Did you see "Who wants to be a millionaire" last night?

Sherri Shepherd, March of Dimes celebrity volunteer and co-host of "The View," won $50,000 for the March of Dimes, her favorite charity, on Tuesday night's special 10th anniversary edition of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," hosted by Regis Philbin (after accessing her "Ask the Audience" life-line on a question about the movie, Notting Hill). The smash hit show returned to ABC-TV for a two-week prime time engagement. As a special feature, each episode will conclude with a celebrity player taking the hot seat, hoping to correctly answer a single question worth $50,000 for his or her favorite charity. The March of Dimes thanks Sherri for donating her winnings to our cause and for her ongoing support of our mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Time article

Very interesting article from Time on premature birth.

Attention fellow bloggers

Do you have a blog? A Caringbridge site? A family website?

I would love to add a list of local familis to the sidebar of this blog. If you have a blog or a website - will you please leave a comment with the address if you would like to add it?

Thanks so much!

Kara

Attention fellow bloggers

Do you have a blog? A Caringbridge site? A family website?

I would love to add a list of local familis to the sidebar of this blog. If you have a blog or a website - will you please leave a comment with the address if you would like to add it?

Thanks so much!

Kara

Attention fellow bloggers

Do you have a blog? A Caringbridge site? A family website?

I would love to add a list of local familis to the sidebar of this blog. If you have a blog or a website - will you please leave a comment with the address if you would like to add it?

Thanks so much!

Kara

Twitter...

Got this from the March for Babies blog.

Hugh Jackman, who tweets as @RealHughJackman, has offered to give $100,000 to the charity of choice of the tweeter he feels makes the strongest, most heart-felt case. In 140 words or less that is.

Thousands of people have already sent their tweets - among them many March of Dimes supporters. Thanks, everyone! Hugh’s announcing the winner on April 24, so get your tweet in now! Tell Hugh and everyone else why this cause means so much to you!
Looking good and doing good… Hugh Jackman certainly is the total package! Wondering what to Tweet? Here are some examples:@RealHughJackman Every waking moment I have with my babies I’m thankful for March of Dimes research. We need your support to save more babies.@RealHughJackman My kids walk, run, laugh and play thanks to March of Dimes efforts! We need your to help give every baby a healthy start.

Check out this family team!

A well-known mommy blogger and one of our March of Dimes Moms, Heather Spohr, lost her 17 month old baby, Madeline Alice (Maddie) April 7th. In lieu of flowers she has asked that donations be made to the March of Dimes and her March for Babies team. The blogging and Twitter communities have rallied around her and her husband Mike to such an extent; that not only are they donating but starting their own Maddie walk teams across the country. To date there are 45 new teams.

There is a new blog for March for Maddie and we have blog posts on the Marchforbabies blog and the Newsmomsneed blog. Heather’s blog is http://www.remembermaddie.com/

Check out this family team!

A well-known mommy blogger and one of our March of Dimes Moms, Heather Spohr, lost her 17 month old baby, Madeline Alice (Maddie) April 7th. In lieu of flowers she has asked that donations be made to the March of Dimes and her March for Babies team. The blogging and Twitter communities have rallied around her and her husband Mike to such an extent; that not only are they donating but starting their own Maddie walk teams across the country. To date there are 45 new teams.

There is a new blog for March for Maddie and we have blog posts on the Marchforbabies blog and the Newsmomsneed blog. Heather’s blog is http://www.remembermaddie.com/

Lobby Day in Topeka March 12, 2009

First, we had a great luncheon with several of our Kansas legislators! It was great to get to talk to some of these officials one-on-one!Then, we all headed over to the Kansas State Capitol Building to deliver information to the rest of our senators and representatives who weren't able to make the luncheon. If you've never been lobbying before - it is an AWESOME experience. I would encourage you if you ever have a chance in the future to take part in a local or national lobby day.

Okay - so probably took too many pictures of the actual capitol building - but it is so gorgeous!!
Before we left, we got to visit the actual senate session.Here we are waiting for it to start.After they called the senate to order, they recognized the March of Dimes in attendance!
Very fun day! More than that, it feels so good to know that we had small small part in the process of getting the March of Dimes' mission brought to light with our state representatives.

Free tax preparation!

Liberty Tax is one of the March of Dimes' dedicted national sponsors. They are committed to working with the March of Dimes to ensure that ALL babies are one day born healthy.

On March 27th, Liberty Tax will host it’s much advertised, Tax Free Preparation Day. Customers who make an in-office donation of $50 or more to March of Dimes will have their taxes prepared free of charge at participating locations!!

Fifty dollars is a deal to get your taxes prepared anyway - and it's going to a good cause!!

WOW!

Oh my goodness, big kudos to ABC and Extreme Makeover Home Edition - last night's episode ROCKED!! Like I said last week, I almost always love this show... but this one, for obvious reasons, was especially a "must see" for me!

The family is absolutely amazing, attention was brought to the issues of prematurity and infant loss and I can't believe how much they mentioned the March of Dimes!!

I hope you all saw it - would love to hear your reactions!

Happy Monday,
Kara

Extreme Home Makeover THIS Sunday!

I love this show to begin with, but I will be sure to catch it this week! On Sunday, March 1st the Emmy Award winning ABC-TV program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, will build a new home for March of Dimes volunteers, the Augustin Family of Keller, Texas. The family was selected because Amber and Peter Augustin’s son, Lane, was born extremely premature in 2004. They are dedicated to volunteering for the March of Dimes and helping other families with premature babies. Hundreds of March of Dimes volunteers and staff helped demolish and rebuild the Augustins’ home. Fort Worth expects to have 1500 people watching the broadcast together and this will act as a kickoff/sign-up event for March for Babies.

I'd love to hear what you think about it after the show... I'm anxious to see it!

CHIP

You may have alread heard but the CHIP, Children's Health Insurance Program, was signed into law by the president last week. This is a HUGE win for March of Dimes supporters and anyone who believes in babies being born healthy!

Here is what Dr. Howse, President of the March of Dimes, had to say about this awesome accomplishment....

I am pleased to announce that the reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was signed into law on Wednesday. This critical legislation includes key provisions the March of Dimes has championed since 2007:

*Maintains coverage for those children currently enrolled and give states the resources to cover an additional 4.1 million uninsured children which means 11 million children will have access to coverage.
*Gives states a new option to cover pregnant women who meet the program’s income guidelines.
*Contains a robust pediatric quality initiative to fund the development and dissemination of pediatric quality measures for use by the states. This will help ensure that children receive not only health coverage, but high quality care.

Congratulations and thank you to everyone who has played a role in this accomplishment.

T-shirts

I have already been getting several requests for information on t-shirts. Here's the low-down...

EA Graphics is the official t-shirt supplier for March for Babies. This year, in addition to the regular Family Team Merchandise, they have also added templates where the t-shirts can be even more personalized.

Some teams choose to make their own t-shirts by making iron-ons or by ordering them either locally or on-line through various printing suppliers. Yes you are able to use the March for Babies logo on your shirts! This logo can be downloaded by clicking the "Spread the Word" button under the "Keys to Fundraising Success" heading on your personal March for Babies page.

Free coffee!

Starbucks is giving away free coffee - and what's better than free stuff??

All you have to do is pledge to volunteer five hours in your community (we always need March for Babies volunteers!!), go to a participating Starbucks and they will give you a free tall coffee. Better hurry - this ends January 25th!

National Ambassador on the news

The March of Dimes 2009 National Ambassador family, Ashley, Michael and Katelyn Hall will appear on the Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends on Thursday, January 22, at 8:55 am EST. Please tune in to see the Hall family tell their inspiring story to March of Dimes volunteer and Fox & Friends host Gretchen Carlson.

March for Babies video

In case you haven't seen it yet!

Folic Acid Awareness Week

I logged on to Facebook this morning and saw a status update from my friend, March of Dimes, that it is folic acid awareness week! (Did you know you could be "friends with" or "fan of" March of Dimes on Facebook?) This B vitamin helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord when taken before the end of early pregnancy. Take a moment this week to let someone know how important this vitamin is for all women of childbearing age as it only works if taken before and during the first few weeks of pregnancy.

Don't forget if you're contemplating pregnancy or know someone who is, there are some great resources on the March of Dimes website regarding pregnancy!

I Wanna Rock

Did you know that Dee Snider is the "Honorary Chairman" for March of Dimes Bikers for Babies?

Check out the article on the March of Dimes site or the video from when he and Dr. Howse rang the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange!