I wanted to talk a little bit about other ways that you can help babies and families by volunteering with the March of Dimes.

In 1996, while attending college, I had the opportunity to work with a local organization charged to help women of childbearing age learn about prenatal care and gain access to health care. I was young and completely self-absorbed, but even then I knew that there are far too many women in the United States- the world- without the means or information to provide their babies with the best start possible.

As an adult, I never imagined that I would experience pregnancy loss after 12 weeks. I never imagined that losing a baby to pre-term labor would be something that I would endure. But when my family faced our greatest pain, we did so with the support of the March of Dimes- as Heather’s family is doing now.

In March of 2003,  I recommitted myself to working with the March of Dimes. Apart from fundraising and participating in  March for Babies, I decided that I would volunteer as well because donating a few bucks and one day was not enough. I  volunteered in my state to make sure that March of Dimes has all the support it needs to do what they do best: help fight the causes of premature birth. I talked to women at clinics about the importance of prenatal care; I made calls to raise money and I even created flyers, banners, and other marketing materials to draw attention to the plight of premature babies.

With that in mind, please note that April 19-25 is National Volunteer Week and I urge you all, to take a few hours a month and volunteer for your local March of Dimes chapter. There is so much that you can do and while donating money is nice (after all research cost money) volunteering is priceless.

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