Rally - take two!

A few weeks ago we had our first rally of the season to gear up for the march. If you couldn't make that family team rally or if you'd like to make a second showing (and grab some free dinner) then you should plan to attend rally no. 2!

The family teams rally is an event to meet other participants in the march, watch the new March for Babies video, receive supplies to help your fundraising and most importantly get motivated for our march!

The Salt Lake family team committee will be there to answer any questions you may have and

help you feel prepared for the march - which is NEXT month!

Supplies will be available to get started on your poster for Ambassador Avenue -
this is really a must have and will be presented along the march route
for others to see your reasons for participating.


So...what a better way to spend a Thursday night than to come and meet

other family teams, enjoy FREE dinner and ready yourself for the walk!

Details:

Thursday April 8 - 6:00-8:00 pm

(open house style - stay for the full event or pop in for a minute!)

This Is The Place Heritage Park

2601 East Sunnyside Ave

Salt Lake City, UT

Pizza will be served

Poster boards available for Ambassador Avenue

Fundraising Supplies

See you there!

Walking Shoes Ready?!

We're just over 6 weeks away from the Salt Lake March for Babies event! Are you ready? Are your shoes ready?! If not, you need to pick up a pair that supports the March for Babies event! Famous Footwear is a national sponsor of the March of Dimes and specifically the March for Babies event. Every year they debut the "official" shoe of the march and this year it is a Dr. Scholl's Inferno 2! You can pick this shoe up at most Famous Footwear locations or online. For every pair sold Famous Footwear will donate $5 to the March of Dimes. So if it's time for new sneakers - these should be great to sport at the walk! Click HERE to learn more.

Rally!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

There are only 59 days until the Salt Lake March for Babies! Everyday we are seeing more people register, new facebook fans and banners on blogs! This is a great way to spread the word of the march and if you haven't already please click HERE to be directed to the March for Babies website and use the tools on your fb page, blog and email signature. Near the bottom of this page is a new tool - Team Badges! These are badges you can put on your blog or make it your profile picture/avatar on facebook. Please let the members on your teams know about these tools to spread the word.

This Saturday we are having our first family team rally! The rally is a great event to get excited and prepared for the march. You will have an opportunity to watch the new March for Babies video, get supplies (posters, change buckets, registration forms, etc.), get your poster board for Ambassador Avenue and meet other members of family teams! This is a family friendly event and we will have some things to keep little ones entertained. The rally is open house style so stay for the full two hours and work on your poster (bring pictures if you'd like) or stop in for 5 minutes to grab some supplies.

Even if you haven't yet registered for the march please come to the rally and get some more information and then run home and register!

See you Saturday!

The rally is located at The Gathering Place at Gardner Village

1100 West 7800 South

West Jordan, UT

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Team Spotlight: Mills Miracle Munchkins

What is your team name?
Mills Miracle Munchkins

How many years have you participated in march for babies?
2010 will be our 4th year

Approximately how many team members have you had?
Usually around 10-15 people

What was your reason for first participating?
We felt that participating in the March for Babies was something we could do to possibly help others avoid a situation like ours. It was the only thing we could find to do in a situation where we felt so helpless.

What is your best memory of a march?
We think it's neat when we get to tell our story... Our first March was at Wheeler Farm. Along the walk, there were a lot of stops along the way and we were interviewed by Synagis. Our next year, we had stopped to look at our poster on Ambassador Avenue and a newspaper reporter was curious about our preemies. Our little boy's picture ended up in the Deseret News. Kind of fun to share our reason for being there.

Did you fundraise for your team? Any tips or advice for fundraising?
In the past we've just used the online fundraising tool. We sent out an e-mail with a link to our team's website. The website has our story and a slideshow documenting our journey and telling about why we support the March of Dimes. This year, I've been selling some flower hair clips to earn money for the team. I'm also considering selling Plushland or using collection buckets at our doctor's and dentist's offices.

How have you felt after participating?
We always feel great after participating. We feel like the March of Dimes gives hope to families like ours and has done a lot of good for many babies. It's the least we can do considering the help they provided to our babies.

Team Mills Miracle Munchkins
Submitted by team captain Jenalyn

It's March...time to get ready to March!

It's March 2nd and before you know it you'll be tying your laces to walk in the Salt Lake March for Babies walk! Spring is just around the corner so now is the time to REGISTER your team, RECRUIT walkers to join you and start FUNDRAISING for BABIES!

Yesterday the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange was rung by March of Dimes celebrity spokesperson Sherri Shepherd of The View. Sherri Shepherd has a son who was born three months prematurely and she's been an advocate and spokesperson for the March of Dimes ever since. This ringing of the bell was the official kick off to this year's March for Babies in over 900 communities in the U.S. To read more click here.

Also in the news is one of March for Babies biggest sponsors, Kmart. Over the past 26 years Kmart has raised $79 million dollars for the March of Dimes. Last year they raised over $8 million dollars! This is an amazing amount of money and if you are looking to support a company that supports the cause of the March of Dimes head to Kmart! Now through May 31st you can make a donation at any store cash register for $1., $5., or $10.

So the rest of the country is getting ready for the march, are you?! If you haven't yet please register and spread the word that you are walking through the many tools provided through the March for Babies website. We have just over 2 months before the march so you want plenty of time to fundraise and get the word out!

Team Spotlight: Sweet Baboos

What is your team name?

Sweet Baboos

How many years have you participated in march for babies?

Two

Approximately how many team members have you had?

16 - but we hope to grow even bigger this year!

What was your reason for first participating?

To remember six babies that we lost, and celebrate two full-term, healthy baby girls!

What is your best memory of a march?

I love seeing everyone come together. There seems to be automatic bonding between teams. Although this may sound strange, I loved marching through the downpour in Davis County last year - getting drenched together and then huddling up under the bowery - you could just feel an energy and a connection with all of the teams involved.

Did you fundraise for your team? Any tips or advice for fundraising?

Emailing is definitely the most simple and effective way for me to fundraise - but i would not recommend sending out emails directly from the March for Babies website (as I've had problems with it), instead send out a personalized email and include a link to your March for Babies team page. Make sure to have pictures on your page for everyone to see. I also think plushland can be a great fundraiser if you find a great venue for selling them. Utilizing multiple ways of fundraising will get the best turn-out. Send out emails, call your friends, ask a local store to collect funds for your team, and participate in something like plushland or a car wash, etc.

How have you felt after participating?

The feeling is incredible. Where else to do you get to help ALL babies who are born in the U.S. while also doing something that is so much fun with your family. There is a great spirit about March for Babies!

Any advice or additional comments for other family teams?

Don't wait for the last minute to get ready for this walk. Fundraising is not an easy task, and believe me, you will feel so much better as a team if you know you put your all into it. Even if you don't have a lot of time to give, start fundraising in January or as soon as you register. Time goes by far too fast and before you know it the walk will be here and your goal is unreached. Just have fun with the fundraising and spreading the word about the walk - the more energy you put into even the smallest amount of time you can give the more positive results you will see. Keep your focus on the reason you are walking: maybe you had a preemie, lost a child, your celebrating a healthy baby, or maybe you are walking for babies around the world. Think about those babies and how important we are to touching their lives and giving ALL babies a healthy start.

Team Sweet Baboos

Submitted by team captain JaNae

100 days!!

That's right - just 100 days to go until the Salt Lake March for Babies! The countdown is on now and it's time to start thinking of ways to reach out and spread the word of your participation. Here are a few things to consider doing to "spread the word".

- Send an email...to everyone! Share your reasons for participating in the march - mention that every little bit helps - direct readers to your personal web link - thank them in advance for their donation.

- Blog all about it! A lot of people have blogs and if you do a great way to advertise your participation is by adding a March for Babies "badge" on your blog. On the March for Babies website you can log into your page and click on the header "spread the word" this page will show you the different badges and tools you can use along with step by step instructions. It is great to do a blog post about your participation in the march and then direct them to you sidebar to see your badge. This badge will remain until you remove it - along with your progress bar (if you wish to have that shown). Every time some visits your blog this badge will appear and remind them to donate.

-Facebook! Okay, so Facebook has more benefits that just spying on old crushes. You can use this site that so many people access everyday as a fundraising tool. There is a Facebook badge you can add to your profile page. You also access this badge on the the MFB website. On your personal page click on the graphic that reads "get a custom widget" this shows you how to install the Facebook application. Once you've added it do a status update about the march. If you have 50 Facebook friends and 1/2 of them donated $5. you have raised $125. Hey, we're on Facebook too so if you haven't joined our page click on the link and do it!

-Signature line...One more tool is to add an email signature badge. This badge will show up at the bottom of every email you send out. So after you initial blast email to everyone asking for their support of you in the march they will be reminded again and again each time you email them. But it won't be annoying because it's a cute little graphic silently reminding them!

-Talk about yourself! Not really, but at work, church, family gatherings find a way to bring up your involvement in the march. Invite them to join your team and if they are not interested let them know they can still support you by a donation. If it's too awkward to bring up out of the blue just mention how your legs are aching because of all of your training for the march! Really, most people want to donate and if they can (and they know that ANY amount counts) they will. If they won't or can't then they won't - no big deal.

Fundraising can be tricky. Some people are great at it and for some it's kind of uncomfortable. But just keep in mind what you are fundraising for. This money isn't for you and your summer vacation, it's going to a very worthwhile cause that you believe in. Money towards research, funding for programs, improvements for NICU's, preventative screenings. These are just some of the reasons you are asking for money...because it matters. Click on the link below for another great tool to help you answer the question - where does the money go?

where your money goes

100 days to go - good luck!!