2 days till March for Babies!

Where did the time go? March for Babies is in 2 days! Here are some last minute reminders to ensure a great March for Babies:

•  March for Babies is this Saturday, May 5th, at 9am at Auditorium Shores.
• Keep fundraising because the team to raise the most in this last week will win a gift card to Dave and Busters!
• You cannot park at Auditorium Shores. Please see the email below for parking options.
• If you have registered online and do not have money to turn in on Saturday, you do not need to stop by the registration table.

Schedule of Events:

7:30am-9:00am Event Day Registration
8:45am Warm up at the Start Line
9:00am March for Babies 2012 Starts
10:00am-12:00pm Company picnics and
Children’s Corner Open

We will have Food Trucks at the walk so bring your cash! Also, come ready to dance...thanks to Will Taylor and his band, Strings Attached.

Parking Do's and Dont's: DO NOT try and enter through Riverside. It will be SHUT DOWN. DO NOT park at Hooter's, Auditorium Shores lot, Homestead Hotel or in the neighbhorhoods. DO take advantage of these parking options:

• Palmer Events Center Garage @ 900 Barton Springs Road. $7/car
• One Texas Center Garage @ 505 Barton Springs Road. $7/car
• Austin Convention Center @ 500 E. Cesar Chavez. $8/car

Auditorium Shores is located at 800 W Riverside Drive

Important: The walk starts at 9 am and because of safety concerns NO ONE will be allowed to leave the start/finish chute after 9:20 am. Thanks for helping us keep everyone safe!

If you are making DELIVERIES (food, drinks, games, etc.) You MUST do so on SATURDAY before7:30am.
This is extremely important because the officers will close the intersections and you will not be able to enterthe delivery parking lot.

Please email us if you have ANY questions gthomsen@marchofdimes.com or cbradshaw@marchofdimes.com and we will see you at the walk!

One Week till March for Babies!

Can you believe March for Babies is only a week away?

Here are our Top 25 Walkers this week!

Melissa McSpadden Sarah Cozart Jessica Cotsonas Meredith Crump Allen Crump Kelly Wadsworth Erin Unbehagen Terri Crump David Kister Cecilia Eklund Greg Maxwell Rick Eklund Joana Trimble Gandara Cynthia Jackson Karen Boes Doug and Katie Thomas Ashley Tondu Linda Tondu Suzette Neyra- Jones Julie and Boys Andolino Lauren Abbott Courtnee Bownds Lisa Gmur Christina Franco Christy Smith

And here are the Top Teams this week!

TEAM CARTER CRUMP Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden Celebrate Jett ZoCo MOMS Club SW/Oaks Team Bearett Team Baby Isaiah Camille's Crew Baby Harper C A Sexton

Don't forget, the opportunity to win a trip for 4 to Disney World ends on Monday! Any Texas Chapter family team member who individually raises $1000 or more online by April 30th will be entered to win a family vacation for 4 to Walk Disney World. We can do this Austin Family Teams!

Next week we are our Bank Days here at the Austin office. Bring in your money and pick up your incentive tshirts if you've individually raised over $100 on May 2nd and 3rd from 10am to 6pm.

Remember to check back at the beginning of next week for walk logistics!

Seton NICU Reunion, Best Practices and More!

First things first, congratuations Angels for Gabriel! You have won 4 passes to the Austin Zoo for selling butterflies! You all are doing a great job of selling butterflies, and if you haven't sold one yet, don't let your child go unrepresented at the walk!

 

As we've said before, the Butterfly Garden is a beautiful part of the walk that honors ALL babies... those born healthy, prematurely, with a birth defect, and those who have passed away. All purchased butterflies are displayed along the walk route with the name of the child they represent and afterwards, donors can take the butterfly home.

For more information on the Butterfly Garden, check out:

www.marchforbabies.org/team/austinbutterflygarden

 

Don't forget! Coming up this weekend is the Seton NICU Reunion! It's this Saturday, April 21st, from 1-4 p.m. at Bailey Square Park. Take the family for an afternoon of fun and stop by the March of Dimes table where they will have temporary tattoos, games and prizes for the kids!

 

Also, tent order forms are due by Wednesday, April 25th at the latest! Remember to turn in a form even if you are planning on bringing your own tent. We want to make sure we have a space assigned to you at the walk. Reserve a tent or space by emailing sbhat@marchofdimes.com.

 

And here is a reminder about the State Incentive for a trip to Disney World! Any Texas Chapter family team member who individually raises $1000 or more online by April 30th will be entered to win a family vacation for 4 to Walk Disney World! $1000 sounds like a lot to raise individually, but it is really attainable. Last year, a very small number of people in Texas reached this goal, so your chances of winning are really high! We can do this Family Teams!

 

To help you reach your goals, here are some March for Babies fundraising best practices:

1) Email, email, email! Personalize your team page with your story. Then send it out to everyone you know telling them that every penny counts. Send follow up emails to keep friends and family updated on your progress.

2) Get your community involved! March for Babies is not an individual effort. Share your story with as many people in your community as possible. Then ask them to walk with you or even partner with local businesses!

3) Make a video to tell your story! There are several easy video and slide show making tools out there and it's a great way to share your story.

5) Post on your social media networks like Facebook! You don't have to post 5 times a day, but once or twice a week will remind friends how important the cause is to you

4) Blog about your journey! Put the badge on your blog and make it super easy for someone to.just click and donate.

5) Do a bake sale! One of our team captains caked  "Texas sized" cupcakes, decorated them with light purple frosting, and visited her neighbors. Each cupcake was technically only $1, but everyone gave $5 each, which helped her meet that year's goal.

What are your best practices when it comes to reaching your March for Babies goal?

 

Get ready, Family Teams - there are only 23 days left until March for Babies!

Here's some new for the upcoming week:

Next Saturday, April 21st, is the Seton NICU Reunion from 1-4pm at Bailey Square. Check back for more information on details of the event.

Also, our butterfly incentive has been extended! Every family team that has sold 4 butterflies by next Thursday (4/19) will be entered into a drawing to win a gift certificate to the Austin Zoo for 2 Adults and 2 Children. Butterflies can be purchased in dedication to a child for a minimum donation of $25.00/butterfly and, this year, a butterfly garden donation can count towards your personal page! Start selling butterflies for the garden because they're really a great way to reach your goal and give back to your donors. Here is the link for the Butterfly Garden:
www.marchforbabies.org/team/austinbutterflygarden
There are directions on the page about colors and what information to submit.

Another incentive we have is from the state! Any Texas Chapter family team member who individually raises $1000 or more online by April 30th (11:59pm) will be entered to win a family vacation for 4 to Walt Disney World! More information about the trip will be sent out in the Family Teams email next week.

Have a good week, Family Teams and keep up the great work!

March for Babies: One Month Away!!

There are only 32 days left until March for Babies!!


If you need some tips on fundraising, check out this March of Dimes video on the Online Fundraising Tool:

Also, congratulations to our current Top Ten Family Teams:

1. Celebrate Jett

2. MOMS Club SW/Oaks

3. ZoCo

4. Camille's Crew

5. TEAM CARTER CRUMP

6. Team Bearett

7. JaxonsTeam

8. Jason's League

9. Team Baby Isaiah

10. Team Landon and Gavin McSpadden


You are doing great work guys. I cant wait to see who will be the top teams come walk day!


A few announcements:
Our incentive this week is: every family team that has sold 4 butterflies by next Thursday (4/12) will be entered into a drawing to win a gift certificate to the Austin Zoo for 2 Adults and 2 Children. Butterflies can be purchased in dedication to a child for a minimum donation of $25.00/butterfly and, this year, a butterfly garden donation can count towards your personal page! Selling butterflies is a great way to reach your goal and give back to your donors. Here is the link for the Butterfly Garden:

www.marchforbabies.org/team/austinbutterflygarden

There are directions on the page about colors and what information to submit.

Coming soon we have a very exciting and magical vacation incentive from the state. Be on the lookout for more details on that and check back here next week to learn who is the winner of the Austin Zoo incentive!

Congratulations Angel Austin Team!

You are the winner of this week's Family Teams incentive! Great job raising over $250 for March for Babies 2012; your $50 Wal-Mart gift card is waiting for you here at the office. It was tough competition this week. Family Teams are doing an amazing job, so there is no doubt that we can reach our goal of $150,000!

Keep up the great work and check in next week for more tips on fundraising, news on upcoming incentives, and information about walk day!

March Madness!

March for Babies is 44 days away and Family Teams are doing great this year!

Here are some fun ways to fundraise to help your team reach it's goal:
Butterfly Garden: Sell a butterfly in dedication to a child for $25/butterfly.Butterflies will be displayed at the walk and donors can take them home! Learn more here: www.marchforbabies.org/team/austinbutterflygarden
Blue Jeans for Babies - Co-workers pay a designated amount to wear jeans to work. March of Dimes can provide stickers for this event!
Coin Boxes - Ask local companies or stores to display a picture of your team or your story next to a March of Dimes coin bank.
Profit Dinners - Ask a restaurant to help you host a profit share night. You ask your friends and family to attend and get part of the profits for every person that says they are with March of Dimes.
Matching Gifts - See if your company or a local business will match your funds!
and as always, get the word out through email!

Also, this week's fundraising incentive is a $50 Wal-Mart gift card! All teams who have raised $250 or more by next Thursday will be entered into a drawing for the $50 Wal-Mart gift card.

If you need any supplies for your fundraising, please email sbhat@marchofdimes.com.

Keep up the good work!

This weeks winner!

Congratulations to love the small babies for winning the $45 Macy's gift card for having paid walkers on their team! We had a lot of teams in the running this week so keep up the good work, Family Teams!

We have a lot of exciting incentives coming up this March for Babies season, so get ready and keep fundraising! The next incentive will be announced in the next Family Teams email.

Getting pumped in March for March for Babies!

It's March now which means it's time to really start preparing for March for Babies 2012!

Team Captain packets are ready and in the mail! Be sure to check in a few days to make sure you've received yours. The Team Captain Guide gives you information about March of Dimes and walk day, and includes tips for fundraising.

For additonal tips on fundraising, check out this video:

If you have any questions about fundraising or need materials, contact the office. We're here to help you guys reach your goals!

Exciting news: Last year's top corporate team, HEB, has a tear pad campaign and it is in full effect! Stop by your local HEB to contribute or to thank them for supporting the March of Dimes.

If you didn't see it in the email, for this week our family teams incentive is every team with 10 registered walkers who have money tied to their names by the end of today (3/8) will be entered into a drawing for a $45 Macy's gift card. Winners will be announced here tomorrow!

Can you believe March for Babies 2012 is only 58 days away? Just incase you didn't catch it, this year the walk is not on Mothers Day weekend, but the weekend before, on May 5th!

Get pumped for March for Babies 2012!

This week's winner is...

Celebrate Jett! Congratulations! Your team has won the $50 WalMart giftcard in the Family Teams incentive drawing for having 10 registered walkers. Our next incentive will be sent out next week, so keep registering your teams.

Just a reminder - our Family Fun Days are coming up:

Saturday, February 25th

10am at Waterloo Ice House (6203 N. Capital of Texas Highway, Austin, 78731)

Saturday, March 3rd

10am at Big Bounce (1754 Bagdad Road, Cedar Park, 78613)

 

Hope to see you all there!