Hey everyone,
I would like to tell you about the March of Dimes.

http://www.marchofdimes.com/home.asp

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
I walk for my neice specifically who was born prematurely and had problems with her heart. Although she is doing fine now, there was a time there when we didnt think she would make it. She needed intensive care every step of the way, even when she was sent home she needed to be on a portable heart monitor and iv. Without the support of the March of Dimes my family just wouldnt have had the money for all of the medical costs involved. I do the walk, when they have it, which is once a year and try to get sponsors to donate to this heroic cause. My freinds, if you could see it in your heart to make a donation you would be doing babies a great service. If you would like to donate, please go to my March of Dimes homepage:

http://www.marchforbabies.org/Atreyu

This is an official website for March of Dimes, you can check it out. I will not receive any of your personal information as far as checking account info or credit card info if you choose to help. To make it easy for some they even have a Paypal option. If you do make a donation, I will make sure and let everyone know that my iSketch forum friends pitched in to help out!

My personal goal is $1000.
I work for a large corporation and have been doing many bake sales from things that I love to do at home, selling items to people at my workplace and have already helped raise over $200. You dont see that amount on my homepage though as I havent yet turned in the money. We have untill the walk date to raise money, which for our particular state is on April 26th. If you would like to walk as well please go to the March of Dimes main page to sign up:

http://www.marchforbabies.org/

If you have any questions at all I will do my best to answer them.
Thank you for your support!

Hey Atreyu, thanks for the information. I love the sound of this walk and I'm so glad you participate even if it is because you've been directly affected. Sometimes that's what motivates us to help out a bit more :)

I'm really pleased to hear that this charity supported your family when it came to covering the medical costs. I'm kinda cautious when it comes to charities who provide aid on other countries cos sometimes I feel like the needy don't get the money so this puts me off giving to some charities :sad:
At least I know that if I sponsor you the money will go to this charity which really does help babies :)

How long is the walk? I really hope you reach your $1000 target and good luck! :) x

Edit: I think I should add that if anyone does sponsor Atreyu, if you leave a message on her walker page, the message comes up with your full name. Just thought I'd mention that in case people are a cautious of eepy-cray online stalkers, etc.

Just wanted to say goodluck with your walk, Atreyu. Really sorry that I couldn't donate a lot more than that, as my dosh has been going to a few other places recently. BUT.. every little helps.. so I hope this'll help reach your target, and the babies that really need it :)

Good luck! :D

Hey Atreyu, thanks for the information. I love the sound of this walk and I'm so glad you participate even if it is because you've been directly affected. Sometimes that's what motivates us to help out a bit more :)

I'm really pleased to hear that this charity supported your family when it came to covering the medical costs. I'm kinda cautious when it comes to charities who provide aid on other countries cos sometimes I feel like the needy don't get the money so this puts me off giving to some charities :sad:
At least I know that if I sponsor you the money will go to this charity which really does help babies :)

How long is the walk? I really hope you reach your $1000 target and good luck! :) x

Edit: I think I should add that if anyone does sponsor Atreyu, if you leave a message on her walker page, the message comes up with your full name. Just thought I'd mention that in case people are a cautious of eepy-cray online stalkers, etc.

Just wanted to say goodluck with your walk, Atreyu. Really sorry that I couldn't donate a lot more than that, as my dosh has been going to a few other places recently. BUT.. every little helps.. so I hope this'll help reach your target, and the babies that really need it :)

Good luck! :D

/me wipes some tears
/me gives BIG huggles to AJ and Nerdy

When I read your posts I was stricken with a huge lump stuck in my throat and I put on a thank you on your posts and ran off to get me something to wipe my eyes so I could write this reply. Thank you so much! Please, never apologize for the size of a donation, EVERYTHING helps! I am sorry that it puts your name on there and doesnt give an option to stay anonymous or leave a nickname. I have written an email to them regarding that and hope I can have your full name removed. I will fill you in as I receive any info. Although, my family has been directly affected, I wish to remain anonymous as well. I will be present for the walk but they will not know that I am "Atreyu", so I will not receive any recognition for my efforts and also will not receive any incentives that are offered. I like it better that way!
The walk is approximately 5.5 miles or 8.849 kilometers. I am so greatful that there are people like you that are willing to help. You would be surprised at some of the sneers you sometimes receive when asking for donations. But the ones that do give are the ones that count. If you give it out of your own heart, then it was worth it!
Note: I added a link in the original post to the March of Dimes website which I failed to provide the first time. It gives way more information as to who they are and what they do. If you are a pregnant mother than I encourage you even more to visit their site as they may be able to provide you with some good information even if your baby is not in danger of being born prematurely.
They also have some cute items in their store, which, when you make a purchase, also adds to their funding.
The other links provided are solely for sponsoring me to walk or signing up to walk yourself. If you dont want to sponsor me, you can also sign up and attempt a goal even if you cant walk at a specific location. You can take a walk around the neighborhood or go to the park and walk there. :biggrin: Maybe you can even let someone know why you are walking too.

/me coos at the beautiful babies

Sorry to double post but I wanted to update everyone:embarrassed::

Well, the walk has passed, and my team raised $1,126.:!: I was nominated team captain and took that role very seriously as I was determined to reach our team goal of $1000. I made so many different baked goods(my kitchen was a disaster area) and set up and hosted raffles and cookouts and designed all the posters for our functions. I was so happy when we finally sat down and counted all the money. My teammates and I also worked tirelessly going around selling the baked goods, tickets for the raffles, and serving meals. The food that was served and the merchandise that was raffled was also donated by me and a couple of the team members. I would like to think that my neice would be proud of me when she gets old enough to realize that I did this for her and all the other babies like her out there.
The money my team made as well as other teams(in my company) money went into a huge pot. The total of that pot to date is $63,634.:eek::biggrin: The company also matched a large portion of the money we raised.
The walk was so much fun and it looked like a sea of people, all with the same tee shirt on that had the March for Babies logo. We also got fed pizza and Chick-Fil-A as a thank you. Woo hoo!

A special thank you to the forum members, that posted and didnt post(wink), that donated. You are caring people! :HUGS:

This was my 3rd year doing this and will continue to do this every year.

hey i didn't see this post until today, otherwise i'd have said something sooner. I've walked for the March of Dimes before, and it's something that i feel very strongly about. I lost 1 nephew and twin nieces because they were born premature, and one nephew from SIDS. The nephew I have now was born premature but he made it, Thank heaven. He's just turned 7 and couldn't be healthier. It's most definitely a worthy cause and I'm glad you're supporting it. I just want to offer my support Atreyu, even if it is late.

Thank you CustardShark, your support is ALWAYS welcome and its NEVER late!
Im so very sorry for your loss of your neices and nephues. My heart goes out to you and your family.

/me huggles CustardShark