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!

The early bird gets...

$25!

Farmers Insurance is donating $25 to March for Babies for everyone who registers on-line for March for Babies before December 31st!

You can check out the details here. All you have to do is register on-line, tell all of your friends and family and team members to register on-line, tell everyone you know to register on-line.... and March of Dimes gets gets a $25 donation from Farmers for everyone who registers on-line!!

Get the word out, better hurry though - it ends December 31st!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Cold, flu, and RSV season.

If your family is like mine, winter is a hard time of year for your baby... not only is it too cold to play outside or go for walks in the neighborhood but the germs are raging! The March of Dimes website provies a lot of good information about conception, healthy pregnancy and routine newborn care as well as caring for a sick infant. Having a sick child is stressful enough... but when your child has an illness on top of an underlying medical problem like chronic lung disease it can be very scary and sometimes special precautions are needed.

From the March of Dimes website, you can help protect your baby from RSV by:
*Keeping him away from people who are sneezing or coughing
*Making sure everyone who touches the baby has clean hands *Keeping your baby away from crowds of people
*Not allowing anyone to smoke near your baby

The RSV Protection website also provides lots of good information.

I hope you are all staying healthy and manaing to keep warm!