I grew up in North Hollywood, California, where it wasn’t unusual to run into celebrities at random places (I’ve run into John Goodman at the 7-11 at 8 in the morning, and I once followed Henry Winkler around a city park). And, as everyone knows, it’s also not unusual for these celebrities to get a bad rap from doing one bonehead thing or another, so it’s heartening to hear a stories about them doing good things, and even more exciting when the good they’re doing is for March for Babies.

Last Friday in Long Beach, California, Miss Universe Dayanara Torres and actor/dancer Cristiàn de la Fuente of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” visited the neo-natal intensive care unit at Miller Children’s hospital. The celebs were given a tour of a level 3 NICU, reserved for the sickest babies, and got to hear firsthand what it’s like to have a baby smaller than an adult’s hand.

My son was in the NICU when he was born, and while he wasn’t a level 3, it was a scary and lonely time for the whole family. The support of the community is encouraging, and being visited by people who are there to help, to raise money, to rally the troops is welcomed. It’s great to see celebrities doing something so worthwhile.

The visit to the NICU comes just before Los Angeles’s march, which is this Saturday, April 26^th at Griffith Park.

“Dancing with the Stars” is no stranger to March for Babies. Tom Bergeron, host for the popular reality show, has returned this year to be March for Babies’s national spokesman. I think this trend of reality shows offering charitable support is really uplifting, and sets a really beautiful example of how everyday entertainment can still lend itself to the betterment of people’s lives, and to fulfilling community involvement.

Now that tax season is over and we can get on with more exciting things, the April walks are really getting underway. This is the most exciting time of year for us, when all the reports of walks come rolling in, and we start hearing stories and seeing pictures of walks happening throughout the country. It’s as good as the holidays, with all the good will and cheer that seems to swell around these efforts. It’s a joy to be able to share this information with all of you, and to hear how your events went!

Last weekend, walkers in Globe, Arizona enjoyed lovely weather and good company as they marched in the morning to raise money for healthy babies. I don’t have the figures on that just yet, but when I do I’ll be sure to share them.

A few upcoming walks that I know about:

• In Carlsbad, California, the walk will be April 19 at Cannon Park at 9:00 am.
• In Nacogdoches, Texas, the walk will be April 19 at 9:00 am at Pecan Park.
• In Sioux Falls, Iowa, the walk will be April 26 at 9:00am at the Long Lines Family Rec Center
• In Panama City, Florida, the walk is April 26 at McKenzie Park at 9:00am.
• In Somerset Kentucky, the walk will be on April 26 at 5:00 pm at Rocky Hollow Park

For more information on walks or to find out when a walk is scheduled in your area, call your local March of Dimes office, or view them all on our March for Babies website (just click on “find my walk”!).

As if getting Denny Hamlin and the FedEx Kinko’s team to race for March for Babies weren’t enough, the celebrity elbow-rubbing continues as March for Babies meets up with the NBC Today show. Here’s Meredith Viera with volunteer mom Amy Lynch and her son, Jack. Click the photo to check out more images from that meet-up.

In other news, many of you have written to tell us that the March for Babies e-cards have been a huge success in asking for donations from folks you wouldn’t normally hit up for money. That kind of news makes my heart sing! I wanted to let the rest of you know in case you were still shy about asking for donations. The e-cards are so cute and entertaining that they really are a wonderful ice-breaker.

I hope all of you gearing up for a wonderful weekend, and to those of you who will be waking this weekend, we salute you! Have a wonderful time and take lots of pictures!

It probably makes me a bad parent, but I dread the days when my kids bring home the latest fund raising effort from school. It’s magazine drives this, candy-selling drives that, and since we don’t actually have that many friends and family we always end up buying tons of things we don’t need or want just to fulfill our obligations and assuage our guilt.

I know this rigmarole inside and out, and yet as many times as I’ve donated to school events, soccer teams, and anybody who catches me in a good mood around the holidays, even I still have a hard time asking other people for donations. It can be uncomfortable, feeling like you’re imposing upon another person’s good will, even if you know your cause is a good one. So over the years I’ve acquired some helpful tips for asking for donations that I’d like to share with you—hopefully you’ll find them useful.

1. Offer something in return: hold a bake sale! It doesn’t have to be a bake sale, of course. But even people who would otherwise be unlikely to pony up a few bucks will be delighted to pay $2 for a slice of that delicious chocolate cake.

2. If your company has a newsletter or a company meeting, see if your fundraising even can be added to the letter or agenda. Sometimes people will think about donating more if it comes from the higher-ups in your company.

3. Find out if your company will match donations made by employees. This is a really great way to get the whole company involved, and the more people involved, the better.

4. Set a jar of candy on your desk—bite size chocolate bars are a hit at my office. Next to the candy jar put a donation box (but let everyone know what it’s for!). Simply ask that anytime someone sneaks a candy from the jar they make a donation, whether it’s pocket change or a few dollars.

5. If you have a friend or relative who is particularly outgoing, ask them to do a little fundraising on your behalf. That cheerleader cousin of yours who you find slightly annoying at Thanksgiving could be a great ally in rallying people to your cause.

6. When you do ask for money, suggest a dollar amount, and offer several options (such as $10, $50, $100). It takes some of the stress off your potential donor if they don’t have to guess what a decent donation is.

7. Give donors a time frame. Even though it’s never too late to give, as my father used to say, “Money now is better than money later!” Let your donors know that you’d like to raise a certain amount by a certain date. Having a deadline helps people take a “to-do” and make it a “to-done”.

8. Offer a personal story if you have one (but if you don’t have one, don’t make one up! Credibility is everything!) Letting people know how your family was actually touched by the March of Dimes mission is a wonderful way to compel others to give.

9. Don’t be pushy. It can be really easy to assume that the CEO you hit up for money last week certainly has the cash to contribute. But that doesn’t entitle you to it. And who knows, he may have had unexpected expenses and really can’t make a donation right now. If you’re pushy, he might not make a donation later, either, when he can afford to.

10. Be sure to send “thank you” notes to those who contribute–those who give, and those who offer their time toward the fund raising effort. It’s important that people feel that their good deed has been properly acknowledged.

If you have other tips that have worked for you in the past, let’s hear ‘em! The more the better!

I am a shoe aficionado. I absolutely love shoes—pumps, boots, sandals, sneakers, you name it. I’m always on the lookout for the next must-have piece of footwear, especially this time of year when the clothes get shorter and more lightweight—it really allows the shoes to shine!

So of course I couldn’t pass up checking out the official shoes of March for Babies, offered at Famous Footwear. For every purchase made, Famous Footwear donates $5 to March for Babies. They come in three different styles, and because they’re Dr. Scholl’s they’re bound to be comfortable.

If you’re planning to walk and you haven’t yet picked out a pair of shoes, why not pick up a pair of these? Not only will you have comfy shoes for walking, but you’ll be supplementing the fundraising effort.

And as though you needed any more inspiration— March for Babies in Gainesville, Florida was a huge success. Over 6,000 people turned out and it’s estimated that the walk met its $900,000 fundraising goal. You can read more about their walk here.

Congratulations, you guys. That’s really wonderful, and we’re all really proud of you!

Thinking about the success of Gainesville, and the amazing support of the Fed-Ex Kinko’s NASCAR team got me marveling about the true power that we wield as a collective community when we work together. These events, even as they happen in towns across the country where we don’t live and may never visit, touch each of us united in a goal. But I also know that the goals vary somewhat from person to person.

So I’d like to ask: I know there are a lot of you out there who are planning to walk—what are your goals? Do you have a dollar amount that you’re trying to raise, or are you walking to raise awareness? I know some people walk for the benefit of meeting other families who have experienced the emotional rollercoaster that a premature birth is for the whole family. It’s good to build community, and that’s part of why this blog is important—even if you can’t find a community of families near you, it’s nice to be able to connect via the internet. So, I turn it over to y’all–why do you walk?

I have a short and sweet update for you guys tonight.

I don’t know about y’all, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the silly stuff. I love when waiters sing to me for my birthday, I love romantic comedies, and I love sending e-cards to my friends and family—especially for no particular reason.

So when I heard that the March for Babies was doing e-cards I just about flipped out. And the cutest part is, you can personalize them by adding your face to the animation.

You have to see this for yourself:

http://ecards.marchforbabies.org/

You simply upload a headshot of yourself and follow the simple directions to fine-tune your photo. (Step 4 is arguably the most difficult, but really it’s just about dragging and dropping points to make the shape of your cartoon head match the shape of your face). It’s fun, it’s intuitive, and the best part is, the resulting animation is hilarious. I laughed out loud the first time I saw this.

Once you’re finished, you can send your e-card to up to 10 people at once. (And there’s no reason you can’t create another card and send to more friends if you want.)

This is one of the most brilliant fundraising ideas I’ve seen yet. It’s easy, it’s funny, and it’s a really wonderful way to ask for donations. A lot of people ask for tips on how to ask for donations, and now I have another tool in my arsenal. Just send out this e-card. Raising awareness is the first step.

Do you love it? I’d love to know if y’all thought it was as funny as I did.

Both are on the fast track to helping every baby have the chance to be born healthy. Nope, this isn’t a belated April Fool’s joke, this is the real deal. On April 12, at the Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix, Arizona, NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin will be driving the #11 FedEx Kinko’s racecar for Victory Lane. He and the rest of the Fed Ex team will be decked out in a racing uniform specially designed to show support for March for Babies. And not to be outdone by its driver, the car itself will be rockin’ the March for Babies colors with the March for Babies logo on the hood. The car was unveiled today in Dallas, Texas. Check it out: you can click the image to see more.

I’m loving the fact that these all-American guys who do what so many men (and, hey, women too!) can only dream of doing, will be whipping around the track in a purple-and-white March of Dimes car with matching uniforms. That will definitely be a sight to see. But what I’m loving even more is that the helmet Denny will be wearing was designed by 5-year-old Tiffany Bell, who was born at only 29 weeks and 6 days. (And as you may know, a full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks). Tiffany is the daughter of a FedEx employee, making this team-up all the more touching and special. The helmet will be auctioned on ebay after the race.

Denny’s win this past weekend in his hometown of Martinville, Virginia, at the “Goody’s Cool Orange 500″ places him in eighth place in the standings.

For the past four years the FedEx Kinko’s team has been a national sponsor and continues to raise millions of dollars and build awareness of the March of Dimes mission. It’s sponsors like these that really help make all the difference. Getting the word out about what we do and what the future can hold takes a lot of legwork, manpower, and money. And we’re really grateful that we have the corporate sponsors that we do to help make this mission possible.

We’d love it if you’d join Denny Hamlin and the FedEx Kinko’s racing team and the millions of walkers, volunteers, and sponsors. Or hey, start your own March for Babies team.

To learn more about this event, check out www.fedexracing.com.

It’s getting to be that time of year again, and I don’t mean the first days of Spring (though that’s wonderful too!) The March for Babies campaign is about to swing into high gear as families across the country get ready to put on their sneakers and walk for healthy babies. It’s amazing to see how many people have been touched by our mission, and staggering to think how many precious babies might not be with us today if not for the money we’ve been able to raise over the years toward medical research.

And it’s true–every little bit does help. Just ask the Graham family, whose story I came across this morning. Little Madelyn was born 11 weeks too soon, but she came through and now her family is marching for babies. This is why I stay involved in the March of Dimes, and this is why the March for Babies campaign is so important. We get to change the lives of so many people in so many wonderful ways.

If you’re ready to get involved and help us in our fundraising efforts, I encourage you to think about signing up for an event or even sponsoring a family or individual. It’s a low stress, fun way to get involved and to meet likeminded people in your community, and that’s how real change begins–with individual people and families who band together, united in a common cause. Plus, it’s really inspiring to see so many advocates together in one place, like you can see in this photo of a recent march in Nebraska. It was chilly, but not to be deterred, the walkers bundled up and got their blood pumping, and took some great photos to boot. How awesome is that? It looks like they had so much fun–I can’t wait to get out there myself.

But if you can’t get to an event, there are other ways to help. Shop at K-mart, and make a donation at the cash register of $1, $5, or $10 through May 10th. As we get closer to the event dates, I’ll be sure to keep you updated on other ways to help, the outcomes of other marches, and the general goings on as we head deep into March for Babies season!

So if you’re feeling ready to get out of the house, get some exercise, meet some great people and contribute to a wonderful cause, we’re ready to walk with you.

Let us know which event you’ll be participating in and why, leave a comment so we can publicize it. We can’t do it without you, so thanks in advance!

To easily add your badge to your website, e-mail signature, Facebook or MySpace page:

Login to your personal fundraising page at www.marchforbabies.org
Click on the “What’s New” tab along the top.
Click on the link on the right side of the page and follow the instructions. It couldn’t be easier to add your personal badge anywhere on-line. Try it!

To add your badge to your Outlook signature, follow the procedure outlined below:

1. Copy the code from the badge page.
2. Paste the code directly into Notepad.
3. Use “Save As” the document as march.html
4. Remember where you saved it as you will need to find it later!
5. In Outlook, go to Tools -> Options -> Mail Format
6. Make sure that “Message Format” is set to HTML
7. At the bottom of that tab, click “Signatures”
8. Create a new signature by selecting “New”
- Note: On any Facebook page, select “More Extended Info” on the left hand side in the Applications list
9. Type the name of your new signature. We suggest “marchforbabies”
10. Select “Use this file as a template:”
11. Click browse and select march.html
12. Click “Next” and then “Finish” on the next page.
13. Click ‘OK’ and ‘OK’ on the next screens.
14. Make sure you are on the “Options-> Mail Format” tab
15. In the “Signature” section, make sure you select your signature from the drop down menu for “New Messages” and/or “Replies and Forwards”
16. Click ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’

Here is how to add the e-signature badge to your Outlook account:

1. Copy the code from the badge page.
2. Paste the code directly into Notepad.
3. Use “Save As” the document as march.html
4. Remember where you saved it as you will need to find it later!
5. In Outlook, go to Tools -> Options -> Mail Format
6. Make sure that “Message Format” is set to HTML
7. At the bottom of that tab, click “Signatures”
8. Create a new signature by selecting “New”
9. Type the name of your new signature, we suggest “marchforbabies”
10. Select “Use this file as a template:”
11. Click browse and select march.html
12. Click “Next” and then “Finish” on the next page.
13. Click ‘OK’ and ‘OK’ on the next screens.
14. Make sure you are on the “Options-> Mail Format” tab
15. In the “Signature” section, make sure you select your signature from the drop down menu for “New Messages” and/or “Replies and Forwards”
16. Click ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’

We’ve a few questions coming in about how to get the badges on Facebook. Here is your step-by-step guide:

1. On Facebook search for “more extended info.” (”extended info” works too but will only allow you to put your badge on the right side of your profile, “more extended info” will let you place the badge on the left side)
2. Click the title of “more extended info”
3. Click add application
4. Go to your personal page on www.marchforbabies.org
5. Click the tab that says “What’s new”
6. Click on the sidebar that has the badge picture (”Get it now”)
7. Copy the html code for the vertical banner (the horizontal banner is too large for facebook)
8. On your Facebook profile open “More Extended info”
9. Paste the html code into one of the large boxes
10. Type “March for Babies” or some other title into the small title box
11. Click “Save Info”
12. Look at your awesome new badge on Facebook! You can drag the “more extended info” box to the left side of your profile if you want.

We will be adding instructions for Myspace and the e-mail signature soon!