, I was the mother of identical twins.

We learned that preterm labor is the most common risk of twin pregnancies, occurring more than 50% of the time. The other twin pregnancy risk is Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), but its occurrence is more rare, happening only in 10 percent of identical twin pregnancies.

Soon, tests revealed that my twins were two of the unlucky few who had to endure TTTS. We learned that the twins, whom we had named Hunter and Tanner, were both in danger. One received too much fluid, putting him at risk for congestive heart failure, and the other, Hunter, wasn't getting enough circulating fluids.

We chose to undergo in-utero surgery to sever the circulatory connection between the babies. It successfully stopped the TTTS, however, my body had been too stressed and I was soon in preterm labor. When my water broke at 21 weeks, the challenging pregnancy was over. Born too soon on Jan. 8, Tanner Russell Parks lived a mere 30 minutes, and Hunter Harold Parks died before birth

When I woke, I found a blue box left by a March of Dimes NICU support specialist. Inside were my babies’ receiving blankets, their hospital name bracelets and some photos. March of Dimes had also given me a silver heart-shaped necklace and provided me with some information on grief counseling.
That necklace is now my badge of honor, as to me the heart represents the battle I fought with TTTS.

Rusty and I have chosen not to live in fear, and still hope for children. We walk in March for Babies in honor of Tanner and Hunter.

Visit www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1563720 to help my team, Family Dinner, reach its goal of $2000 to support March of Dimes, the group that comforts moms without babies.

Butterfly Garden

This year we are hosting a new area at the Austin March for Babies.

The Butterfly Garden will be an area where butterflies are displayed with the names of babies. There will be four different colors representing healthy babies, premature babies, babies with birth defects and in memory of babies.




The butterflies will be sold for a donation of $25/each and can be purchased at www.marchforbabies.org/austinbutterflygarden.

This is a 100% donation to the March of Dimes and is a way to recognize the babies and children in your life.

2011 Stroller Contest Theme

The stroller contest theme this year is: “Wild about Babies” !

Think jungle!  The contest will be held at the Family Team tent, the time TBD, keep checking back here.

The winner will get a fabulous prize, so start thinking, designing and imagining your decorated stroller!

Stroller Contest Winner 2010

Family Teams Totals

Twenty-three days until Walk Day and Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden are holding on to the #1 spot with the others hot on their heels, jostling for the highest honors.

Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden
$ 3,704

Austin Mothers of Multiples(AMOM)
$ 2,980

Team Carter Crump
$ 2,605

Mac & Annie
$ 1,825

Team Brookie
$ 1,430

C A Sexton
$ 1,105

Jackie's Peeps
$ 1,045

Team Maya Maria
$ 952

Adrian's Gift
$ 685

Peanut's Gang!
$ 665

Tyler Lee's Troop
$ 450

Willy J's Angels
$ 425

Team Cooper
$ 410

Braedon's Bunch
$ 330

I.S.A. Pugh
$ 330

Team Bryson
$ 275

Spreading the Word at the Y

Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden spread the word about the March for Babies at the Twin Lakes YMCA in Cedar Park with this eye catching poster:

That's called thinking out of the box - finding new and innovative venues for your message.

An article in the Leader Ledger about the McSpadden team.

Shop for a Cause

Every Sunday at Kaleidoscope Toys is "Shop for a Cause" day, where 10% of total Sunday sales is donated to the Cause of the Month.

You guessed it, April's "Shop for a Cause" is the March for Babies!!

Kaleidoscope Toys 

1601 S. IH35,

Round Rock, TX 78664

(512) 388-5048

Brought to you by The Rochelles, who walk for their 29 weeker miracle baby, Seth.

Dining Out for a Good Cause

Make your way to Fuddruckers and support Team Carter Crump and the March of Dimes.

Carter Crump was born at 29 week gestation and spent 2 long months in the NICU. His parents want to show their appreciation and join in the fight to prevent premature birth by walking in honor of Carter at the annual March for Babies. The money raised by the team will go directly to the March of Dimes and will fund research that will improve the health of babies. They are so thankful for the research done by the March of Dimes that helped save their son's life and so many others that were born too soon.

They hope you will join them and bring lots of friends and family!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 4-8PM
Fuddruckers Lakeline
11023 Pecan Park Blvd
Cedar Park, TX 78613

Please tell the cashier that you are with Team Carter Crump and a portion of the sales will go to the March of Dimes in honor of Team Carter Crump.

The March is Going Green!!

This year the Austin March for Babies is GOING GREEN!!

Please plan to bring your reusable water bottles to fill up from the HUGE WaterMonsters  that will be both at the park and on the route!


Help us save water bottles and cups!




Thank you, WaterMonster, for a great first year!

Bassin4Babies/SpringFest - April 3

Calling all Team Families - come out this Sunday for a day of family fun!

Bassin4Babies will be held Sunday, April, 3, 2011, at Jones Brothers Park in Jonestown, TX. Bass fishing tournament will begin at 7am.

SpringFest, including a trackless train, moonwalk, face painting, balloon art, and Home Depot's Kids Workshop from 12PM to 3PM.


There will be a raffle during this event with grand prizes such as two weekend vacations at area lakes, a large propane grill, a kayak, and much much more.

For more information go to www.bassin4babies.com.

Kiddie Korner 2011

The March of Dimes Family Teams Volunteer Committee has been busy arranging fun stations for the Kiddie Korner.

Many thanks to the following businesses for their time and support in making walk day fun for the children.



Already lined up we have Hayley Kohler doing face painting, a demonstration from Mad Science (audience participation welcome), and a performance by Darren Petterson of "Circus Chicken Dog" (this will be a dog-less performance) We may also have a local musician who to get the children singing and dancing.

Good times will be had by all!

Top Family Team, March 29

As of today, the top Austin Family Team is Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden, headed by Team Captains Michael & Melissa McSpadden, at $3,576!!


Every day thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick.  Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden is walking in March for Babies 2011 because they want to do something about this.

“Twenty fingers, twenty toes, two sweet babies with cheeks of rose. 

Born on the same day, two gifts from above, 
lives entwined, two babies to love.”

On August 3, 2008 Melissa delivered their identical twin boys, Landon and Gavin at 22 weeks, 5 days gestation due to an unknown incompetent cervix. Their babies passed away during childbirth and left a huge void in their lives. Landon weighed 1 pound 4 ounces and Gavin weighed 1 pound 2 ounces. They were so perfect. Although their twins never took a breath, they took their hearts. They were real, they were beautiful and they were their babies. It is extremely important to them that their existence is always acknowledged, that the memory of them never fades.

This family team was created to memorialize Landon and Gavin and provide financial support to the March of Dimes to improve the health of all babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

“Gone yet not forgotten, although we are apart, 

your spirits live within us, forever in our hearts.”

Melissa's fundraising tips:

• Postcards
• Emails
• Facebook
• Bulletin Board at the YMCA and put postcard in 400 YMCA Trailsetter Race packets
• Through my school/students
• Custom silicone wristbands (like the Livestrong bands) that have my team name on them and I sell them at my school with all profits going to my team. 
• www.reminderband.com   (wristbands)
• www.spotfrog.com  (postcards)
• Corporate sponsors (put their name on the back of my shirts)
• Placed coin boxes and postcards at local children's clothing stores and activity centers

Seton Wonders Family Team

By Christel Snelson, of the Seton Wonders Family Team.

Our March of Dimes family team is a bit unique. We're family, just not the kind you usually think of.

Our family was born in the spring of 2006. Each of us gave birth to a baby (or 2) too early that spring.

We found each other in the rocking chairs next to the isolettes and warming beds in our NICU wards; in the hospital elevators; queued up for a turn in the pumping room; sprawled on the waiting room couches during shift changes and in the next seat at the March of Dimes support group meetings.

We found each other and held each others hands through terrifying moments where loss seemed imminent. We celebrated each others joys, the thrill of a gained ounce or reduced oxygen. We spoke medical jargon like trained professionals and parceled each day's schedule according to the NICU's closures.

We celebrated each baby that was finally released to go home, but inwardly, we felt envious and despaired that we'd never be that lucky. After the NICU, many months for some of our family, we battled the isolation of parenting medically fragile children with carefully planned, germaphobic playgroups and nights out for the mothers.

In 2006, during the March for Babies, we were all struggling to survive on the top floor of Seton hospital.

Now, each spring, we memorialize and celebrate our children by walking in the March for Babies.

Our family team is solidified by experiences we wish on no one. Ever.
Our team is built on loss and gain.

We walk for Angels, there are 3.

We walk to raise awareness and celebrate life.

We walk for our victorious and courageous children.

Why I Walk

Why I Walk, by Leigh Ann Torres, TwinSpin.

I march because 3 pounds is heart wrenchingly small.

I march because after waiting so long, no one should have their baby whisked away from them after only a 5 second hello.

I march because it's heartbreaking to be told that you can't hold your own baby.

I march so that fewer parents have to become familiar with the terms

apnea, bradycardia, gavage, and PICC line.

Those should be reserved for doctors only! 

 I march because I know too many women who have delivered at 

35, 33, 32, 31, 28, even 24 weeks. 

 I march because some of these women have had to say goodbye to their babies and give them to God. 

 I march so that more women can become educated on how to have a healthy pregnancy.

I march so that all premature infants can get the utmost care 

and their families can rely on the support and information provided by the March of Dimes. 

I march for:

 R & C, 31 week preemies, 38 day NICU survivors, and all around miracles. 

 Leigh Ann's fundraising tips: I definitely put the call out to friends and family in my email address book. And last year was the first year I used Facebook to fundraise as well. I was $5 short of my goal, so I posted the link and that I was so close, and within minutes an old friend from high school donated the $5 to meet my goal! I was in awe! In a nutshell:

• email everyone you know. You never know who will throw you a donation.
• post the link to your personal fundraising page on Facebook. Same as above, you never know who will be inspired to donate
• In 2009 I baked large "Texas sized" cupcakes, decorated them with light purple frosting, and visited my neighbors, along with the girls. Each cupcake was technically only $1, but everyone gave me $5 each, and that really helped me meet that year's goal.
• post it often! Not like 5 times a day, but if you are utilizing Facebook, post it maybe once or twice a week. Send out a second or maybe even a third email notifying friends and family of your progress and reminding them how important the cause is to you
• Blog about it! Put the badge on your blog and make it super easy for someone to just click and donate.

March for Babies Tshirts

Your team can order Family Team t-shirts through the March of Dimes' vendor: EA Graphics which has all you need for March for Babies tshirts, logos, etc.

Fundraising Tip of the Week

Send friendly reminder out to your friends and families on Monday. It takes an average of 3 emails before someone will donate. Send the email out on Monday because the later in the week you send it, the less likely people are to respond.

Seton NICU Reunion 2011

Since 1975, the staff of the Marialice Shivers Regional Neonatal Center at Seton Medical Center Austin has had a special bond with the graduates of their program. Each year they look forward to seeing how the babies have grown and changed.

This year they are celebrating their 36th year and would like to invite the graduates and their families for an afternoon of fun and to see their former nurses and doctors. There will be trains, moonwalks, refreshements, t-shirts, balloon sculpting, and much more!!

36th Annual Neonatal Reunion Picnic
Saturday, April 16, 2011 from 1:00-4:00pm
Bailey Square Park (2 blocks South of Seton Medical Center)

For more information, contact 512-324-1086

Welcome, and How May We Help You?!

Since re-starting this blog a few days ago we've noticed a lot of visitors - from all over the country!! Coming to us from so many ways - through google searches, direct links, etc.

We're curious -- and we need your help to answer this question -- what brought you here to this blog? were you looking for particular information? checking team stats? looking for fundraising ideas? what?

Do you have any suggestions for content?

If we can read your minds (or your comments) we can better tailor this blog to the needs of our readers.

So please take a moment and leave a comment here as to how you came to this blog and why and if you found what you were looking for.

Thanks for helping us make this a better blog for our Austin Family Teams!

And remember, if you have a Family Team story to share, especially fundraising ideas that you are using, we'd really love for you to share it with us. This is your blog, and we need your stories.

Thanks!

2011 Ambassador Family

This year’s March of Dimes Austin Ambassador Family are the Warrens: Greg, Shea and little Morgan.

The Warrens have seen the work of the March of Dimes first hand as they dealt with the emotional rollercoaster of living in the NICU for 69 days!

The Warren family was shocked when baby Morgan was born at 26 weeks and weighed only 2 pounds.  Little Morgan had early blood oxygenation issues caused by respiratory weakness and serious digestion problems. For the first 4 weeks after she came home from the NICU her mom and dad carried a heart monitor with them 24 hours a day.  It took several months for her digestion issue to be resolved by specialists.  She experienced extreme and noticeable discomfort and all her parents could do was hold her and try their best to comfort her.

During their ordeal, Shea and Greg endlessly researched organizations that could support them in the NICU and provide information about preemies.  They discovered the March of Dimes and have been active volunteers for 4 years. Morgan just celebrated her 5th birthday on December 1st.  She is indeed a happy, healthy, 'girly-girl'.  The little Warren Champion loves dancing, swimming and most importantly, singing.

As the 2011 Austin Ambassador Family, Morgan and her parents will help raise awareness of premature birth and encourage families, companies and individuals to be a champion for our tiniest Texans - by walking in the March for Babies.

Top 20 Family Teams

With 7 weeks to go, these are our Top 20 Family Teams, already hitting the pavement and the keyboard to raise money:

Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden	$       2,100
Austin Mothers of Multiples(AMOM)	$       1,565
Team Brookie	$       1,245
C A Sexton	$       1,065
Team Maya Maria	$           772
Team Carter Crump	$           770
Adrian's Gift	$           470
Jackie's Peeps	$           465
Tyler Lee's Troop	$           425
Willy J's Angels	$           405
Team Cooper	$           350
Austin Tengra	$           250
Bradycakes	$           200
teamBAM!	$           200
CarolsMfBWalk	$           190
Ehlana's Butterflies	$           175
Go Abby Go	$           125
Hugs for Hudson	$           125
Aid for Babes	$           100

Bassin for Babies, 2011

Team Bryson is no stranger to the March for Babies.  Probably one of the most creative family teams in Austin, last year they raised over $3000 for the March of Dimes.

This year they are once again hosting Bassin for Babies, a fishing tournament with proceeds going to the March of Dimes.

Read about them in the Hill Country News, and if you or your friends like fishing, you really should go Bassin for Babies! You'll have a great day with the family, you may win some prize money, and you'll definitely be helping babies everywhere.

April 3 at Jones Brothers Park
Children's Events from Noon-3:00pm
Register at www.bassin4babies.com
For more info contact Lindsey Richarte at 512-260-9711 or email lsrenee23@yahoo.com

Family Teams Committee

The 2011 March of Dimes' Austin Chapter's Family Teams Committee has met a few times already and we're gearing up for the exciting weeks leading up to the May 7 March for Babies.

We've got a team moms and dads working really hard to take care of the little details that make this walk so special. You know what I mean, the things that keep you coming back year after year to walk with tens of thousands of people in the name of premature babies.

Keep visiting us for updates on what's going on here in Austin. If your team has a story to share, leave your email address in the comments below. I'll contact you (and then delete the comment) and we'll get your story up here for all to see.