Taylor Voelker

The March of Dimes has really become a large part of our lives. We had the privilege of being the Ambassador Family for the 2023 walk, I serve on the Executive Leadership Team for the Signature Chef's event, and I am honored to have been asked to be the chair for the 2026 Northeast Ohio March for Babies walk. Now is the time to grow Poppy's Posse! We walk to get the message out. We raise money to help fund their mission. We were honored to have been chosen as an ambassador family and to have Poppy in the NICU Hall of Fame. I was recently brought on to the Executive Leadership team for the Signature Chefs Event as well as being asked to Co-chair this year’s walk. To say I am excited to be a part of all of this is an understatement! we also plan on walking in Cincinnati this year as well. Our story: You never know what curveballs life will throw your way. I had just started my 28th week of pregnancy and everything was going great. I loved being pregnant and I was feeling really good. We were starting to plan out her nursery and we ordered the crib on Monday. Towards the end of the week I was not feeling well so I went to the hospital to see what was going on. Sure enough, our daughter did not want to wait until April to make her appearance. Poppy Rae Voelker came into this world at 1:55am on February 3rd, 2018 weighing in at 3lbs 1oz and 16inches long. She came out screaming, and we are lucky from a medical standpoint she looked good, was just small and had to work on her breathing. She spent 51 days in Hillcrest's NICU and we can't say enough about the care Poppy received from their staff and how well they treated Ray and I. The March of Dimes supports lifesaving research, and Poppy benefitted from some of those treatments funded by their research. Raising money for this walk is just one way we can give back to what they have done for our daughter during her time at Hillcrest. Please join Poppy's Posse and walk with us and help raise funds or please donate if you are unable to attend. We have raised well over $20,000 as a team and we are hoping to continue that trend this year. Please help us say thank you to the March of Dimes.