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, alerting me 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!