Jessica Winski

Dear family, friends and colleagues

We are beyond excited to announce that our daughter, Lea (age 15), has been selected to be the co-emcee again for this year’s March for Babies Walk for the Charlotte region after bringing many of the walkers to tears in this role over the past few years.  As the co-emcee, she & a local TV reporter will be motivating the thousands of walk attendees to finish the walk, as well as reminding them why they support the March of Dimes.  She’ll have to talk about difficult topics (e.g., infant mortality, her own experience) and work collaboratively with her co-emcee.  She received this honor as recognition for her tremendous dedication in supporting the March of Dimes as the co-emcee for the past few years, the Charlotte Ambassador in 2021 and raising over $70,000 for the organization for the past 16 years.  

Lea was born at 25 weeks and weighed only 1 pound and two ounces.  She was 12 inches long – the length of a ruler!!  She spent over three months in the NICU, a place that became our 2nd home.  The support the March of Dimes provided to us during our stay in the NICU was invaluable.  They funded research for a drug that helped Lea breathe before her lungs worked independently, they hosted numerous events for NICU families to get together and share their experiences, and they supported the amazing doctors and nurses that gave everything they had to help these tiny babies survive.  Looking at Lea now (as a sophomore and triple varsity athlete in lacrosse, track and cheer, active in her school and temple, and a great big sister), you would never know how premature she was.

Please consider supporting our family’s fundraising efforts for the March of Dimes.  Lea is showing a tremendous amount of courage speaking in front of all the walk attendees at age 15, and we’d love to show her we support her efforts by raising a lot of money for the March of Dimes.  We know this is a big ask and are grateful for your consideration.